ACAud inc. HAASA has lodged its formal submission to the MBS Review Advisory Committee advocating for audiometrists to be recognised as eligible providers under seven audiology and allied health Medicare items.
The Australian College of Audiology incorporating the Hearing Aid Audiology Society of Australia (ACAud inc. HAASA) said this was “a vital step to improving access to affordable hearing care, especially in regional and rural Australia”.
CEO Dr Sonj Hall said nearly 70% of audiometrists already served in regional and rural areas (MMM 2–6), yet they were not fully recognised within the MBS.
“Our submission to government calls for audiometrists to be included in select Medicare items, so more Australians can get timely, affordable hearing care – without unnecessary travel or delays,” she said.
“We are advocating for recognition of audiometrists as eligible providers for a defined set of MBS audiology and allied health items, to improve access to hearing care especially in regional, rural and First Nations communities.”
The organisation is seeking recognition on the following assessment items which can currently be performed by eligible audiologists with a GP referral:
•82306 – Non determinate audiometry
•82309 – Air conduction
•82312 – Air and bone conduction audiogram or air conduction and speech discrimination audiogram
•82315 – Air and bone conduction and speech discrimination audiogram
•82318 – Air and bone conduction and speech discrimination audiogram with other cochlear tests
•82324 – Impedance audiogram involving tympanometry and measurement of static compliance and acoustic reflex
•81310 – Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander Australians who have had a health assessment.
Dr Hall said fitting and services outside Medicare would continue as per existing practice and employer/clinical policies.
Closing gap, giving Medicare rebates
“The (requested) change is who Medicare recognises, not a change to clinical scope,” she said. “It is well within an audiometrist’s recognised scope of practice to assess, fit, program and verify hearing devices independently with no audiologist supervision required.
“Today, billing eligibility for the listed MBS items is limited to eligible audiologists. This does not reflect clinical practice, where audiometrists work independently in public and private settings often side-by-side with audiologists.”
She said that clinically, audiometrists already performed these assessments independently across Australia but under Medicare, only an eligible audiologist could bill these items on medical practitioner referral.
“That means consumers can receive a Medicare rebate – and be bulk-billed where offered – only when the service is provided by an eligible audiologist,” Dr Hall said.
“If the same assessment is performed by an audiometrist, no Medicare rebate is currently available. This is one of the gaps our submission seeks to close.”
She said the items were especially important for improving hearing care in communities that were harder to reach, such as those in rural and regional Australia.
“Audiometrists play a crucial role in supporting access for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, who often face additional barriers to hearing services,” she said. “Providing cost-effective audiology services helps eliminate financial barriers for patients seeking hearing healthcare, while offering greater choice and cultural fit.”
Recognising the items would also help unlock under-utilised workforce capacity, supporting a more sustainable hearing healthcare system that could meet growing patient demand, Dr Hall added.
“Most importantly, it would contribute to closing critical gaps in hearing care, delivering more equitable outcomes across the country,” she said.
It would immediately help overcome shortages of audiologists in rural and remote areas. “It would help now and start to prepare us for rising demand,” Dr Hall said. “Enabling audiometrists to bill the assessment items would relieve current shortages outside major centres and, as more Australians engage earlier with their hearing, we’ll need more qualified clinicians overall.
“This approach complements – not replaces – audiologists and supports a sustainable pipeline to meet growing community need.”
