Assignment of Benefit changes 2026: what the new transition period means for your practice

**Last updated June 30,2026: this is a developing story, and we are updating it as the Department confirms detail.**

The Medicare Assignment of Benefit (AoB) changes still commence on 1 July 2026, but the picture has shifted. On 18 June 2026, following representations from the Australian Medical Association and others, the Government announced a 12-month transition period with several concessions for bulk-billed services. Most significantly, verbal assignment of benefit will continue to be available in all settings during the transition, and the Department has signalled an education-first approach rather than immediate compliance action.

For practices, the changes are real and worth preparing for, but you have time, and you should not fear compliance action while you work through how to implement them.

We’ve been preparing for this throughout. Genie and Gentu are being updated to support the new process, and we’re continuing that work through the transition. But while we build the tools that make compliance easier, confirming how your practice meets its obligations remains a step for you. The authoritative source is the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing (DoHDA) Assignment of Benefit page.

What changed on 18 June 2026

The original 1 July rules would have ended verbal consent for every bulk-billed service, including telehealth, from day one. Practices and software providers raised that the timeline was unworkable, particularly for aged care and Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (ACCHO) settings, and that the lack of an enduring (standing) consent option made it harder still.

In response, the Government will make regulatory amendments to support the 12-month transition, with the following concessions:

• Verbal assignment of benefit continues for all bulk-billed patients, in all settings, during the transition period. The move to recorded consent is still coming, but not as a hard cutover on 1 July.
• Enduring assignment of benefit is brought forward to 1 July 2026 (from the previously flagged 2027 date). Patients registered with MyMedicare, residents of aged care homes, and patients of ACCHOs and Aboriginal Medical Services (AMSs) will be able to make an enduring assignment for ongoing GP bulk-billed services, consenting once rather than every visit, either directly or through a person acting on their behalf.
• Education-first compliance. The Department has said compliance activity will not begin until the regulatory changes are complete, starting with prevention and education rather than enforcement.
• The Department will use the 12 months to explore further options to reduce the administrative burden on practices and patients while maintaining Medicare integrity.

These concessions only apply to bulk billing; the Department has been explicit that they do not change the new requirements for simplified billing arrangements.

How enduring assignment works for eligible patients

Enduring assignment lets a patient give standing consent once for ongoing GP bulk-billed services, rather than at every visit. From 1 July 2026, the way it works depends on the setting:

• MyMedicare-registered patients can make a single enduring agreement covering all the GPs at their registered MyMedicare practice, where the practice offers it.
• Patients of an ACCHO or AMS can make an enduring agreement with the ACCHO or AMS, and can hold multiple agreements across multiple ACCHOs or AMSs.
• Residential aged care residents can make multiple enduring agreements with different practitioners.

In each case the agreement can be made directly by the patient or by a person acting on their behalf. Check the DoHDA website for the agreement detail, as the Department is updating them to cover how enduring agreements are established.

What’s still changing and worth preparing for

The transition softens the timeline, but the direction away from paper-based processes toward recorded, digital-friendly consent, is unchanged. Over the transition and beyond, expect:

• A move away from verbal and paper-based consent toward recorded agreements (digital or physical) for bulk-billed services. Verbal assignment remains available through the transition, until 1 July 2027.
• No mandatory approved form. There is no standard DB4 or DB020 form; any agreement needs to contain the information the regulations require, but practices can use Department templates, software-provided forms, or their own.
• No practitioner co-signature for bulk bill, the requirement for the provider to sign falls away.
• Consent captured before or after the service, as long as it is in place before the Medicare claim is lodged.
• Record-keeping obligations, requiring practices to retain bulk-bill agreements for at least two years, with a copy to the patient on request.

In short, the bulk-billing process itself doesn’t change. What changes is how patient consent is captured, recorded, and stored.

 

Bulk bill versus simplified billing

The two pathways now sit on different footings.

Bulk bill (now with a 12-month transition)

For bulk-billed services, verbal consent continues to be available during the transition, and enduring assignment is available from 1 July 2026 for eligible patients (MyMedicare, aged care, ACCHO/AMS). When you do move to recorded consent, it can be captured in two ways:

• Pre-assignment: the agreement is captured before the consult. It needs only a basic description of the service, not specific item numbers, and can cover ongoing episodic treatment up to six months in advance. That makes it well suited to initial patient information packs, completion in the waiting room, or emailing ahead of a telehealth appointment.
• Post-assignment: much like the current process, the agreement is captured after the consult and must specify the item(s) charged for the service bulk-billed. It suits in-clinic appointments where a form can easily be provided after the service.

