Remuneration for health professional palliative care activities
Many health professionals providing palliative care within the primary health setting experience a unique set of challenges which reduce their capacity to provide optimal end-of-life care. For many health professionals this includes uncertainty around funding mechanisms. Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) remuneration can be obtained by health professionals working within the primary health care setting and can be clearly linked to patient palliative care pathways.
The following links provide practical funding streams for palliative care activities undertaken by health professionals within primary health care.
MBS items supporting GP palliative care provision in primary care
There are a number of MBS items which can be used to remunerate general practitioners for their palliative care services for patients within the primary health care setting.
As of November 2023, new MBS Level E consultation items are available covering consultations of 60 minutes or longer. These items will allow for better management of patients with multimorbidity, in need of advance care planning, palliative care and end-of-life care, or where there are communication challenges (e.g. dementia).
MBS items supporting GP palliative care provision in residential aged care
There is clear guidance on the remuneration that general practitioners can obtain for palliative care services undertaken on patients within residential aged care.
As of November 2023, new MBS Level E consultation items are available covering consultations of 60 minutes or longer. These items will allow for better management of patients with multimorbidity, in need of advance care planning, palliative care and end-of-life care, or where there are communication challenges (e.g. dementia).
Last updated 11 June 2026