Aboriginal Health Taree

The 715 health check — named after its original Medicare item number — is the annual health assessment available at no cost to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, from babies through to elders. It's a comprehensive review covering physical health, social and emotional wellbeing and the preventative care relevant to each life stage, and it's typically delivered by a GP and practice nurse together across a longer appointment.

Depending on age, the check may cover growth and immunisations for children, lifestyle factors and chronic disease risk for adults and mobility, memory and medications for older people, alongside standard measures such as blood pressure, blood sugar and heart health. The check matters beyond the appointment itself — completing one unlocks follow-on Medicare services, including subsidised allied health visits and follow-up care from practice nurses and Aboriginal health practitioners. Bulk billing practices provide the assessment with no out-of-pocket cost, and one is available every nine to twelve months.

The Closing the Gap (CTG) PBS Co-payment Program reduces the cost of prescription medicines for eligible Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Once registered, patients who would normally pay the general PBS rate instead pay the concessional rate, and patients who already hold a concession card pay nothing for their CTG-annotated scripts. The reduction applies at any community pharmacy in Australia.

Registration is a one-off process arranged through a medical practice — a GP or eligible health professional registers the patient with Services Australia, and from then on prescriptions can be written with the CTG annotation. Eligibility extends to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people of any age who would face financial barriers to filling scripts, and since 2021 registration is no longer restricted by geography or chronic disease status. For anyone managing a condition that requires regular medication, the saving compounds quickly — it's worth asking a GP about registration at the next visit.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients can access up to ten individual Medicare-subsidised allied health services per calendar year — double the five available under standard arrangements. These visits cover services such as physiotherapy, podiatry, dietetics, exercise physiology, psychology, audiology and diabetes education, with the mix determined by clinical need.

Access flows through a GP: following an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health assessment or under a chronic condition care plan, the doctor refers directly to the relevant services, and patients can choose their preferred providers. The ten-visit allocation resets each calendar year regardless of when the referral was written. Separate to these, additional follow-up services from practice nurses or Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health practitioners are also available after a health assessment. Rebates may not always cover a provider's full fee, so it's worth confirming billing when booking each service — though many providers bulk bill patients referred under these arrangements.