Either way, the agreement must be in place before the claim is submitted.

Simplified billing (unchanged by the concessions)

For simplified billing through ECLIPSE (the online claiming channel for privately insured services), the new requirements apply as planned. The distinction is between implied and requested assignment:

• Implied assignment is automatic where an insurer arrangement applies, for example, gap cover. No patient signature is needed, and this remains the default for most inpatient services.
• Requested assignment applies when you operate outside an existing insurer arrangement. Here the patient must explicitly consent, and the practice facilitates that request with a claim declaration.

If the implied-versus-requested distinction isn’t clear for a particular claim, your partner health funds and Services Australia are the right people to confirm it with.

When a new Assignment of Benefit is needed

The claim you lodge must match the agreement the patient signed. If the details change after the agreement is captured, you need a fresh Assignment of Benefit. The changes that may trigger this could include:

• a change in the service date
• a change in the servicing provider’s details
• a change in the referring provider’s details
• a change in the item number.

It’s also worth noting that every claim sent on or after 1 July 2026 is affected, regardless of when the service was delivered. Any such claim needs an Assignment of Benefit that complies with the new legislation.

Record-keeping: what you keep, and for how long

Record-keeping remains a practice responsibility.

• Bulk bill: retain the completed agreement for at least two years, with a copy provided to the patient on request.
• Simplified billing: signed agreements are required in limited circumstances, with records kept for seven years.

A key point: in Genie and Gentu, confirming an Assignment of Benefit on an invoice is saved as a record, but the signed agreement document itself is for your practice to retain, whether as a paper file or a copy scanned into the patient record (more on how this works in the next section). Deciding now how you’ll store and retrieve those documents over the retention period will save friction later.

How Genie and Gentu support the changes

We’ve built support for the new process into the workflows you already use, rather than bolting on a separate system. Because Gentu is cloud-based, updates reach you without anything to install, which also means we can keep pace as the Department refines the detail through the transition. For Genie, a new, fully compliant version is available now; we recommend that practices update to it as soon as possible, so the AoB workflow and claim indicators are in place ahead of 1 July.

Forms to capture consent: Both products will offer pre-assignment and post-assignment forms you can choose to use, alongside the claim field. Because there’s no standard approved form anymore, you’re free to use your own compliant form instead, ours are there to make life easier, not to lock you in.

A declaration built into the invoice screen: For both bulk bill and simplified billing through ECLIPSE, the invoice screen prompts at claim time to confirm a valid Assignment of Benefit was captured, with an additional checkbox for bulk bill, and options to record whether a relevant health fund claim is implied or requested. It’s part of the workflow you already know, not a separate step.

Nothing falls through the cracks: If you haven’t captured the assignment yet, or you’re not sure of the claim type when you reach the invoice, you’re not blocked. In Gentu you can save the invoice to the unresolved invoices area, where a status column shows where each one stands, and a filter lets you pull up exactly the invoices still waiting on their declaration. You work through them and claim once they’re sorted.

What the first release doesn’t do: The first release doesn’t store the signed form for you automatically, and it doesn’t provide end-to-end digital capture inside the system. Digital acceptance is still very doable, for example, you can print a form to PDF, send it to a patient electronically, and they can sign and return it. Third-party pathways for digital assignment also exist in the market. We’ll share more detailed in-product guidance as the transition progresses.

The Department has asked providers and software vendors that have prepared, or are preparing, for the new arrangements to continue that work. We are building the support now, and keeping it aligned as the detail settles over the transition.

What if you can’t update Genie before 1 July?

Updating to the compliant version is the recommended path, but if a practice hasn’t updated by 1 July, here’s what to expect: Bulk bill claims will still send. An Assignment of Benefit is required, but it can be captured verbally for the 12-month transition, or via a pre-assignment or post-assignment form.

Simplified billing claims may be affected. Claims will still reach Medicare, but some funds may reject those that don’t carry the Requested or Implied indicators, and those indicators are only available in the new version. Forms are only required for requested assignment, the required information can be added to any letter or form in Genie.

The short version: updating removes the uncertainty, particularly for simplified billing. We recommend doing it as soon as you can.

