Check Your Medicare Account: $272 Million in Rebates Unclaimed

Nearly 1 million Australians have hundreds of dollars sitting in their Medicare account that they don't know about. The total unclaimed amount has reached $272 million.

The money is owed to people who visited the doctor but haven't claimed their rebates. The reason is simple: they haven't registered their bank details with Services Australia.

The average amount owed is $280. But 309 Australians are owed $10,000 or more. A handful are owed more than $30,000, though Services Australia acknowledges some of those people could be deceased.

Young Australians Most Affected

More than 253,000 of the 972,300 people owed money are aged between 18 and 24. That's more than 26 per cent of the total.

Hank Jongen, general manager of Services Australia, said the problem is that many people enter Medicare in 'set and forget' mode.

"Believe it or not, it's simply because we don't have their bank account details," Jongen told triple j Hack.

Once bank details are registered, the money lands automatically in your account. No claim forms, no waiting.

How to Check and Claim

Log in to your myGov account and link it to Medicare if you haven't already. Check your Medicare claims history to see if any rebates are pending.

To register bank details, go to myGov, select Medicare, then 'Update bank account details.' You can also call Services Australia on 132 011.

Nurse and lawyer Margaret Faux, who has written a book about medical fees, said the money would make a huge difference for many Australians.

It will be like winning Lotto, I'm not even kidding.

— Margaret Faux, Nurse and Lawyer

What This Means If You're...

If you're a university student: Check your Medicare account now. More than a quarter of people owed money are aged 18-24. Many students in Canberra told triple j Hack they didn't know they had to register bank details with Medicare.

If you're bulk-billed for everything: This doesn't affect you. Bulk-billing means your doctor bills Medicare directly and you don't pay anything upfront. The rebates at issue here are for people who paid the doctor and were supposed to claim the rebate later.

If you changed banks recently: Your old bank details might still be on file with Medicare. Update them through myGov to ensure future rebates don't get stuck.

If you're owed a large amount: Services Australia says it makes special efforts to contact people owed more than $10,000, including emailing myGov accounts and contacting doctors to prompt patients. If you think this might be you, check immediately.

Problem Has Grown Despite Outreach

Services Australia has been trying to fix this for years. But the amount of unclaimed money has only grown, from $230 million in 2023 to $272 million now.

Jongen said the agency contacts doctors to encourage patients to update bank details when they next visit. "But if the trail runs out, in terms of up-to-date address details or bank account details, then we have very few options available to us."

Bulk-Billing Rates Improving

In the lead-up to the 2025 federal election, Labor promised to make nine out of 10 GP visits free by increasing bulk-billing incentives for doctors. The government committed $8.5 billion to the policy.

Figures published in February showed the bulk-billing rate rose from 77.6 per cent between July and September to 81.4 per cent between November and January.

But some students in Canberra told triple j Hack they struggled to find clinics where bulk-billing was available. The Australian Capital Territory has the lowest number of bulk-billing practices in the country at 18 clinics.

For people who can't find bulk-billing, registering bank details with Medicare becomes even more important to ensure rebates are claimed automatically.