A regular Medicare health assessment designed around your priorities, prevention and follow-up care
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people can access a dedicated Medicare health assessment through a GP.
You may hear it called an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Assessment, an Indigenous health check, or simply a 715 health check.
The purpose is broader than checking for one disease.
It is an opportunity to look at your health as a whole, identify concerns early, make sure important preventive care is not being missed, and agree on what should happen next.
Under current Medicare rules, an eligible Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander person can generally have this assessment once every 9 months.
It is available across the lifespan.
And since 1 March 2026, Medicare no longer prescribes different lists of clinical activities according to age. The assessment is intended to be tailored to the person’s own health needs, circumstances and priorities.
Who is eligible?
The Medicare health assessment is available to a patient who identifies as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander and would benefit from this type of assessment.
There is no requirement to already have a chronic illness.
The assessment can be useful when you are well because much of its value is in prevention and early intervention.
It may also be useful when you already have health conditions and want to make sure care is coordinated properly.
The face-to-face GP item generally cannot be used while you are an inpatient in hospital or a resident receiving care in a residential aged care facility.
Is it only for adults?
No.
The health assessment is designed to support holistic care throughout life.
The exact focus should therefore change with the person.
A child’s assessment might concentrate more on growth, development, hearing, immunisation and family concerns.
A younger adult may need greater focus on mental wellbeing, smoking, reproductive health, cardiovascular risk or diabetes prevention.
Later in life, medicines, mobility, falls, memory, hearing, vision and support at home may become more important.
These are examples rather than a fixed Medicare checklist.
The assessment should follow your clinical needs and your priorities.
What changed in 2026?
Until March 2026, the Medicare guidance included age-based clinical activities for different stages of life.
Those age-based requirements were removed from 1 March 2026.
The current approach is more flexible: the assessment should deliver holistic care tailored to the patient’s individual health needs and clinical circumstances throughout life.
That is an important improvement.
A useful health assessment should not become a rigid form where every person receives exactly the same questions and tests.
What does Medicare require the assessment to include?
Current MBS requirements say the GP assessment must include several core steps.
These include:
- recognising your health priorities
- taking your medical history
- doing relevant physical examinations
- arranging any investigations that are needed
- assessing the information gathered
- starting necessary treatment, interventions or referrals
- developing and documenting a health plan, including follow-up
- offering you a written report with recommendations and a strategy for good health
- recording the assessment in your medical record.
The first point is particularly important:
Your priorities are meant to be part of the assessment.
It should not simply be a checklist imposed on you.
What might we talk about?
The content depends on your age, medical history, family history, current concerns and local health risks.
A GP or practice team may consider areas such as:
- blood pressure
- heart and cardiovascular risk
- diabetes risk
- kidney health
- smoking or vaping
- alcohol
- nutrition
- physical activity
- weight and waist measurement where useful
- vaccinations
- medicines
- mental wellbeing
- sleep
- hearing and vision
- sexual and reproductive health
- cancer screening where appropriate
- oral health
- family history
- social and practical factors affecting your health.
This does not mean every person automatically needs every test.
Current Medicare guidance supports preventive care that is culturally and clinically appropriate, evidence-based, and tailored where necessary to community priorities and local disease patterns.
Does the health assessment mean lots of blood tests?
No.
Investigations should be clinically useful, not automatic.
For one person, the assessment may lead to tests for diabetes, cholesterol or kidney function.
Another person may already have those results and need no further blood testing.
Someone else may need a hearing test, vaccination review, mental-health follow-up or no investigation at all.
The aim is not to produce the longest pathology request.
It is to identify what is likely to improve your health.
Diabetes risk is an important example
Type 2 diabetes is one area that may be considered during an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Assessment.
But this pathway is different from the Medicare Type 2 Diabetes Risk Evaluation discussed in Q Guide At Risk of Type 2 Diabetes? Your Medicare Health Assessment.
That separate diabetes-specific Medicare assessment is restricted to eligible people aged 40-49 with a high AUSDRISK score.
The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Assessment is broader and is available across the lifespan.
If diabetes risk is relevant, your GP may consider:
- family history
- previous glucose results
- blood pressure
- weight or waist measurement
- activity
- medicines
- appropriate blood glucose testing.
The important point is not which Medicare item is being used.
It is whether important risk is being identified and acted on.
Mental wellbeing matters too
A good health assessment is not only about blood pressure and blood tests.
The assessment can consider physical, psychological and social function.
That means there is room to discuss issues such as:
- stress
- anxiety
- depression
- grief
- sleep
- alcohol or other substance use
- family pressures
- housing or financial stress
- safety
- caring responsibilities
- connection and support.
You do not need to raise every issue.
But if something is affecting your health, it is reasonable for it to be part of the conversation.
Your priorities should shape the visit
This is worth emphasising.
The current Medicare item specifically requires the practitioner to recognise the patient’s health priorities and then develop the health plan around the assessment and those priorities.
So if the issue that matters most to you is:
- tiredness
- sleep
- pain
- fertility
- stress
- weight
- smoking
- medicines
- family history
- or something else entirely
say so.
A technically complete assessment that ignores your main concern has missed an important part of its purpose.
Does a nurse or Aboriginal health professional help?
Often.
Current Medicare rules allow a practice nurse, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health worker, or Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health practitioner to assist the GP with the assessment under appropriate supervision.
They may help with tasks such as:
- collecting health information
- taking measurements
- reviewing preventive care
- discussing recommended interventions.
The GP still needs to see you and remains responsible for the assessment.
In practice, this team approach can make the health check more useful because there is time to gather information properly rather than rushing through prevention at the end of another appointment.
Do I receive a health plan?
Yes.
Developing and documenting a plan for your health and follow-up is part of the current Medicare requirements.