What your practice needs to do

The transition gives you some breathing room to take the necessary actions. Here is a short checklist:

1. Read the legislation and FAQs: Start with the DoHDA AoB page, which is being updated frequently. Treat the Department as the source of truth on your obligations.
2. Note the transition concessions: Verbal consent continues during the transition, enduring assignment is available from 1 July 2026 for MyMedicare, aged care and ACCHO/AMS patients.
3. Update your software: If you’re on Genie, update to the compliant version as soon as you can so the AoB workflow and claim indicators are in place; Gentu users receive the update automatically.
4. Confirm the grey areas: Where the implied-versus-requested distinction or a specific claim type is unclear, especially for simplified billing, which is unchanged by the concessions, check with your partner health funds and Services Australia.
5. Review your workflows: Consider how recorded pre- and post-assignment will eventually fit your billing, consent, and reception processes.
6. Brief your team: Update your wider team on what’s changing and, just as importantly, on what hasn’t changed yet.
7. Decide how you’ll store signed agreements: Plan how you can retain and retrieve them for the two-year (bulk bill) or seven-year (simplified billing) periods.
8. Plan a review point: Schedule a date during the transition to check exception rates and any claims rejected for a missing declaration, and to fold in the Department’s updated guidance as it lands.

How we’ll keep you informed

This is a developing story, and we’ll be including more in-product material and resources through Magentus | Academy and upcoming webinars. If you’re a Genie or Gentu user, you can be confident the necessary work is underway and continuing through the transition.

 

Frequently asked questions

What is an Assignment of Benefit? It’s the agreement by which a patient directs their Medicare benefit to be paid to the provider rather than to themselves. For a bulk-billed service, it confirms the patient agrees to the Medicare rebate being accepted as full payment.

Have the 1 July 2026 changes been delayed? The changes still commence on 1 July 2026, but on 18 June 2026 the Government announced a 12-month transition period with concessions for bulk billing. The most significant is that verbal assignment of benefit continues to be available in all settings during the transition.

Is verbal consent still allowed? Yes, for bulk-billed services during the 12-month transition period announced on 18 June 2026, in all settings, until 1 July 2027. The longer-term direction is still a move to recorded consent, so it’s worth preparing, but there is no hard cutover on 1 July 2026 for bulk bill. Confirm the current position on the DoHDA page, as detail is being finalised.

What is enduring assignment of benefit? A standing consent that a patient gives once for ongoing GP bulk-billed services, rather than every visit. It has been brought forward to 1 July 2026 for patients registered with MyMedicare, residents of aged care homes, and patients of ACCHOs and AMSs. How it works varies by setting, for example, a MyMedicare patient can make one agreement covering all GPs at their registered practice, while an aged care resident can make multiple agreements with different practitioners.

Does this affect telehealth? The original rules would have ended verbal consent for telehealth from 1 July. Under the transition, verbal assignment of benefit continues in all settings, which includes telehealth, during the 12-month period. Recorded consent is still the longer-term direction.

Does the transition change simplified billing? No. The concessions apply to bulk billing. The Department has been explicit that the new requirements for simplified billing arrangements are not changed and still apply from 1 July 2026.

Do I still need the DB4 form? There’s no standard DB4 or DB020 approved form. You can use a Services Australia template, a software-provided form, or your own form, provided it contains all the information the regulations require.

How long do I need to keep AoB records? At least two years for bulk-billed services, and seven years for simplified billing in the limited circumstances where a signed agreement is required. A copy must be provided to the patient on request.

Will Genie and Gentu be ready? Yes. Both are being updated to support the new process, and the Department has asked vendors already preparing to continue that work, which we are.

Do I need to update Genie? Yes. A new, fully compliant version of Genie is available, and we recommend practices update as soon as possible so the AoB workflow and the Requested/Implied claim indicators are in place.

What if I can’t update Genie before 1 July? Bulk bill claims will still send; an Assignment of Benefit is required but can be captured verbally during the 12-month transition, or via a pre- or post-assignment form. Simplified billing is where it matters more: claims will still reach Medicare, but some funds may reject those without the Requested or Implied indicators, which are only in the new version. Updating removes that uncertainty.

 

This article is general information to help practices prepare and does not constitute legal, billing, or compliance advice. The Assignment of Benefit arrangements are subject to regulatory amendment and the detail is being finalised; your practice is responsible for confirming and meeting its own obligations. For authoritative, current detail, refer to the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing.