Key Takeaways
- Four new MBS items make phone GPCCMP services claimable from 1 November 2026. Items 92033 and 92034 cover a GP preparing and reviewing a GP chronic condition management plan by phone at $160.60 each; items 92063 and 92064 cover the same services by a prescribed medical practitioner at $128.55 each.
- The commencement date is 1 November 2026, and it is a hard edge. Before that date there is no MBS item for preparing or reviewing a GP chronic condition management plan by telephone, in any form.
- The phone fees are identical to the video and face-to-face fees. $160.60 for GP prepare and review (items 965, 967, 92029 and 92030), and $128.55 for prescribed medical practitioner prepare and review (items 392, 393, 92060 and 92061). There is no discount for doing the service by phone.
- The change is published in a legislative instrument, not yet on MBS Online. The instrument is F2026L01101, registered on the Federal Register of Legislation on 24 August 2026. As at 3 September 2026, the MBS Online news index still ends at August 2026.
- Two other instruments commence the same day. F2026L01107 replaces "aged care facility" with "care home" across four section 3C determinations, with no fee changes. F2026L01156 expands who may perform point-of-care testing pathology services.
- The new items inherit the existing telehealth rules. The instrument threads items 92033, 92034, 92063 and 92064 through the same restriction, co-claiming and same-day conditions that already govern the video items.
From 1 November 2026, a GP can prepare or review a GP chronic condition management plan by telephone and claim it on the MBS for the first time, using new items 92033 and 92034 at $160.60 each. Prescribed medical practitioners get items 92063 and 92064 at $128.55 each. The source is F2026L01101 on the Federal Register, registered 24 August 2026.
What changes in the MBS on 1 November 2026?
Three legislative instruments commence on 1 November 2026, and the one that matters to almost every general practice is the first. All three are registered on the Federal Register of Legislation, which means they are law. None of them has yet appeared in an MBS Online update package, which is a timing point worth understanding before you act on any of this.
The headline instrument is the Health Insurance (Section 3C General Medical Services - Telehealth Attendances) Amendment (Chronic Condition Management Phone Services) Determination 2026, registered as F2026L01101 on 24 August 2026 and made by a delegate of the Minister under subsection 3C(1) of the Health Insurance Act 1973 on 20 August 2026. It amends the Health Insurance (Section 3C General Medical Services - Telehealth Attendances) Determination 2021 to insert a new Subgroup 14 of Group A40, titled "GP chronic condition management plans services - Phone Services", containing four new items. It also amends the Subgroup 13 heading, replacing "GP management plans, team care arrangements" with "GP chronic condition management plans", which tidies the terminology to match the framework that has applied since 1 July 2025.
The other two instruments are narrower. F2026L01107 is a terminology exercise: it replaces "aged care facility" with "care home" across four section 3C determinations, aligning MBS wording with the vocabulary of the Aged Care Act 2024. It touches allied health items 10955, 10957 and 10959, optometry item 10931, ten other medical practitioner items, and telehealth items 92027 and 92058. No fees change. F2026L01156 expands who may perform point-of-care testing pathology services, and mainly affects health services in the First Nations Molecular Point-of-Care Testing Program rather than general practices at large.
| Instrument | What it changes | Who it affects |
|---|---|---|
| F2026L01101 | Adds four phone items for GP chronic condition management plans (92033, 92034, 92063, 92064) and renames Subgroup 13 | Every practice that bills GPCCMP items |
| F2026L01107 | Replaces "aged care facility" with "care home" across four section 3C determinations | Practices billing the named allied health, optometry, medical practitioner and telehealth items |
| F2026L01156 | Expands eligible providers of point-of-care testing pathology services | Mainly health services in the First Nations Molecular Point-of-Care Testing Program |
One point on timing, stated plainly: the register is ahead of the website. As at 3 September 2026, the MBS Online news index ends at August 2026, and its downloads page was last updated 3 August 2026. The instruments above are the law; the MBS Online factsheets, when they come, will explain them.
What are the new GPCCMP phone items 92033, 92034, 92063 and 92064?
The four new items sit in a new Subgroup 14 of Group A40, "GP chronic condition management plans services - Phone Services". Two are for general practitioners and two are for prescribed medical practitioners, the term the MBS uses for the non-GP medical practitioners who may provide these services. Each item covers one service: preparing a plan, or reviewing a plan. The descriptors, taken verbatim from the instrument's Schedule, are set out below.
| Item | Descriptor | Fee |
|---|---|---|
| 92033 | Phone attendance by a general practitioner to prepare a GP chronic condition management plan for a patient | $160.60 |
| 92034 | Phone attendance by a general practitioner to review a GP chronic condition management plan prepared by the general practitioner or an associated medical practitioner | $160.60 |
| 92063 | Phone attendance by a prescribed medical practitioner to prepare a GP chronic condition management plan for a patient | $128.55 |
| 92064 | Phone attendance by a prescribed medical practitioner to review a GP chronic condition management plan prepared by the prescribed medical practitioner or an associated medical practitioner | $128.55 |
The fee structure mirrors the existing GPCCMP matrix exactly. A GP prepare or review pays $160.60 whether it happens in person, by video, or (from 1 November 2026) by phone. A prescribed medical practitioner prepare or review pays $128.55 on the same basis. There is no modality discount anywhere in the set.
