What's new?

March 2012

You can now email askmbs@humanservices.gov.au to have your MBS item questions answered by a specialist MBS team.

Quick reference guides about the Better Start for Children with Disability Initiative are now available for health professionals online.

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Register for online business

To be able to do business online providers must first register – this needs to be done only once. Once registered, providers can submit any type of online transmission from any location that is equipped with online solutions.

Register to do business online

You will only need to register once to do business online. To register and have access to digital keys and certificates, please call the eBusiness Service Centre on 1800 700 199.

Once you have registered, you can submit any type of online transmission from any location that has online functionalities. You may also choose to use a combination of our online claiming channel security options.

To support our online services, we have implemented the health sector public key infrastructure Communities of Interest certificate model. Communities of Interest certificates will replace the need for you to provide additional evidence of identity to use our online services.

The Registered Medicare Australia Communities of Interest (CoI) Site Certificate (site certificate) will be issued either on a CD Rom or floppy disk. The Medicare Australia Healthcare Professional Individual certificate will be issued on a secure token.

More information about Communities of Interest certificates

Register for online claiming

If you are a health care provider, you can register for online claiming online [PDF, 127Kb]PDF reader required. Please complete, print, sign and return the online agreement to us via fax at:

The Medicare Australia eBusiness Service Centre in your state:

ACT/NSW:  02 9895 3190
VIC: 03 9605 7981
TAS: 03 6215 5600
SA/NT: 08 8274 9408
WA: 08 9214 8173
QLD: 07 3004 5526

The registration process shouldn’t take you more than five minutes to complete. Once you have lodged your registration, we will confirm if you have been successful within two working days of receiving your signed online agreement.

You must be registered before you can submit any transactions online. Please ensure that you have completed the online claiming practice details form prior to making your first online transmission.

Once you have registered, you can submit any type of online claiming transmission from any location that has online functionalities. Provided your software offers both options, you can choose to use either or a combination of the online security options that we offer.

If you need help completing your online claiming registration, please contact the eBusiness Service Centre on 1800 700 199.

Important: If you are registering on behalf of the health care providers in your practice, please ensure that you have their consent to do so, and that the provider gives us their consent to access their Medicare Australia records. The provider must sign the relevant online agreement generated by this online claiming registration system.

Maintaining online claiming registration details

You will need to contact us to update your online claiming registration details if:

  • you discover that your individual certificate registration authority number has been incorrectly entered
  • you would like to use your individual certificate to transmit online and have not yet nominated your individual certificate registration authority number
  • your contact details (eg. telephone number and mailing address) change.

If any of the above situations occur please contact the eBusiness Service Centre on 1800 700 199. Alternatively you may download and complete the Banking Details - Online Claiming form [PDF, 192Kb]PDF reader required and return it to us by faxing it to:

ACT/NSW:  02 9895 3190
VIC:03 9605 7981
TAS: 03 6215 5600
SA/NT: 08 8274 9408
WA: 08 9214 8173
QLD: 07 3004 5526

Practice details

Each practice location that will be transacting online should complete and return the online claiming practice details form [PDF, 104Kb]PDF reader required to us prior to the practice's first online claiming transmission.

Registration checklist

To connect your health care location online with us, you need to make sure:

  • you have an internet connection
  • your software vendor has confirmed that the operating system your location uses is compatible to do business online with us
  • your software vendor has confirmed that your software will have all the online functionalities you require (bulk bill, private patient claims etc)
  • you have checked what security (signing) options your software offers
  • you have a site certificate CD-Rom stored in a known place ready for installation day (if not already installed). Register online for your site certificate
  • you have the personal identification code (PIC) for your site certificate. You must retain your original PIC in case of a system failure where you may need to re-enter this information
  • you know whether your practice software requires you to sign transmissions with an individual certificate. Register online for your individual certificate
  • you know if you are going to use security option A (site and an individual certificate) or option B (site certificate only)
  • you have an individual certificate and the associated PIC if you are going to use security option A or your practice software requires you to sign transmissions with an individual certificate
  • you have contacted the eBusiness service centre on 1800 700 199 to discuss your expected changeover date if you are changing from Medclaims to online claiming. This needs to be coordinated to ensure the smooth functioning of your health care location.
  • your providers have registered individually to do business online
  • your practice has completed the online practice details form available below and has printed, signed and returned it to us.

