From 1 July 2026, Medicare requires all practices to use digital Assignment of Benefit (AoB) for bulk‑billed and Medicare‑assigned claims. The AoB can be obtained prior to or following the service.

Patients can withdraw consent; record any Revocation in the patient file.

An AoB is not required for DVA nor Patient Claims.

• DVA claims are not Medicare claims — they are processed under the Department of Veterans’ Affairs arrangements
• If the patient is paying you and then claiming back from Medicare, this is a patient claim. No Assignment of Benefit is required
• Nor is an AoB required if the patient has not paid you yet and you are waiting on a cheque from Medicare, this is still a Patient Claim, not a bulk‑bill claim

How patients can review and accept consent forms electronically - DCM recommends SMS to Mobile

Requesting an AoB

Bulk Bill

• If Sending AoB is enabled for the Appointment Type, the AoB request is included with the Appointment Request for Confirmation
  • The Appointment Type needs to be mapped to the Medicare Item Codes for the patient to be informed of this detail
  • Should the Item Codes change, a new AoB must be requested
• On transmitting the BB Claim you are informed of the status of the AoB
  • Accepted
    • Transmit the Claim
  • Rejected
    • Claim cannot be Transmitted and Rate reverts to Private
  • Request not sent
    • Option to send at that point in time

Claim forms can still be generated with Print to Screen for On-Screen Signing recommended resulting in the form being saved in Client Communications

IMC

• Reference to the AoB requirement should be included in the Informed Financial Consent (IFC)
• If Sending AoB is enabled for the Appointment Type, the AoB request is included with the Appointment Request for Confirmation. 
  • The Appointment Type needs to be mapped to the Medicare Billing Codes for the patient to be informed of this detail, or
  • Selecting a Standard Procedure populates this
  • Should the Item Codes change, a new AoB must be requested
• On transmitting the IMC Claim you are informed of the status of the AoB
  • Accepted
    • Transmit the Claim
  • Rejected
    • Claim cannot be Transmitted and Rate reverts to Private
  • Request not sent
    • Option to send at that point in time

IMC's sent manually, must include reference to the AoB.

Displaying the Response

• The AoB column in the List View displays if the AoB is Accepted or Rejected
• The AoB response can also be displayed in the Calendar View if selected in Layout Options
• The AoB column is also in Online Claiming

Standing AoB

A Standing Assignment of Benefit (Standing AoB) is a long‑term, ongoing consent where a patient authorises the provider to:

• Bulk bill them repeatedly, and
• Receive the Medicare benefit directly,
• Without needing a new AoB for each service.

It is essentially a “set‑and‑forget” AoB.

Standing AoB is typically used for:

• Chronic disease management
• Long‑term specialist care
• Regular reviews
• Telehealth follow‑ups
• Hospital‑based IMC claims where the provider bills Medicare directly

It removes the need to obtain a fresh AoB every time. it must be:

• Digital, and
• In the Medicare‑approved standard wording, and
• Revocable by the patient at any time.

The Standing AoB becomes a digital Standing AoB under the new rules.

How Standing AoB works in practice

1. Patient signs a Standing AoB (digital or paper contingency).
2. The practice stores it (DCM stores it in Client Communications).
3. For each bulk‑bill or Medicare‑assigned claim:
   • The system checks that a valid Standing AoB exists.
   • If yes → claim transmits without needing a new AoB.
   • If no → a new AoB request must be sent.