General practice, allied health and other primary care services

Web article

Last updated: 26 Mar 2026

AIHW (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare) (2026) General practice, allied health and other primary care services, AIHW, Australian Government, accessed 5 June 2026.

What is primary care?

Primary care is health care people seek first in their community, such as from general practitioners (GPs), pharmacists, allied health professionals, midwives, dentists, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (First Nations) health workers.

Services can be provided in the home or in community-based settings such as general practices, Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations, community health centres, local government and non-government clinics or practices. Services can be provided face-to-face, via telehealth or via video consultations.

Comprehensive data on primary care are limited, but robust existing sources include claims information relating to Medicare-subsidised services, patient-reported experiences of primary care and primary care expenditure.

Information on this page comes from the:

Australian Institute of Health and Welfare's (AIHW)
- analysis of the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing's Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) data collection
- Health Expenditure Database
Australian Bureau of Statistics' (ABS)
- estimated resident population (ERP) as at 30 June 2017 to 2024
- Patient Experiences survey – Barriers to health service use.

Primary care service use

In 2024–25, there were around 200.3 million non-hospital Medicare-subsidised primary care services in Australia. This includes:

167.2 million GP attendances
28.0 million allied health attendances
5.1 million services provided by nurses and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health workers (AIHW 2026b).

These 3 categories combined are referred to as 'Medicare-subsidised primary care services' on this page.

There were a further 56.7 million non-hospital Medicare-subsidised services for specialist attendances (26.8 million) and diagnostic imaging services (30.0 million) (AIHW 2026b).

Trends over time

Between 2017–18 and 2024–25, the proportion of people who received a primary care service fluctuated and was likely impacted by the COVID‑19 pandemic (Figure 1).

In 2020–21, the proportion of people who received services from nursing and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health workers peaked (8.3%). The proportion of people who had a GP attendance peaked in 2021–22 (90%). For more information about how COVID‑19 may have impacted the data reported in this report, see Primary care services and the effects of COVID‑19.

Figure 1: Proportion of people who received a primary care service, 2017–18 to 2024–25

Year	GP attendances	Allied health attendances	Nursing and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health worker services
2017–18	87.9%	36.7%	6.4%
2018–19	88%	37.5%	7.2%
2019–20	87.6%	35.8%	7.8%
2020–21	85.2%	38.7%	8.3%
2021–22	90%	37.2%	8%
2022–23	86%	38.9%	8%
2023–24	84.4%	38.8%	6.9%
2024–25	83.8%	39.1%	8%

Source: AIHW analysis of Department of Health, Disability and Ageing's Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) data collection; ABS ERP as at 30 June.

Between 2017–18 and 2024–25, the rate (per 100 people) of primary care service provision also changed (Figure 2). The rate of services provided by an allied health professional (about 105 per 100 people) peaked in 2020–21, while the rate of GP services provided peaked in 2021–22 (about 740 services per 100 people). This could be in response to the expansion and uptake of Medicare-subsidised telehealth and COVID‑19 vaccinations during this time (AIHW 2026b).

Figure 2: Rate (per 100 people) of primary care service provision, 2017–18 to 2024–25

Year	GP attendances	Allied health attendances	Nursing and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health worker services
2017–18	627.4	92.3	12.6
2018–19	632	95.9	14
2019–20	643.3	92.3	15.4
2020–21	668.5	104.3	17
2021–22	736	99.2	16.1
2022–23	640.3	102.6	16.6
2023–24	614.3	100.5	15.9
2024–25	614.8	102.9	18.7

Source: AIHW analysis of Department of Health, Disability and Ageing's Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) data collection; ABS ERP as at 30 June.

Primary care services and the effects of COVID-19 Expand

The COVID-19 pandemic had a severe impact on various aspects of everyday life, including health care. The pandemic demonstrated how a health crisis can drastically influence the delivery of primary care services within the community, as seen by changes in consultation styles with patients and the uptake of digital health advancements.

Telehealth in primary care during the COVID-19 pandemic was an essential measure that enabled continuity of care. Between March 2020 and March 2022, around 17 million Australians used over 100 million telehealth consultations (Department of Health 2022).

Many MBS telehealth items introduced on a temporary basis in response to the COVID-19 pandemic have now been made permanent, including telehealth services provided by general practitioners (GPs), medical practitioners, nurse practitioners, participating midwives, and allied health providers (Department of Health, Disability and Ageing 2022).

The introduction of electronic prescribing has allowed continuity of care as well as reduced administrative burden for health care providers through more effective management of prescription refill requests (ADHA 2024). As at April 2024, over 219 million electronic prescriptions have been issued since May 2020 by around 86,000 GP and nurse practitioner prescribers (ADHA 2024). Electronic prescribing is now widely available and forms part of the broader digital health and medicines safety framework in Australia. For more information, see Digital health.

