Medicare Healthy Kids Check

Which item to bill

• The item depends on who does the check and how long they spend with the child: 701 for 30 minutes or less, 703 for more than 30 and less than 45 minutes, 705 for 45 to less than 60 minutes, and 707 for 60 minutes or more. A prescribed medical practitioner bills 224, 225, 226, or 227 for the same times. AN.0.36 Item 701 Item 703 Item 705 Item 707
• Time spent communicating through an interpreter counts. Note in the record why the check took longer. AN.0.36

What the check must include

• A history: the child’s medical history, including earlier presentations, hospital admissions, medicines, immunisation status, and allergies MBS Online: Medicare Healthy Kids Check factsheet (PDF)
• Their behaviour and wellbeing MBS Online: Medicare Healthy Kids Check factsheet (PDF)
• An assessment against age-appropriate developmental milestones MBS Online: Medicare Healthy Kids Check factsheet (PDF)
• Family relationships, social circumstances, care arrangements, and early childhood education and care MBS Online: Medicare Healthy Kids Check factsheet (PDF)
• The family environment and exposures: nutrition, physical activity, screen use, sleep habits, and sleep patterns MBS Online: Medicare Healthy Kids Check factsheet (PDF)
• Toileting: bowel habits and urinary continence MBS Online: Medicare Healthy Kids Check factsheet (PDF)
• A basic physical examination: eyesight, hearing, and oral health (teeth and gums) MBS Online: Medicare Healthy Kids Check factsheet (PDF)
• Height and weight, to assess growth against published centile charts, including body mass index MBS Online: Medicare Healthy Kids Check factsheet (PDF)
• An overall assessment from what the check found MBS Online: Medicare Healthy Kids Check factsheet (PDF)
• Advice to the parent or carer on the child’s physical, social, and emotional development, health, and wellbeing, and on activities the family can do to support it MBS Online: Medicare Healthy Kids Check factsheet (PDF)
• Any interventions and referrals the child needs MBS Online: Medicare Healthy Kids Check factsheet (PDF)
• A record of the check in the child’s medical record MBS Online: Medicare Healthy Kids Check factsheet (PDF)
• The offer of a written report to the parent or carer, with recommendations on what the check covered MBS Online: Medicare Healthy Kids Check factsheet (PDF)

Who can have it, and how often

• A Medicare-eligible child aged 3, once in their lifetime. MBS Online: Medicare Healthy Kids Check factsheet (PDF)
• A second assessment at age 3, or an assessment for a child under 3 or over 4, is billed with the ordinary time-tiered consultation items instead, such as 23 and 36. MBS Online: Medicare Healthy Kids Check factsheet (PDF) Item 23 Item 36
• Not for a child who is a hospital in-patient. AN.0.36
• From the child’s usual GP or practice, if that’s reasonably practicable: the one that has given, or is likely to give, most of their care over 12 months. AN.0.36

Who does it

• The GP or prescribed medical practitioner, in person: the health assessment items have no video or phone versions. AN.0.36
• A practice nurse, an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health worker, or an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health practitioner can help, under the doctor’s supervision: collecting information, and telling the family about the interventions the doctor recommends. AN.0.36
• The nurse’s help is part of the check: item 10997 can’t be billed with it. AN.0.36

Billing it with other items

• A separate consultation at the same visit only if it’s clinically necessary. AN.0.36
• An Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander child can have the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health check (715) as well, and any child can have other health assessments they’re eligible for, as long as each is clinically relevant. MBS Online: Medicare Healthy Kids Check factsheet (PDF) Item 715
• Bulk billed, it takes the bulk billing incentive for other services: 10990 in a metropolitan (MM 1) practice, or the item for the practice’s own area. MN.1.3 Item 10990

Common questions

What item number is the Medicare Healthy Kids Check?

There’s no new item. A GP bills 701, 703, 705, or 707, by the time spent with the child, and a prescribed medical practitioner bills 224 to 227. MBS Online: Medicare Healthy Kids Check factsheet (PDF) AN.0.36

When does the Medicare Healthy Kids Check start?

On 1 November 2026, as part of the Government’s Thriving Kids initiative. MBS Online: Medicare Healthy Kids Check factsheet (PDF)

What age is the Medicare Healthy Kids Check for?

Children aged 3. A child under 3 or over 4 who needs an assessment is seen with the ordinary time-tiered consultation items. MBS Online: Medicare Healthy Kids Check factsheet (PDF)

How often can the Medicare Healthy Kids Check be claimed?

Once per child, in their lifetime. A second assessment at age 3 is billed with the ordinary time-tiered consultation items. MBS Online: Medicare Healthy Kids Check factsheet (PDF)

What does the Medicare Healthy Kids Check include?

A history (including development against milestones, behaviour, family circumstances, nutrition, activity, screen use, sleep, and toileting), a basic examination (eyesight, hearing, teeth, height, weight, and body mass index), advice to the parent or carer, any referrals, a record in the notes, and the offer of a written report. MBS Online: Medicare Healthy Kids Check factsheet (PDF)

Can a practice nurse do the Healthy Kids Check?

A practice nurse can help, under the doctor’s supervision, by collecting information and telling the family about recommended interventions. The GP or prescribed medical practitioner still sees the child, and 10997 can’t be billed for the nurse’s part. AN.0.36

Can the Healthy Kids Check be done by telehealth?

No. The health assessment items are for a personal attendance by the doctor: there are no video or phone versions. AN.0.36

Can I bill a consultation on the same day as a Healthy Kids Check?

Only if a separate consultation is clinically necessary. AN.0.36

Can an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander child have a 715 health check as well?

Yes. A child can have the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health check (715), and any other health assessment they’re eligible for, as well as the Healthy Kids Check, as long as each is clinically relevant. MBS Online: Medicare Healthy Kids Check factsheet (PDF) Item 715

Sources

• Note AN.0.36: Time-Tiered Health Assessments (Items 701, 703, 705, 707, 224, 225, 226, 227)
• Item 701: Group A14 Health Assessments
• Item 703: Group A14 Health Assessments
• Item 705: Group A14 Health Assessments
• Item 707: Group A14 Health Assessments
• Item 23: Group A1 General Practitioner Attendances To Which No Other Item Applies
• Item 36: Group A1 General Practitioner Attendances To Which No Other Item Applies
• Item 715: Group A14 Health Assessments
• Note MN.1.3: – Modified Monash 1
• Item 10990: Group M1 Management Of Bulk-Billed Services › Subgroup 1 Management of general bulk billed services
• MBS Online: Medicare Healthy Kids Check factsheet (PDF)
• MBS Online: November 2026 news