The instrument does one more thing worth noticing. It replaces "GP management plans, team care arrangements" with "GP chronic condition management plans" in the Subgroup 13 heading. Subgroup 13 is the video subgroup, and its heading still carries the pre-2025 labels. The change brings the heading into line with the GPCCMP framework that commenced 1 July 2025, when the old GPMP and TCA items (229, 230, 721, 723 and their telehealth equivalents) were removed. Patients with existing plans under the old items can continue accessing services under them until 30 June 2027 as a transitional measure.
Can a GP prepare a care plan over the phone today?
No. Until 1 November 2026 there is no MBS item for preparing or reviewing a GP chronic condition management plan by telephone, in any form. Subgroup 13 of Group A40, currently titled "GP management plans, team care arrangements and multidisciplinary care plans services - Video Services", contains only video items. The GPCCMP framework commenced on 1 July 2025 with in-person and video modalities only, and the phone was left out. The new Subgroup 14 closes that gap from 1 November 2026.
The full modality matrix, verified item by item on MBS Online as at 3 September 2026, looks like this:
| Modality | GP prepare | GP review | GP fee | PMP prepare | PMP review | PMP fee |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| In person | 965 | 967 | $160.60 | 392 | 393 | $128.55 |
| Video | 92029 | 92030 | $160.60 | 92060 | 92061 | $128.55 |
| Phone (from 1 Nov 2026) | 92033 | 92034 | $160.60 | 92063 | 92064 | $128.55 |
The practical consequence for a practice is straightforward. Today, a chronic condition patient who cannot attend in person and cannot manage a video call has no claimable pathway for a plan preparation or review. From 1 November 2026, the phone call itself becomes the claimable service. The fees are identical across all three modalities, so there is no billing reason to prefer one modality over another, and no discount applied to the phone items for the absence of video.
If you want to check the current video items yourself, item 92029 on MBS Online shows the video GP prepare descriptor and fee that the new phone items replicate. For the broader telehealth billing rules that sit around these items, see our telehealth Medicare billing guide.
Which rules apply to the new phone items?
The new items are not a freestanding scheme. The instrument threads items 92033, 92034, 92063 and 92064 through the conditions that already govern the video items in the 2021 determination: subsections 7(4) and 7(6A)(c), and clauses 1.1.04 to 1.1.07 of Schedule 1. Those are the restriction, co-claiming and same-day rules that already apply to the video GPCCMP items. In practice, this means a phone plan preparation is not a loophole around the existing telehealth conditions; it is the same service, delivered by a different modality, under the same rules.
The instrument also amends the definition of "person with a chronic condition" in Schedule 4, so that paragraph (a) reads "92033, 92057, 92058, 92060, or 92063". That definition is the eligibility gate for the GPCCMP items, and the new prepare items for both GP and prescribed medical practitioner are now written into it alongside the existing ones.
Two framework rules carry across unchanged:
- Allied health access. Patients can access up to five allied health services per calendar year under a GPCCMP. The modality of the plan preparation does not change this.
- MyMedicare. For MyMedicare-registered patients, the GPCCMP must come from their registered provider. A phone consultation does not relax this. If your practice handles MyMedicare registrations, our MyMedicare compliance obligations guide covers the framework in detail.
One thing the instrument does not do is create any new clinical or documentation standard for phone attendances. The descriptors are the same as the video descriptors with the modality word changed, and the conditions are the ones the video items already operate under.
What else commences on 1 November 2026?
Two further instruments commence on the same day, and both are worth a skim even though neither changes a fee.
F2026L01107, the care home terminology instrument. The Health Insurance Legislation Amendment (Residential Care Home Consequential Amendments) Determination 2026, registered 24 August 2026, replaces "aged care facility" with "care home" across four section 3C determinations. This aligns MBS wording with the vocabulary of the Aged Care Act 2024. The items touched are allied health items 10955, 10957 and 10959, optometry item 10931, ten other medical practitioner items, and telehealth items 92027 and 92058. If your practice bills any of those items for patients in residential care, the wording on the item descriptors and explanatory notes will change, but the fees and the claiming rules will not. Nothing in this instrument requires a practice to change what it does, only to recognise the new term when it appears.
F2026L01156, the point-of-care testing instrument. The Health Insurance (Section 3C Pathology Services - Point-of-Care Testing Services) Amendment (Expanding Eligible Providers) Determination 2026, registered 3 September 2026, expands who may perform point-of-care testing pathology services. It adds two categories of eligible operator: an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander health worker holding a Certificate II or higher in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Primary Health Care or equivalent experience, and a staff member designated by the health service who holds current certification as a competent point-of-care testing operator through the First Nations Molecular Point-of-Care Testing Program. This mainly affects health services participating in that program rather than general practices at large. The instrument names no item numbers and changes no fees.
