Update (18 June 2026): Verbal AoB will continue to be accepted for a 12-month transition period.
The Australian federal government has confirmed that verbal Assignment of Benefit will remain valid for all bulk billed patients during a 12-month transition period from 1 July 2026. This means the manual workaround below is no longer mandatory. You may continue accepting verbal AoB from patients during this time.
We're keeping this guide available for practices who'd prefer to move to documented AoB early, or as a reference for when the transition period ends. We'll update this article as more detail becomes available from Services Australia.
For more updates, you can check the government's AoB updates page: https://www.health.gov.au/our-work/improving-the-assignment-of-benefit-process?language=en
From 1 July 2026, Medicare requires a documented Assignment of Benefit (AoB) for every bulk billed service (Patient claims are not affected by the AoB changes, since there's no Medicare benefit being assigned to a third party). Verbal consent is no longer accepted and patients must provide a written or electronic signature before a Medicare bulk bill claim can be submitted.
Cliniko integrates with Tyro Health to process Medicare claims. Tyro Health is working on an automatic approval process that will let patients sign off on their AoB directly from their phone when a bulk bill claim is raised, but this won't be ready by the 1 July changeover date. Once Tyro Health releases the update, we'll need time to integrate it into Cliniko too.
In the meantime, this article explains how to collect a valid AoB from your patients manually.
This guide applies to digital bulk bill claims. If you're using a physical EFTPOS terminal for bulk billing, this guide doesn't cover that process. Many terminals already have their own built-in AoB process, so check with your terminal provider to confirm.
What is an Assignment of Benefit (AoB)
When a patient is bulk billed, they're agreeing to assign their Medicare benefit directly to the practitioner rather than receiving the payment themselves and then paying the practitioner. This agreement is called an Assignment of Benefit.
Under the updated rules, that agreement must:
Be in writing (physical or electronic)
Include the patient's verifiable agreement (written signature or documented email reply)
Be in place before a Medicare claim is submitted
Be kept on record for at least two years
For more information about the AoB, please refer to Medicare's FAQ
What to do until the Tyro Health automatic process is available
The recommended approach is a post-agreement AoB, which means collecting the patient's signature after the service but before submitting the claim. Here's how to do it using a Cliniko invoice.
Step one: generate the invoice
Create the invoice for the appointment as you normally would. Make sure it includes:
Patient name
Appointment date
Medicare item number
Business name and details
Practitioner name and provider number
Step two: add the AoB statement
The invoice will need to include a statement of assignment. Copy the following to paste into the Notes field on the invoice:
Assignment of Benefit for Bulk Bill claim
Assignment type - post-assignment
Is the assignor the patient - yes/no (circle)
I assign my right to benefits to the health professional who rendered the services.
Name:
Date:
Signature:
Privacy Notice: Services Australia collects and handles your personal information in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988, for the purpose of assessing entitlement to, and administration of, payments and services.
This matches the wording used in the standard Medicare AoB form.
Step three: print and get a signature
Print the invoice and have the patient sign it before you submit the claim via Tyro Health. Keep the signed copy on file for at least two years and provide a copy to the patient if they ask for one.
Here's a short video on how this process looks:
What if a patient doesn't sign?
Without a completed AoB, you should not submit the bulk billing claim. It will be a legal requirement to ensure the AoB is in place prior to the claim being transmitted to Medicare. Currently the only option is to use the manual process.
Once the Tyro Health automated workflow is in place, you will have the option within the claim process to select manual or automatic. If manual, the claim will send through to Medicare, with the expectation that the AoB is in place using an alternative method. For the automated flow, Tyro will send an SMS to the patient to approve (an unsigned or unapproved AoB means the claim stays pending and won't be sent to Medicare). Note: this is not available at the moment.
Telehealth services: email agreement
If you conduct telehealth consultations, Services Australia currently recognises a documented email exchange as a valid AoB wherein the patient's reply to a specific email counts as their agreement. You can read about the requirements at Services Australia.
This guidance is current as of 10 June 2026. We'd recommend checking the Services Australia page after 1 July to confirm the email process remains valid under the updated rules.
The upcoming Tyro Health automatic process
Once Tyro Health releases their automatic approval workflow and we've integrated it into Cliniko, patients will be able to sign off on their AoB from their phone as part of the claims process — no printing required.
If you'd like to stay in the loop on Tyro Health's timeline for this update, you can reach out to their team directly: https://www.tyrohealth.com/support/