The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic also highlighted the need to further investigate ways to support all Australians' access to primary care services. The use of telehealth services and digital health information was found to be least accessible to those from culturally and linguistically diverse communities, those with low literacy levels, low socioeconomic status and people living in rural and remote areas (NHMRC 2022).

General practice

A general practitioner (GP) is often the first point of contact in the health system, and over time, Australians are seeing GPs more often. From Medicare's inception in 1984 until 2025, the yearly GP services attendance rate has increased from 3.8 to 6.1 visits per person (AIHW 2026a).

GP service attendance rates can change over time, for multifaceted reasons including:

the inclusion and cessation of additional telehealth and COVID‑19 vaccination MBS items provided in response to the pandemic
differing access to appropriate and affordable care for vulnerable population groups
the availability of bulk billing to patients, such as increased bulk billing incentives for GPs during the COVID-19 pandemic (Department of Health and Aged Care 2023b).

Across 2017–18 and 2024–25, more than 8 in 10 Australians had at least one Medicare-subsidised GP attendance. Each year between 2017–18 and 2019–20, this proportion was 88%, but this decreased to 85% in 2021–22 coinciding with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Attendance increased to 90% in 2021–22, coinciding with the expansion of Medicare-subsidised telehealth and the availability of COVID-19 vaccinations. By 2023–24, this proportion had decreased to 84% and was 84% again in 2024–25.

In Australia in 2024–25:

Females (88%) were more likely to see a GP than males (80%) and received more Medicare-subsidised GP attendances per person (7.1, compared with 5.2 for males). This pattern has been consistent since 2017–18.
The rate of Medicare-subsidised GP services per person increased with age and was highest for those aged 80 and over (18 services per person) in 2024–25. This pattern has been consistent since 2017–18.
A higher proportion of people living in metropolitan Primary Health Network (PHN) areas had a Medicare-subsidised GP attendance after-hours (18%), compared with those living in regional PHN areas (9.4%). This was a decrease from 2017–18, where 28% of people living in metropolitan PHN areas and 16% of those living in regional PHN areas had an after-hours attendance (AIHW 2026b).
Of the 167.2 million GP attendances, the most common type of attendance was a Level B consultation (a standard consultation that lasts less than 20 minutes) (105.7 million attendances). This pattern has been consistent since 2017–18.

Allied health

The allied health sector comprises a range of services provided by health practitioners who are generally university qualified and have specialised expertise in preventing, diagnosing and treating a range of conditions and illnesses. Allied health services include Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health workers, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Practitioners, audiologists, chiropractors, diabetes educators, dietitians, exercise physiologists, mental health workers, occupational therapists, osteopaths, physiotherapists, podiatrists, psychologists and speech pathologists.

The MBS does not cover all allied health treatments. Allied health services are also accessed and funded through many arrangements, such as those subsidised by private health insurance or the Department of Veterans’ Affairs.

For more information, see Health of veterans.

In Australia in 2024–25:

About 2 in 5 (39%) Australians received at least one Medicare-subsidised allied health service, largely unchanged since 2017–18.
Females (45%) were more likely to see an allied health professional than males (33%) and received more Medicare-subsidised services per person (1.2, compared with 0.8 for males). This pattern has been consistent since 2017–18.
The number of allied health Medicare-subsidised services per person increased with age and was highest for those aged 80 and over (2.7 services per person), consistent since 2017–18.
The age-standardised rate of Medicare-subsidised allied health services was higher for people living in metropolitan PHN areas (99 services per 100 people) than for people living in regional PHN areas (86 per 100 people).

Of the 28.0 million Medicare-subsidised allied health services provided in 2024–25:

the most common type of service was optometry (11.6 million)
mental health care (including psychologists and other allied mental health) accounted for around 6.7 million services
physical health care accounted for around 5.0 million services
other allied health services accounted for 4.7 million services (AIHW 2026b).

Nursing and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health workers

This section includes information on Medicare-subsidised services provided in non-admitted patient settings by:

nurse practitioners: registered nurses with experience in a clinical specialty
midwives: registered health professionals who care for women's health and wellbeing during pregnancy and childbirth
practice nurses/Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health workers: registered or enrolled nurses, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health practitioners, or Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health workers employed in general practice.

In 2024–25, 8.0% of Australians received at least one Medicare-subsidised nursing or Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health worker service, up from 6.4% in 2017–18 (AIHW 2026b). The most common service was services provided by a practice nurse or Aboriginal health worker.

In Australia, in 2024–25, the following Medicare-subsidised services were provided:

Nurse practitioners provided more than 1.6 million services (6.0 services per 100 people). This was up from around 478,000 services (2.0 per 100 people) in 2017–18.
There were around 261,000 midwifery services, an increase from 2017–18 (84,700).
There were about 3.2 million practice nurse/Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health worker services provided on behalf of a medical practitioner, representing 12 services per 100 people, an increase from 2017–18 (about 2.5 million services or 10 services per 100 people) (AIHW 2026b).

Limitations of Medicare Benefits Schedule data Expand

Health care claims data are generated and collected from the MBS. Most data relates to health goods and services received or performed (indicated by an item number), limited demographics of the patients who received them, who provided the services and at what cost (Department of Health and Aged Care 2021).

Medicare does not cover all health care services and Medicare claims data are limited in being able to indicate the reasons why a patient visited a health care provider, or the actions taken to assist them. This kind of data, as well as data relating to the outcomes and quality of services provided is needed to ensure appropriate and high value care is being delivered.

Barriers to general practitioner service use and experience of care

Australians may delay or not visit a general practitioner (GP) due to cost, service availability and waiting times.

In 2024–25, an estimated 18.5 million Australians aged 15 and over reported needing to see a GP (ABS 2025). Of these, 3 in 10 (27%) reported delaying or not seeing a GP when needed. This proportion fluctuated between 23–30% between 2017–18 and 2024–25.

Of those reporting delaying or not seeing a GP when needed:

3 in 10 (29%) reported delaying or not seeing a GP due to cost. This proportion has increased from 2020–21 (10%).
7 in 10 (71%) reported delaying or not seeing a GP due to reasons other than cost, for instance long waiting time or because the distance to the service was too far. This has steadily decreased from a peak of 90% in 2020–21.

Of those that did see a GP, 1 in 4 (26%) felt that they waited longer than acceptable for a GP appointment. This was an increase from 19% in 2017–18, but a decrease from 30% in 2022–23.

While there can be barriers to accessing a GP, most people who needed to, and who saw a GP, reported positive experiences. Of an estimated 15.8 million Australians aged 15 and over in 2024–25, around:

7 in 10 (74%) reported their GP always listened carefully
8 in 10 (82%) reported their GP always showed respect
7 in 10 (74%) reported their GP always spent enough time with them (ABS 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025).

Expenditure on primary care services

According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) Health Expenditure Database, in 2023–24, one-third ($89.1 billion) of all health spending in Australia was for primary health care. Of this:

$17.8 billion (20%) was for medications other than benefit-paid pharmaceuticals
$16.2 billion (18%) was for benefit-paid pharmaceuticals
$14.6 billion (16%) was for unreferred medical services (mainly general practice) (AIHW 2025).

A further $40.6 billion was spent on other types of primary health care services.

In 2023–24 there was a $0.4 billion (0.5%) decrease in spending in real terms on primary health care from 2022–23. This decrease was mainly due to decreased spending by the Australian Government of $1.0 billion and state and territory governments of $0.6 billion (AIHW 2025).

According to AIHW’s analysis of the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing’s MBS data collection, in 2024–25, around $11.9 billion was paid in Medicare benefits for primary care services, including:

GP attendances ($9.7 billion)
allied health ($2.1 billion)
nursing and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health workers ($141.4 million) (AIHW 2026b).

Primary health care data development

Although primary health care is an important component of Australia’s health care system, the availability of primary health care data remains limited.

This page focuses on Medicare, patient experience and expenditure data sources with national coverage. However, these sources do not provide a complete nor comprehensive insight into primary health care in Australia. Nationally consistent primary health care data is a known information gap for effective population health monitoring, research, policy, and planning. The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) is working to address this gap by developing processes for the governance, standardisation, collection, analysis and reporting of primary health care data within Australia. This work will ultimately form a National Primary Health Care Data Collection (NPHCDC).

The first step we are focused on in building the NPHCDC is a national general practice dataset and the foundations required for the collection, analysis and reporting of data from general practice and from Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations (ACCHOs). Future developments will aim to increase the:

scope of the collection (to include, for example, data on allied health and/or urgent care clinics)
quality of the collection (with the eventual implementation of digital standards through SPARKED/Fast Healthcare Interoperable Resources (FHIR))
uses for the collection (including data linkage)
depth of the collection (by increasing the quality and quantity of variables in the collection).

This work program aims to improve primary health care data and address information gaps relating to why a patient went to a primary health care provider, what occurred during the consultation, what actions were recommended and taken, and with what outcome.

As part of this work program, the AIHW is doing data demonstration projects to inform development of an NPHCDC.

Initially focusing on general practice data, AIHW is partnering with Primary Health Networks (PHNs) and extractor organisations across different projects to explore and understand data collection, quality, consistency, transformations, storage and release methods, including the analytical potential of the data.