You should also be offered a written report that includes recommendations from the assessment and a strategy for maintaining good health.
That plan may be very simple.
For example:
- vaccination is due
- repeat blood pressure at home
- arrange diabetes testing
- review medicines
- see a physiotherapist
- follow up mood or sleep
- book a screening test
- return to the GP in a few weeks.
The value of the health assessment is not the paperwork.
It is what happens afterwards.
Can the assessment lead to allied health care?
Yes, when the health assessment identifies a relevant need.
Under current Medicare arrangements, an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander patient may be referred after an eligible health assessment for up to 10 Medicare-supported individual allied health or Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health and wellbeing services per calendar year.
Examples may include services such as:
- physiotherapy
- podiatry
- dietetics
- exercise physiology
- other eligible allied health or Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health services.
The exact service depends on what the assessment identifies and the Medicare referral rules.
Importantly, 10 services is an annual Medicare maximum, not a guarantee that every person needs or receives 10 visits.
These services share an overall annual Medicare limit with relevant allied health services accessed through a GP Chronic Condition Management Plan, so having both pathways does not simply add another five visits on top of the 10.
And Medicare-supported care does not necessarily mean the service is free – some providers may charge a gap.
What about follow-up with the practice nurse?
There is also a separate follow-up pathway.
After an eligible health assessment, a practice nurse or Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health practitioner may provide up to 10 Medicare-supported follow-up services per calendar year, where those services are consistent with needs identified in the assessment.
These follow-up services are separate from the allied health allowance described above.
They may help with areas such as:
- monitoring progress
- preventive care
- health education
- supporting agreed goals
- coordinating follow-up.
Again, the number of visits should be based on what you actually need.
Is this the same as a Chronic Condition Management Plan?
No.
An Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Assessment is a broad health and prevention assessment.
A GP Chronic Condition Management Plan is specifically designed to help manage one or more chronic or terminal medical conditions.
Some patients may benefit from both.
The Medicare rules for allied health services interact, so your GP should work out which pathway best fits your circumstances rather than simply creating multiple plans because they exist.
How often can I have the health assessment?
Under current rules, an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Assessment generally cannot be claimed more often than once every 9 months.
Services Australia describes this for patients as having a health check every 9 to 12 months.
This is a change worth knowing because many people still refer to it as an “annual 715”.
You do not need to treat nine months as a target date.
Nine months is the minimum Medicare claiming interval.
The important point is to use the assessment regularly enough to keep prevention and follow-up on track.
Do I need to see my usual GP?
Where reasonably practical, Medicare expects health assessments to be provided through your usual GP or usual medical practice.
There is a good clinical reason for that too.
Preventive care works better when the practice knows:
- your medical history
- previous results
- medicines
- family circumstances
- what has already been tried
- what follow-up was planned.
Using the same doctor or practice where possible can make the assessment more useful because the team already knows your history and can follow through on what was agreed.
Does it have to be face to face?
There are Medicare items for both in-person and eligible telehealth Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health assessments.
Usual Medicare telehealth eligibility rules also apply.
Whether telehealth is clinically appropriate depends on what needs to be assessed.
Some parts of a comprehensive health assessment – such as physical examination or measurements – may be easier or more useful in person.
Your practice can advise which option is appropriate.
Is the health assessment free?
Medicare pays a 100% benefit based on the scheduled fee, but practices can set their own fees.
Ask about any out-of-pocket cost when you book if you are unsure.
Similarly, allied health follow-up may involve a gap depending on the provider.
A common misconception
MYTH: A 715 health check is mainly a form that needs to be completed once a year.
REALITY: The form is not the point.
The current Medicare requirements focus on:
- your health priorities
- appropriate assessment
- needed investigations
- treatment or referrals
- a documented plan
- and useful follow-up.
A good assessment should help answer:
What matters to me?
What health risks or problems need attention?
What should we do next?
Questions patients commonly ask
Do I need to be sick to have one?
No.
The assessment can be valuable precisely because it looks for opportunities to prevent illness or identify problems earlier.
Can children have one?
Yes.
The assessment is available across the lifespan and should be tailored to the child’s needs and circumstances.
Can I have one every year?
Yes, provided the Medicare interval has been met.
The current rule is that it cannot generally be claimed more often than once every nine months.
Do I automatically receive 10 allied health visits?
No.
Up to 10 Medicare-supported services may be available when a relevant need has been identified and the referral requirements are met.
Does the assessment replace my normal GP appointments?
No.
It complements ordinary general practice.
If you develop a new or urgent health problem, you should not wait for your next health assessment.
How to prepare
You do not need to prepare extensively.
It may help to think about:
- your main health concerns
- medicines you take
- significant family medical history
- previous screening or vaccinations
- smoking or vaping
- alcohol
- sleep
- exercise
- mental wellbeing
- any barriers making it harder to look after your health
- what you would most like help with.
If another clinic has important results or specialist letters, having those available can also make the assessment more useful.
Most importantly, bring your questions and priorities.
Start with one question
If you identify as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander, ask your usual GP or practice:
“Am I due for my Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Assessment?”
The bottom line
The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Assessment is a regular Medicare-supported opportunity to look at health as a whole.
It is available across the lifespan and can generally be repeated once the 9-month minimum claiming interval has passed.
Since March 2026, the Medicare approach has become less age-prescriptive and more focused on individual needs, clinical circumstances and patient priorities.
A good assessment should not finish with a completed form.
It should finish with a clearer answer to:
What matters most to you?
What should we act on now?
What follow-up will actually help?
Related Q Guides
Important information
This guide provides general health information and does not replace personalised medical advice. Speak with your GP or healthcare professional about recommendations appropriate to your medical history and circumstances.