Medicare Healthy Kids Check Template (3 Year Old Health Assessment)

What's in this template?

This is a free, 14 page record for the Medicare Healthy Kids Check, the MBS health assessment for a 3 year old that GPs can bill from 1 November 2026. It is built from the instrument that creates the check, F2026L01359 (the Health Insurance Legislation Amendment (2026 Measures No. 3) Regulations 2026, registered 2 October 2026), which inserts clause 2.15.11 in the general medical services table (GMST), and from the MBS Online item descriptors for items 701 to 707 and 224 to 227, MBS note AN.0.36 and the MBS Online factsheet (last updated 9 October 2026).

1. Cover. Practice details, what is in the template, how to use it, and how the record relates to the recall, referral, consent and records policies.
2. Section 1: Instructions. Who does what before, during and after the check: reception (age, a previous check, Medicare eligibility, usual GP, interpreter), the assisting nurse and the GP (supervision, the GP's own time, every part completed) and billing.
3. Section 2: Billing note. The eight items and their fees as at 1 July 2026, the time tiers in the descriptors' own words, and the rules that decide the claim: the GP's own time, no item 10997, communication time, the target group, no health screening service, no separate consultation unless clinically necessary, the usual GP, once per child, and item 715.
4. Part A: The Healthy Kids Check record. Eligibility and the previous-check question, who was present and who consented, then one field for each of the seven required parts: the history under its six headings (with a box for who collected each), the examination (eyesight, hearing, teeth and gums, height, weight, centiles and BMI, with the chart used), the GP's assessment, advice, interventions and referrals, the written report offer and answer, and the medical record. It ends with the GP's start and finish times, the nurse's time recorded separately, the item claimed and a sign-off.
5. Part B: Written report to the parent or carer. A plain-language report under the same headings, for the GP to write when the parent or carer accepts the offer.
6. Part C: Record review checklist. The four tests of an adequate record in MBS note GN.15.39, the Healthy Kids Check points a reviewer can test, the PSR's warning on templates, and record retention.
7. Section 3: Roles, related documents and approval. Who is responsible for what, the sources, and the signature block.
8. Appendix: Healthy Kids Check register. A landscape log, one row per child, so a second check is not booked and referrals are followed up.

Editable placeholder fields

The template uses yellow-highlighted {{ }}Placeholder{{placeholder}} fields: {{ }}Practice name{{practice_name}}, {{ }}Practice address{{practice_address}}, {{ }}Practice phone{{practice_phone}}, {{ }}Clinical software{{clinical_software}}, {{ }}Billing lead{{billing_lead}}, {{ }}Recall lead{{recall_lead}}, {{ }}Audit frequency{{audit_frequency}}, {{ }}Approved by{{approved_by}}, {{ }}Approval date{{approval_date}}, {{ }}Billing signoff date{{billing_signoff_date}}, {{ }}Version number{{version_number}}, {{ }}Effective date{{effective_date}} and {{ }}Next review date{{next_review_date}}. Every field in Parts A and B is left blank, to be completed for each child at the time of the check.

No clinical content is added. The instrument requires an assessment against "age-appropriate developmental milestones" and growth "against published centile charts", but names no tool or chart, so the record leaves a space for the GP to name the one used. The factsheet says only: "Practitioners may wish to use publicly available, evidence-based guidelines when conducting the assessment, as relevant to the child."

A record of one check, not a recall system

This template records what happened in one child's check. Finding the children who are 3, following up the referrals the check makes, and deciding who may consent for a child are each handled by a different document:

A worked example. Reception books a check for a 3 year old whose family is new to the practice. The recall policy found the child; this record shows the parent was asked about a previous check, that the GP's own attendance ran from 9:05 to 9:42, and that a referral was made. The register in the appendix lists that referral, and the results and referrals policy is what makes sure someone checks the appointment happened. Each document does its own job, and the record links them.

What the instrument and the MBS actually require

Who is eligible

Item 1 of Schedule 1 to F2026L01359 adds paragraph (h) to GMST subclause 2.15.2(1): "a Medicare Healthy Kids Check, in accordance with clause 2.15.11, for a patient who: (i) is 3 years old; and (ii) has not already received such an assessment; and (iii) is not an in-patient of a hospital". The factsheet says the service "is available once per child per lifetime" for "Medicare eligible 3-year-olds".

On our reading of "is 3 years old", the last eligible day is the day before the fourth birthday. A practice cannot see a check claimed elsewhere, so the record asks the parent at booking and again at the start of the check, and keeps the answer.

The seven parts the record must show

Clause 2.15.11(2) says the health assessment "must include the following":

Which item to bill

There is no new item number. The item depends on the practitioner type and, under AN.0.36, "the personal attendance time":

Every item carries a 100% benefit (MBS Online, fees updated 1 July 2026). The table in AN.0.36 words two boundaries differently from the descriptors ("at least 30 minutes" and "more than 60 minutes"), so the record keeps the real start and finish times.

A practice nurse, or an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health worker or health practitioner, may assist under the GP's supervision with "information collection" and, at the GP's direction, with information on recommended interventions (GMST clause 2.15.14(4) and (5)). The items, though, "apply only to a service provided in the course of a personal attendance by a single general practitioner on a single patient" (clause 2.15.1(1)). On our reading, nurse time without the GP does not count toward the tier, which is why the record has a separate box for it. The PSR Director's update for August 2026 records a GP whose persisting concerns included "time spent by a practice nurse with the patient as part of the attendance time"; that GP agreed to repay $280,000.

