November 2025 MBS Changes to Mental Health Treatment Plans: What They Mean for You (Updated 2026)

Updated October 2026. This article explains Medicare changes that started on 1 November 2025.

Since 1 November 2025, a Mental Health Treatment Plan (often called a Mental Health Care Plan) under Medicare’s Better Access initiative must be prepared by a GP at your MyMedicare practice or by your usual GP. Telehealth plans are no longer exempt from the rule that you need an existing relationship with the practice. Your access to Medicare-subsidised psychology sessions hasn’t changed: it’s still up to 10 individual and 10 group sessions each calendar year with a valid referral.

Here’s what changed, what stayed the same and what it means if you need mental health support now.

What changed on 1 November 2025

The Australian Government made several changes to the GP mental health items on the Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS). In plain terms:

• Who can prepare your plan. A Mental Health Treatment Plan (MHTP), and the referral for psychology or other mental health treatment that comes with it, must now come from a GP at the practice where you’re registered in MyMedicare, or from your “usual medical practitioner”.
• Telehealth rules. GP mental health planning by telehealth used to be exempt from the “12-month rule”, which normally requires you to have seen the practice in person in the past 12 months before Medicare will cover a telehealth consultation. That exemption was removed for plan preparation, reviews and referrals.
• Plan reviews and mental health consultations. The separate Medicare items for reviewing a plan and for a GP mental health consultation were removed. GPs now use standard consultation items for these, and the same MyMedicare or usual GP requirements apply when they review a plan or write a new referral.

The changes are explained in the Department of Health’s Better Access factsheet on MBS Online and in the RACGP’s summary of changes to MBS mental health items for GPs.

What stayed the same

• Session numbers. With a valid plan and referral, you can still claim up to 10 individual and 10 group sessions per calendar year with an eligible mental health professional.
• Older referrals. A referral dated before 1 November 2025 stays valid until all the sessions it covers have been used.
• Psychiatrist pathways. A psychiatrist or paediatrician can still assess you and refer you for treatment under Better Access.
• GP support. Any GP can still see you about your mental health, talk through your options, start or review treatment if clinically appropriate and refer you to a psychiatrist or other specialist.

Who counts as your “usual GP”?

Under the new rules, your usual medical practitioner is a GP (or a practice) who has provided most of your GP care in the past 12 months, or who is likely to provide most of your care over the next 12 months. You can choose who that is, whether or not you’ve registered for MyMedicare.

If you’re registered in MyMedicare, your MyMedicare practice can prepare your plan. If you’re not registered and want your plan done by video, you’ll also need to have had at least one face-to-face Medicare service with that practice in the past 12 months.

What this means for you

If you already have a plan

If your referral was written before 1 November 2025, you can keep using it until the sessions it covers are used up. When you need a review or a new referral, book with your usual GP or MyMedicare practice.

If you need a new plan

1. Choose your usual GP. If you already have a regular GP or clinic, start there.
2. Consider registering for MyMedicare. You can register with a practice you’ve visited. Ask your clinic, or read about MyMedicare on the Services Australia website.
3. Book a longer appointment. Tell the clinic you’d like a mental health plan so they can allow enough time.

If you don’t have a regular GP

This is the situation the changes affect most. It may help to pick a local clinic you’re happy to keep seeing and book an in-person visit there. In the meantime, the government-funded Medicare Mental Health service can help you find support. Its phone line, 1800 595 212, is free and open 8:30 am to 5 pm on weekdays, and Medicare Mental Health Centres take walk-ins without a referral.

When to get urgent help

If you or someone else is in immediate danger, call 000 or go to your nearest emergency department.

If you need to talk to someone now:

• Lifeline: 13 11 14 (24 hours, 7 days)
• Beyond Blue: 1300 22 4636 (24 hours, 7 days)

How Teldoc can help

Teldoc’s AHPRA-registered GPs see patients by phone or video, 7 days a week from 9 am to 7 pm (Sydney time). Because of the November 2025 changes:

• We provide Mental Health Treatment Plans only for patients experiencing homelessness. These are bulk billed with a valid Medicare card.
• For everyone else, we recommend seeing your usual GP or MyMedicare practice for a plan.
• Our GPs can still provide mental health consultations: a chance to talk through how you’re feeling, start or review treatment if clinically appropriate, and refer you to a psychiatrist or other specialist where needed.

Mental health consultations are $55 on weekdays and $75 on weekends and public holidays, with no Medicare rebate. They’re bulk billed for patients experiencing homelessness. Teldoc doesn’t provide psychology services. See our fees page and mental health plans page for details. For more on plans in general, read Mental Health Treatment Plans explained.

Frequently asked questions

Can I still get a Mental Health Care Plan by telehealth?

Yes, but only from your MyMedicare practice or your usual GP. If you’re not registered in MyMedicare, you need to have had a face-to-face Medicare service with that practice in the past 12 months for a video plan to be covered by Medicare.

Is my old Mental Health Care Plan still valid?

A referral dated before 1 November 2025 stays valid until all the sessions it covers have been used. After that, you’ll need your usual GP or MyMedicare practice for a review or new referral.

Did the number of Medicare-subsidised psychology sessions change?

No. With a valid referral you can still claim up to 10 individual and 10 group sessions per calendar year under Better Access.

Can Teldoc prepare my Mental Health Care Plan?

Teldoc provides Mental Health Care Plans only for patients experiencing homelessness. These plans are bulk billed with a valid Medicare card. Other patients should see their usual GP or MyMedicare practice. Our GPs can still provide private mental health consultations and specialist referrals.

What if I don’t have a regular GP?

Consider choosing a local clinic you can keep seeing and booking an in-person visit. Medicare Mental Health (1800 595 212) is a free government service that can help you find support in the meantime.

This article is general health information and isn’t a substitute for advice from your own doctor. If you’re worried about your health, speak to a GP. In an emergency, call 000.

Medically reviewed by Dr Vafa Derakshan (MBBS, FRACGP), September 2026