Neither instrument interacts with the GPCCMP phone items. They simply share the commencement date, which is why a search for "MBS changes 1 November 2026" will surface all three.
Why is this not on MBS Online yet?
Because the Federal Register of Legislation is ahead of the MBS Online website, and that is normal for this point in the cycle. The instruments are the law from the moment they are registered; the MBS Online factsheets are the explanation layer that follows. As at 3 September 2026, the MBS Online news index ends at August 2026 and its downloads page was last updated 3 August 2026, so the November 2026 package has not landed.
Recent history has November packages appearing on MBS Online from mid to late September, but that is a pattern, not a promise, and no specific publication date should be assumed. What is settled is the law itself: F2026L01101 commences 1 November 2026, and the four items, their descriptors and their fees are in the registered instrument text.
The practical read for a practice is that you do not need the factsheet to plan. The item numbers, the fees and the commencement date are all in the instrument, and the conditions the items operate under are the ones your practice already works to for the video items. The factsheets, when they arrive, will add explanatory material and any further November changes that are not yet visible. That wave may grow when the package lands: as at 3 September 2026, any additional November changes beyond these three instruments have not been published, so treat this list as what is confirmed rather than what is complete.
What should practices do before 1 November?
Six actions, in rough order of urgency:
- Brief billing staff on the four numbers and the two fees. Items 92033 and 92034 at $160.60 for GP prepare and review; items 92063 and 92064 at $128.55 for prescribed medical practitioner prepare and review. Staff who see a phone care plan claim before 1 November need to know it is not yet valid.
- Update billing system templates when your software vendor ships the November update. The items will not be in practice management software until the vendors build the November MBS release into their products. Check your vendor's release notes rather than hand-coding the items early.
- Review phone-consult workflows for chronic condition patients. Identify the recalls and reviews that currently force a video call or an in-person visit because the patient cannot manage either. From 1 November those can move to a phone attendance at the same fee. Our Medicare changes from 1 July 2026 guide covers the workflow groundwork from earlier in the year.
- Check MyMedicare registration status handling. For MyMedicare-registered patients, the GPCCMP must come from their registered provider, and that applies to the phone items as it does to every other modality. Make sure whoever books the phone appointment can see the registration status.
- Diarise the MBS Online November package. Watch the MBS Online news page for the factsheets, which will confirm the detail and surface any further November changes not yet visible.
- Do not claim the items before 1 November 2026. The commencement date is the whole instrument's commencement date, not a soft transition. A phone plan preparation billed on 31 October 2026 has no item to go to.
Frequently Asked Questions
What changes in the MBS on 1 November 2026?
Three instruments commence. The main one, F2026L01101, adds four new items covering GP chronic condition management plan services by phone: 92033 and 92034 for a GP to prepare and review a plan at $160.60 each, and 92063 and 92064 for a prescribed medical practitioner at $128.55 each. F2026L01107 replaces "aged care facility" with "care home" in four section 3C determinations with no fee changes, and F2026L01156 expands eligible point-of-care testing providers.
Can a GP prepare a chronic condition management plan by phone?
No, not until 1 November 2026. The current GPCCMP items cover in-person attendances (items 965 and 967) and video attendances (items 92029 and 92030), and Subgroup 13 of Group A40 contains video items only. From 1 November 2026, item 92033 lets a GP prepare a plan by phone at $160.60, and item 92034 lets a GP review one by phone at the same fee.
What are MBS items 92033 and 92034?
They are the new GP phone items in Subgroup 14 of Group A40, commencing 1 November 2026. Item 92033 is a phone attendance by a general practitioner to prepare a GP chronic condition management plan for a patient, at $160.60. Item 92034 is a phone attendance by a general practitioner to review a GP chronic condition management plan prepared by the general practitioner or an associated medical practitioner, also at $160.60.
Do the phone care plan items pay the same as the video items?
Yes. The phone fees are identical to the video and face-to-face fees across the whole GPCCMP matrix: $160.60 for GP prepare and review, whether by item 965 and 967 in person, 92029 and 92030 by video, or 92033 and 92034 by phone. The prescribed medical practitioner items pay $128.55 on the same basis. There is no discount for modality.
What are items 92063 and 92064?
They are the prescribed medical practitioner phone items, commencing 1 November 2026. Item 92063 is a phone attendance by a prescribed medical practitioner to prepare a GP chronic condition management plan for a patient, at $128.55. Item 92064 is a phone attendance by a prescribed medical practitioner to review a plan prepared by the prescribed medical practitioner or an associated medical practitioner, also at $128.55. They mirror video items 92060 and 92061.
Where are the November 2026 MBS changes published?
On the Federal Register of Legislation, in the registered instruments: F2026L01101 for the phone care plan items, F2026L01107 for the care home terminology, and F2026L01156 for point-of-care testing providers. As at 3 September 2026, MBS Online has not published a November 2026 package; its news index ends at August 2026. The factsheets will follow, but the instruments are the law.