Change multiple provider location ID registration details checklist

The multiple provider location ID registration checklist describes the steps that need to be taken before Department of Human Services (DHS) will amend nominated location IDs for multiple providers who transmit claims via the Medicare Online channel.

Note: This change does not include DHS altering provider banking details or other provider specific information.

You will need to take the following action:

Checklist for Changing Multiple Provider Location ID Registration Details

Please use checklist to ensure all required content is included.

Step Action Requirement
1. Draft a letter to send to all providers

Include in the letter:

  • The changes being made to the providers registration;
  • Advise DHS will not amend any provider banking details unless written authority is provided to DHS by the provider;
  • Allow a period of time for providers to contact the organisation and/or DHS should they have any questions regarding the proposed change; and
  • The organisation’s CEO signature.
2. Send letter to providers
  • The letter to be sent to all providers’ whose location ID registration details will change.
  • Email a copy of the letter to:

simplified.billing@humanservices.gov.auEmail.
3. Email the change of location ID registration request
  • Email to:

simplified.billing@humanservices.gov.auEmail

The email needs to include:

  • A list of all providers including their provider number and addresses; and
  • The expected date of effect of the change for DHS to agree to.
4. DHS to respond to the location ID registration email request
  • DHS will provide confirmation that the proposed date of effect is acceptable; or
  • A response explaining why the proposed date of effect is not acceptable.

Note: If a provider is changing bank account details, the Online Claiming Banking Details form must be completed and submitted to DHS.

Contact us

For more information about this process, contact Operational eClaiming Systems Section on 02 6124 2105 or email simplified.billing@humanservices.gov.auEmail.

Security options

Medicare Australia uses Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) to encrypt and secure all information electronically transmitted to and from Medicare Australia. PKI provides the highest levels of confidentiality, privacy and authentication available for transmitting medical data.

It secures online communications using digital certificates, which are basically electronic identities. Using PKI you can digitally sign and encrypt claims to ensure they cannot be tampered with or changed in any way. You can also be confident that information returned from Medicare Australia is secure.

Users need to be registered and issued a digital certificate to be able to do business online with Medicare Australia. Two online security (digital signing) options for bulk bill, DVA and ACIR transactions are offered:

  • Option A: Registered Medicare Australia Communities of Interest (CoI) Site Certificate and Registered Medicare Australia Healthcare Professional Individual Certificate.
  • Option B: Registered Medicare Australia Communities of Interest (CoI) Site Certificate only*

For Bulk Bill claims this option requires that the provider sign a post-claim declaration periodically, for substantiation purposes. This substantiation will not be required when both a Registered Medicare Australia Healthcare Professional Individual Certificate and Registered Medicare Australia Community of Interest (CoI) Site Certificate are used.

Note: Patient claim submissions only require a Registered Medicare Australia Communities of Interest (CoI) Site Certificate.

*Please contact your software vendor to check the security options your software offers. Some software requires private patient claims to be signed with an Individual Certificate. In these cases the usual process is that claims are lodged by practice staff who will require an Individual Certificate of their own. Please contact your software vendor to check your software's digital signing requirements and to discuss what option is best for your health care location.

Contact us

For more information about registering to do business online, contact the eBusiness Service Centre on 1800 700 199 or email onlineclaiming@medicareaustralia.gov.auEmail.

Medicare Australia eBusiness Service Centre (for enquiries about online claiming)

Phone: 1800 700 199 and select option 1
Email: onlineclaiming@medicareaustralia.gov.auEmail
Web: www.medicareaustralia.gov.au

eBusiness Service Centre (for enquiries about digital certificates)

Phone: 1800 700 199 and select option 3
Email: registration@medicareaustralia.gov.auEmail
Web: www.medicareaustralia.gov.au

Make a request for more information, or to have a business development officer contact your practice.

Some documents on this page may require the free Adobe PDF reader.

Last updated: 17 May, 2012