Mental Health Treatment Plan(MHTP)

Why this matters for your practice

The Mental Health Treatment Plan is the entry point to the Medicare Benefits Schedule Better Access initiative. Without a properly prepared and documented plan, your patient cannot claim Medicare benefits for psychological therapy or focussed psychological strategies. Three things decide how this plays out in your practice: which preparation item you bill (it turns on whether the GP has completed recognised mental health skills training and how long the attendance ran), what the plan must contain (the documentation requirements are specific and they gate the claim), and how the review works now that there is no dedicated MBS review item. The review is claimed through time-tiered general attendance items. See our Better Access billing compliance guide for the wider picture.

What is a Mental Health Treatment Plan?

A Mental Health Treatment Plan is intended to identify and document the care needs of patients with a clinically diagnosed mental disorder to allow for a structured approach to the management of their treatment. It sits under explanatory note AN.0.56.

For Better Access purposes, a mental disorder is "a significant impairment of an individual's cognitive, affective and/or relational abilities which may require intervention and may be a recognised, medically diagnosable illness or disorder". The definition is informed by the World Health Organisation, 1996, Diagnostic and Management Guidelines for Mental Disorders in Primary Care: ICD-10 Chapter V Primary Care Version. Four conditions are excluded for the purposes of Better Access services: dementia, delirium, tobacco use disorder and, in the note's own wording, "mental retardation".

The plan can be prepared by a GP or prescribed medical practitioner (PMP) at the patient's MyMedicare registered practice, or by the patient's usual medical practitioner. This also covers a GP or PMP at a medical practice that has provided the majority of the patient's care over the previous 12 months, or that will provide the majority of their care over the next 12 months.

These services can also be provided to private inpatients being discharged from hospital, including private inpatients who are residents of aged care facilities. Where the service is provided as part of an episode of hospital treatment, it must be claimed at the 75% MBS benefit.

Training is recommended but not required for every item. "It is strongly recommended that GPs and PMPs providing mental health treatment have appropriate mental health training." The training that splits the item numbers is mental health skills training recognised through the General Practice Mental Health Standards Collaboration.

Which item do you bill?

There are 16 MBS items for the preparation of a Mental Health Treatment Plan. The item turns on two things: who prepares the plan and whether they have completed mental health skills training recognised through the General Practice Mental Health Standards Collaboration, and how long the attendance ran. A GP without recognised training can still prepare a plan, but bills the lower-paying item: item 2700 on MBS Online or 2701 rather than item 2715 or 2717. Each pairing also has a video equivalent, and the video items are not exempt from the MBS telehealth eligibility criteria.

The fee gap between the trained and untrained GP items is real money across a year of plans. The 100% benefit equals the schedule fee in each case, and the Extended Medicare Safety Net caps are $326.85 for item 2715 and $481.50 for item 2717. Fees are the schedule fee as updated 1 July 2026. The GP face to face items carry an item start date of 1 November 2011 and sit in Group A20 GP Mental Health Treatment, Subgroup 1 GP Mental Health Treatment Plans.

What must the plan contain?

Before proceeding, the GP or PMP must explain the preparation service and the steps involved to the patient, and (if appropriate and with the patient's permission) to the patient's carer, and record the patient's agreement to proceed. That recorded agreement is the first gate.

The preparation must be documented in writing and include an assessment process with two parts: administration of an outcome measurement tool (except where considered clinically inappropriate), and formulation of the mental disorder, including a provisional or formal diagnosis. An outcome measurement tool is "a tool used to monitor changes in a patient's health that occur in response to treatment received by the patient". The choice of evidence-based tool is at the clinical discretion of the practitioner; the examples given are the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10) and the DASS 21 (Depression, Anxiety and Stress). GPs using these tools should be familiar with their appropriate clinical use, and if not, should seek appropriate education and training.

After the assessment, five things must be undertaken and recorded in writing in the plan:

Referral and treatment options. Identify and discuss referral and treatment options with the patient, including appropriate support services.

Treatment goals. Agree upon treatment goals with the patient and any actions the patient will take.

Education. Provide relevant and suitable education about the patient's mental disorder.

Crisis and relapse planning. Create a plan for crisis intervention and/or for relapse prevention.

Arrangements. Make arrangements for required referrals, treatment, appropriate support services, review and follow-up.

The Initial Assessment and Referral Decision Support Tool (IAR-DST) can be used during preparation. It helps determine the most appropriate level of mental health care needed and informs a suitable referral decision, aligns with the assessment components required in the plan, and many mental health services require a completed IAR at the point of entry.

On completion, a copy of the plan must be offered to the patient, and where relevant and if the practitioner considers it appropriate, to the patient's carer, before the item may be claimed. A copy must also be added to the patient's medical records. The plan is a living document: it can be updated at any time to incorporate relevant information such as feedback or advice from other health professionals.

How many sessions does the plan unlock?

Medicare benefits are available for up to 10 individual and 10 group therapy mental health treatment services in a calendar year. The initial course of treatment is a maximum of 6 individual services. A subsequent course covers the remaining services up to the patient's cap of 10 per calendar year: if the patient received 6 services in their initial course of treatment, they could only receive 4 services in a subsequent course within the same calendar year. Group therapy is capped separately at a maximum of 10 services per calendar year.

The referring practitioner must specify on the referral the number of services to be provided as part of the course of treatment. Once a course of treatment is undertaken, a review of the patient's Mental Health Treatment Plan is required before the patient can access an additional course.

The treatment services themselves may consist of psychological therapy services delivered by eligible clinical psychologists, and/or focussed psychological strategies services delivered by eligible GPs, eligible PMPs, eligible psychologists (registered), eligible social workers and eligible occupational therapists. Referrals for Better Access treatment services should be used for patients who require at least a moderate level of support.

How is a Mental Health Treatment Plan reviewed?

There is no dedicated MBS review item for a Mental Health Treatment Plan. The review is claimed through time-tiered professional (general) attendance MBS items. A plan should be reviewed at least once a year by a GP or PMP at the patient's MyMedicare registered practice or by their usual medical practitioner. Once a systematic review of the patient's progress has been completed, a Medicare benefit can be claimed using those general attendance items. The same consent gate applies: before proceeding, the practitioner must explain the review service and the steps involved to the patient (and, if appropriate and with permission, the carer) and record the patient's agreement to proceed.

The review must include:

• A review of the patient's progress against the goals outlined in the plan.
• Checking, reinforcing and expanding education.
• A plan for crisis intervention and/or for relapse prevention, if appropriate and if not previously provided.
• Re-administration of the outcome measurement tool used in the assessment stage, except where considered clinically inappropriate.
• Modification of the documented plan if required.

If amendments are made, a copy of the amended plan must be offered to the patient, and where relevant and appropriate the carer, before the review service may be claimed, and a copy must be added to the patient's medical records.

On frequency: "In general, most patients should not require more than 2 time-tiered professional (general) attendance items, for the specific purpose of reviewing a Mental Health Treatment Plan in a calendar year. A review of a Mental Health Treatment Plan should not be undertaken more than once in a 3-month period, or within 4 weeks following a claim for a Mental Health Treatment Plan item."

A Mental Health Treatment Plan does not expire. A new plan should not be created unless exceptional circumstances exist, such as a significant change to the patient's mental health, or the treating practitioner or treating allied health professional being unable to obtain a copy of the plan. A new plan should generally not be prepared within 12 months of a previous plan. The exception is psychiatrist plans: where a psychiatrist has prepared a referred Psychiatrist Assessment and Management Plan (item 291 or 92435) as if the patient had a Mental Health Treatment Plan, the dedicated review items for those plans (items 293, 296, 297, 299 or 92436 or 92437) can be used.

What the regulator or assessor expects

The written plan is the evidence. If it is queried by the Professional Services Review or an assessor, the things that must be visible in the records are: the plan itself, documented in writing with the two-part assessment and the five post-assessment actions; the recorded agreement to proceed; the outcome measurement tool administered at assessment and re-administered at review; and proof a copy of the plan was offered before the claim was made.

Co-claiming has its own rules. To co-claim a Mental Health Treatment Plan item and another attendance item, both services must be clinically relevant and distinct services. Where an additional consultation is undertaken, all item requirements must be met: for item 2700, the duration of the service must have been at least 20 minutes, and the time of the preceding consultation must not be counted towards the time of the mental health service.

All consultations conducted as part of the plan must be rendered by a GP or PMP at the patient's MyMedicare registered practice or by their usual medical practitioner. A specialist mental health nurse, other allied health professionals, or an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health practitioner or health worker with appropriate mental health qualifications and training may assist a GP, but for a Medicare benefit to be payable all requirements of the item must be met.

Watch the Eating Disorder Treatment and Management Plan overlap. Once a patient has a claim for an EDTMP, there should be no claim for the development or review of a Mental Health Treatment Plan by a GP (items 2700, 2701, 2715 and 2717) or a medical practitioner in general practice (items 272, 276, 281 and 282) within 12 months of the EDTMP, unless there are exceptional circumstances.

Common mistakes

Billing the trained-GP item on the strength of the wrong training. The item split turns on mental health skills training recognised through the General Practice Mental Health Standards Collaboration, not on any mental health training a GP may have completed elsewhere.

Claiming the 40-minute item on a shorter attendance. Items 2717 and 2701 require at least 40 minutes. Counting the time of the preceding consultation towards the mental health service does not satisfy the duration requirement.

Claiming before a copy has been offered. A copy of the plan must be offered to the patient, and where relevant and appropriate the carer, before the item may be claimed. Claiming first and offering later is out of order.

Preparing a new plan instead of reviewing. Plans do not expire. A new plan should not be created unless exceptional circumstances exist, and generally not within 12 months of a previous plan. Most of the time the right action is a review through a general attendance item.

Reviewing too soon. A review should not be undertaken within 4 weeks following a claim for a Mental Health Treatment Plan item, and not more than once in a 3-month period.

Referring beyond the cap. The calendar-year cap is 10 individual and 10 group services, and the initial course is a maximum of 6. The referral must specify the number of services for the course of treatment.

Frequently asked questions

What is a Mental Health Treatment Plan?

A Mental Health Treatment Plan identifies and documents the care needs of a patient with a clinically diagnosed mental disorder, to allow a structured approach to the management of their treatment. It is the Better Access entry point, prepared by a GP or prescribed medical practitioner at the patient's MyMedicare registered practice or by their usual medical practitioner, and it is required before Medicare benefits are payable for treatment services.

What are the Mental Health Treatment Plan item numbers?

For GPs with recognised mental health skills training: items 2715 and 2717 face to face, and 92116 and 92117 by video. For GPs without that training: items 2700 and 2701 face to face, and 92112 and 92113 by video. For prescribed medical practitioners: items 281 and 282 face to face with training, 92122 and 92123 by video, and items 272 and 276 face to face without training, 92118 and 92119 by video. Sixteen items in total.

How many sessions does a Mental Health Treatment Plan cover?

Medicare benefits are available for up to 10 individual and 10 group therapy mental health treatment services in a calendar year. The initial course of treatment is a maximum of 6 individual services, with a review required before a subsequent course covering the remainder, up to the cap of 10. The referral must specify the number of services in the course of treatment.

What is the MBS item for reviewing a Mental Health Treatment Plan?

There is no dedicated review item. The review is claimed through time-tiered professional (general) attendance MBS items once a systematic review of the patient's progress has been completed. In general, most patients should not require more than 2 such items per calendar year for this specific purpose. The dedicated review items (293, 296, 297, 299, 92436 and 92437) exist only for Psychiatrist Assessment and Management Plans.

Does a Mental Health Treatment Plan expire?

No. A plan does not expire. It is a living document that can be updated at any time, and it should be reviewed at least once a year. A new plan should not be created unless exceptional circumstances exist, such as a significant change to the patient's mental health or the treating practitioner being unable to obtain a copy of the plan.

Can a GP without mental health skills training prepare a Mental Health Treatment Plan?

Yes. The items are open to GPs who have not undertaken mental health skills training: items 2700 and 2701 face to face, and 92112 and 92113 by video. The fees are lower than the trained-GP items, and the same content and documentation requirements apply. It is strongly recommended that GPs providing mental health treatment have appropriate mental health training.

Last reviewed 6 September 2026