AN.0.36 also says item 10997 "may not be claimed in conjunction with these items", and that where a patient is eligible for more than one health assessment, the practitioner should "identify which target group the health assessment relates to when submitting claims to Services Australia". Services Australia's health assessment billing page is blunt about the second point: "If you don't specify that the subsequent health assessment was for a different target group, we'll reject your claim."

What a reviewer looks for

MBS note GN.15.39 says PSR Committees "have been obliged to consider if the practitioner kept adequate and contemporaneous records" since 1 November 1999. An adequate record names the patient, has "a separate entry for each attendance", explains the service, and is "sufficiently comprehensible that another practitioner, relying on the record, can effectively undertake the patient's ongoing care". The same PSR update records another GP whose persisting concerns included "failing to record a separate entry for each attendance or modify templates to reflect the correct details of each patient"; that GP agreed to repay $365,000. That is why every finding field in this template starts blank.

How to customise this template

1. Download the template and fill in the placeholders on the cover and in Sections 1 to 3.
2. Build Part A into your clinical software as a template, or print it. Check that no field defaults to a normal finding, and that the GP can see which fields the nurse collected.
3. Decide which developmental milestone guideline and centile charts your GPs will use, and tell them to name it in the record. The instrument does not prescribe one.
4. Brief reception on the age check and the previous-check question, using our Recall and Reminder System Policy to invite every child who is 3.
5. Brief billing staff on Section 2: the item comes from the GP's recorded time, the target group goes on the claim, and item 10997 is never claimed with the check.
6. Map your local referral pathways (paediatric, allied health, early childhood and Thriving Kids supports as they reach your state), so referrals in Part A7 go somewhere specific.
7. Run the Part C checklist on a sample of records after the first month, then at the frequency you set.
8. Review the template when the MBS descriptors, AN.0.36 or the factsheet change, and at least annually.

Related templates and tools

• Recall and Reminder System Policy: finds and invites the children who are 3, and sets the follow-up attempts.
• Follow-up of Tests, Results and Referrals Policy: tracks each referral the check makes until the loop is closed.
• Informed Consent Procedures: who may consent for a child, and how consent is documented.
• Health Records Management: keeping, correcting and retaining the child's record.
• Medical record retention calculator: how long a child's record must be kept in your state or territory.
• Medicare Healthy Kids Check from 1 November 2026: the full explanation of the items, the time rule, once per lifetime and item 715.
• MBS changes from 1 November 2026: everything else that changes on the same day.
• NDIS Thriving Kids: the supports a Healthy Kids Check referral may lead to.

Frequently asked questions

What must a Medicare Healthy Kids Check record include?

The seven parts in GMST clause 2.15.11(2): a history under six headings, a basic physical examination (eyesight, hearing, teeth and gums, height, weight, centiles and BMI), the GP's assessment, advice to the parent or carer, interventions and referrals, a record added to the medical record, and the offer of a written report. For the claim, also record the GP's own start and finish times and the parent's answer about a previous check.

Which item number do I use for a Healthy Kids Check?

There is no new item number. A GP bills item 701, 703, 705 or 707 and a prescribed medical practitioner bills item 224, 225, 226 or 227, chosen by the practitioner's own personal attendance time under MBS note AN.0.36. The fees run from $71.00 to $321.75 for GPs and $56.85 to $257.40 for prescribed medical practitioners, each with a 100% benefit.

Can a practice nurse complete the Healthy Kids Check template?

A nurse can fill in parts of it, under the GP's supervision. GMST clause 2.15.14 lets practice nurses and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health workers and health practitioners assist with information collection and, at the GP's direction, give information on recommended interventions. The check itself is a personal attendance by the GP, and on our reading the nurse's time does not set the tier. The template records the nurse's time separately.

Does this template include developmental screening tools or thresholds?

No. The instrument requires "an assessment of the patient against age-appropriate developmental milestones" and growth against "published centile charts", but names no tool, chart or threshold, and the GMST says a health assessment must not include a health screening service. The template leaves a space for the GP to name the guideline and chart used.

How do I show the child has not had a Healthy Kids Check before?

Ask. The instrument requires that the child "has not already received such an assessment", and a practice cannot see a claim made by another practice. The template records the parent's answer at booking and again at the start of the check, who asked, and the date. If the parent is unsure, record that too.

Does the parent have to accept the written report?

No. Clause 2.15.11(2)(g) requires the GP to offer "a written report on the health assessment to the patient's parent or carer, with recommendations on matters covered by the health assessment". The template records the offer, the answer and the date the report was given, and Part B is the report itself.

Can a 4 year old have a Medicare Healthy Kids Check?

No. The instrument applies to a child who "is 3 years old", so on our reading the last eligible day is the day before the fourth birthday. The factsheet says children over 4, and 3 year olds who need more than one assessment, "can continue to access MBS time-tiered attendance items".

Is the Healthy Kids Check template free?

Yes. It is a free, editable Word document. Enter your email address on this page and we email you a link to download it.