MyMedicare is a voluntary registration that formally links you to the practice you already think of as your regular GP. It costs nothing, you can leave whenever you like, and since late 2025 it affects where some of your care has to be arranged.
What MyMedicare actually is
MyMedicare is a voluntary patient registration model run by the Australian Government. You nominate the practice that provides most of your care, and you can nominate a preferred GP within it. Both you and the practice have to agree to the registration.
It is free. It is voluntary. It does not lock you in — you can still see any doctor you like, anywhere, and you can withdraw or change practices at any time with no effect on your Medicare entitlements. Patients who choose not to register receive exactly the same standard of care.
What it does is make the relationship formal in the system, which lets Medicare fund a few things that only make sense when there is a known, ongoing relationship between a patient and a practice.
What registration actually gets you
- Longer Medicare-funded telephone consultations. Registered patients can access longer telephone consultations with their practice — the sort of call where there is something real to work through, not just a quick question. See telehealth.
- Continuity of care. Your history, your medicines, your results and your context sit with one team. That is not an administrative nicety — it is the single biggest reason primary care works better over time.
- Chronic condition management through your own practice. If you are registered, your chronic condition management plan is prepared and reviewed at the practice you are registered with. More on care plans.
- Mental health plans through your own practice. Since 1 November 2025, mental health treatment plans are prepared and reviewed either at your registered practice or by your usual doctor. See mental health care.
- More regular GP care in residential aged care, for patients who live in a facility, through the General Practice in Aged Care Incentive. See care for older adults.
Why it matters more than it did
When MyMedicare launched, registering was mostly about continuity and the occasional longer telehealth appointment. Two changes have made it more concrete.
From 1 July 2025, GP Management Plans and Team Care Arrangements were replaced by a single GP Chronic Condition Management Plan. Patients who are registered with a practice access those plans through the practice they are registered with. Patients who are not registered access them through their usual GP. Either way the care is the same — but the system now expects the plan to sit with the practice that knows you.
From 1 November 2025, the same principle was applied to mental health treatment plans, and the bulk billing incentives were extended to all Medicare-eligible patients. Practices taking part in the Bulk Billing Practice Incentive Program have to be registered in MyMedicare themselves.
The practical upshot
- Registration is still free and still voluntary.
- If you already treat one practice as your regular GP, registering simply makes that official.
- It matters most for people with an ongoing condition, a mental health plan, or a need for longer phone consultations.
- You are not giving anything up. You can leave at any time.
How to register with Gosford Doctors
There are two ways, and neither takes long.
- At reception. Ask next time you are in and we will start the registration for you. You will need to have visited the practice at least twice in the past two years, which for most of our patients is already true.
- Through your Medicare online account or the Express Plus Medicare app. Search for the practice, select it, and confirm. We then accept the registration at our end.
If you are not sure whether you are already registered, ask reception or check the MyMedicare section of your Medicare online account. If you want to talk it through first, mention it at your next appointment — it is a reasonable thing to ask about, and it takes two minutes.
This article is general information for people in the Gosford and Central Coast area. It is not advice about your situation and it does not replace a consultation with your own doctor. If you are worried about a symptom, book an appointment or call us on (02) 4311 3800. In an emergency, call 000.
Back to the Health Journal