These proof-of-concept projects are designed to inform the requirements for an NPHCDC and generate valuable insights into the health of Australians, which are otherwise not available. More information can be found on the AIHW website about the data demonstration projects.

This work program also supports the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing's Primary Health Care 10 Year Plan and Strengthening Medicare Taskforce (see below outline).

The AIHW also releases information from the national Practice Incentives Program Quality Improvement (PIPQI) Eligible Data Set in the report Practice Incentives Program Quality Improvement Measures: annual data update 2024–25, bringing together data provided by PHNs from general practices across 10 Quality Improvement Measures.

Primary Health Care Plan Expand

In August 2019, the Australian Government commissioned the development of a Primary Health Care 10 Year Plan (the Plan). Finalised in 2022, the Plan focusses on Australia’s primary health care services and integration of primary health care with hospitals and other parts of the health system, including aged care, disability care and social care systems (Department of Health and Aged Care 2024). An action area of the Plan includes data-driven quality improvement to support person-centred care data development and linkage projects through collaboration with the AIHW and other peak organisations.

Strengthening Medicare

To support the Plan, the Australian Government brought together health leaders to form the Strengthening Medicare Taskforce (the Taskforce), with a focus on strengthening Medicare to lay the foundations for longer-term reform and investment in the primary care system (Department of Health and Aged Care 2023b).

In December 2022, the Taskforce released the Strengthening Medicare Taskforce Report which details recommendations on increasing access to, and modernisation of, primary care in Australia (Department of Health and Aged Care 2023b). Recommendations included:

modernising My Health Record to significantly increase the health information available to individuals and their health care professionals
better connecting health data across all parts of the health system
investing in better health data for research and evaluation of models of care and to support health system planning
providing an uplift in primary care IT infrastructure, education and support to primary care practices
making it easier for all Australians to access, manage, understand and share their own health information (Department of Health and Aged Care 2023b).

In response to these recommendations, the Australian Government announced a $824 million investment in digital health within the 2023–24 May Budget, including to modernise the My Health Record system and fund other digital health initiatives (Department of Health and Aged Care 2023a). The Australian Government is also introducing the MyMedicare voluntary patient registration system to strengthen the relationship between patients, their general practice, GPs and primary care teams to produce better continuity of care.

Ongoing work to improve primary health care data includes establishing linked primary health care data, which will enhance the evidence for policy, planning, research and practice.

References Expand

ABS (Australian Bureau of Statistics) (2018) Patient experiences, ABS, Australian Government, accessed 13 February 2026.

ABS (2019) Patient experiences, ABS, Australian Government, accessed 13 February 2026.

ABS (2020) Patient experiences, ABS, Australian Government, accessed 13 February 2026.

ABS (2021) Patient experiences, ABS, Australian Government, accessed 13 February 2026.

ABS (2022) Patient experiences, ABS, Australian Government, accessed 13 February 2026.

ABS (2023) Patient experiences, ABS, Australian Government, accessed 13 February 2026.

ABS (2024) Patient experiences, ABS, Australian Government, accessed 13 February 2026.

ABS (2025) Patient experiences, ABS, Australian Government, accessed 13 February 2026.

ADHA (Australian Digital Health Agency) (2024) Electronic prescribing for prescribers, ADHA, Australian Government, accessed 15 January 2026.

AIHW (2025) Health expenditure Australia 2023–24, AIHW, Australian Government, accessed 10 December 2025.

AIHW (2026a) Medicare Benefits Scheme funded services: monthly data, AIHW, Australian Government, accessed 24 February 2026.

AIHW (2026b) Medicare-subsidised GP, allied health and specialist health care across local areas, AIHW, Australian Government, accessed 26 March 2026.

Department of Health (2022) Australia’s Primary Health Care 10 Year Plan 2022–2032, Department of Health, Australian Government, accessed 15 January 2026.

Department of Health and Aged Care (2021) An MBS for the 21st Century Recommendations, Learnings and Ideas for the Future, Department of Health and Aged Care, Australian Government, accessed 15 January 2026.

Department of Health and Aged Care (2023a) Building a stronger Medicare – Budget 2023–24, Department of Health and Aged Care, Australian Government, accessed 15 January 2026.

Department of Health and Aged Care (2023b) Strengthening Medicare Taskforce Report, Department of Health and Aged Care, Australian Government, accessed 15 January 2026.

Department of Health, Disability and Ageing (2022) COVID‑19 Temporary MBS Telehealth Services, Department of Health, Disability and Ageing, Australian Government, accessed 15 January 2026.

NHMRC (National Health and Medical Research Council) (2022) Strengthening Australia’s health system post COVID-19, National COVID‑19 Health and Research Advisory Committee, accessed 15 January 2026.

General practice, allied health and other primary care services

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