General practice quick updates for week beginning 12 October 2026
Updates for the week beginning Monday 12 October 2026.
Find this week’s quick updates and alerts for local general practices, covering the latest sector developments, education and training events, key health system updates, funding opportunities and clinical resources relevant to our region. Updates are grouped by focus area for easy reference.
For more information or tailored practice support, contact our Primary Care team at [email protected].
Swish with your sistas – new resources for First Nations women and people with a cervix
To help address low awareness and screening rates in First Nations women, the National Cervical Screening Program has developed tailored resources on cervical screening for First Nations women and people with a cervix.
Co-designed with First Nations women across the country, the Swish with your sistas resources can be used to:
engage and raise awareness of cervical screening
start and guide clinical conversations
provide written instructions on how to do the self-collect test
reassure and provide information for patients who want to know more.
Reaching and empowering First Nations women and people with a cervix who are overdue for screening or who have never screened can save lives.
For more information and digital resources, visit the Swish with your sistas website.
Take part in our self‑paced quality improvement activities to support your practice to achieve higher cervical screening rates. See:
Bulk billing and MyMedicare
MyMedicare and Bulk billing – what practices need to know
MyMedicare is designed to enhance the care patients already receive. Registration helps strengthen the relationship with their preferred GP or practice and may open access to new or expanded services over time.
MyMedicare registration supports better continuity of care, and patients can still access bulk billing as usual, with no changes to the practice’s billing approach.
Bulk billing continues to be guided by the GP’s or practice’s usual clinical and business approach, so patients can expect the same level of access and support they already experience. MyMedicare simply adds extra benefits on top of existing care.
The Bulk Billing Practice Incentive Program (BBPIP)
Practices participating in BBPIP receive an additional 12.5% incentive payment on every $1 of the MBS benefits paid from eligible services, split evenly (50/50) between the GP and the practice.
Participating practices must bulk bill every eligible MBS service for all their Medicare eligible patients to receive the incentive payment. The full list of BBPIP eligible MBS services is available on the department’s website.
Eligible MBS services include the most common GP services such as time-tiered consultation items, health assessments, mental health treatment items and chronic condition management items.
The BBPIP incentive payment is in addition to MBS benefits paid, and MBS BBIs are paid independently of the BBPIP incentive payments.
Practices participating in BBPIP must promote their participation by:
registering as a fully bulk billing practice in healthdirect Australia’s National Health Services Directory (NHSD)
displaying Medicare Bulk Billing Practice signage on-site
Resources
The Department’s website for the BBPIP and the MyMedicare Program
BBPIP: eligble services
BBPIP: register or update details on the healthdirect National Health Services Directory.
Caring for patients after custody? The Viewer can help
Did you know that healthcare information for people who have been in custody may now be available through The Viewer? As people transition from custody back into the community, general practice plays a critical role in ensuring continuity of care. GPs and other eligible health practitioners working in the Brisbane South PHN region can use The Viewer to access available clinical information from multiple Queensland Health systems, including healthcare information recorded during periods of custody from 2025-26 onwards.
Join the growing number of health practitioners using The Viewer to support informed, timely and patient-centred care and reduce the need for separate medical records requests.
Fact sheet: The Viewer - Non-Queensland Health staff
Website: Accessing The Viewer as an external provider | Queensland Health
Support is available through the Queensland Health Viewer Help Desk:
Phone: 1300 478 439
Email: [email protected]
Heat Health Webinar with Queensland Chief Health Officer Dr Marianne Gale
Extreme heat is a significant and growing public health challenge in Queensland, contributing to increased illness, hospitalisation, and deaths, particularly among vulnerable populations. General practitioners and primary care teams play an important role in identifying patients at risk, providing preventative advice, and supporting heat health preparedness within their communities.
In this webinar, Queensland’s Chief Health Officer, Dr Marianne Gale, will provide an overview of the health impacts of extreme heat, including current trends and the factors placing Queensland communities at increased risk. Participants will also hear practical insights from a rural GP on heat preparedness across tertiary and primary healthcare settings.
The session will showcase the latest Queensland research and guidance on heat health management, along with resources to support the identification of vulnerable patients, patient education, and practice preparedness. Participants will gain practical strategies to help reduce heat-related health risks and improve patient outcomes.
Thursday 28 October 2026; 7pm-8pm;
Online via Zoom; Free;
CPD hours: EA:1 hour.
Register: https://www.racgp.org.au/racgp-digital-events-calendar/online-event-items/webinars/qld-heat-health