Medicare Safety Net
A scheme that provides higher Medicare rebates once your out-of-pocket medical costs exceed certain annual thresholds.
The Medicare Safety Net provides additional financial assistance when your out-of-pocket costs for out-of-hospital Medicare services (such as GP visits, specialist consultations, and diagnostic imaging) exceed certain annual thresholds within a calendar year (1 January to 31 December). Once you reach the threshold, Medicare pays a higher percentage of the schedule fee for subsequent services.
There are multiple safety net thresholds. The Original Medicare Safety Net applies once gap amounts (the difference between the Medicare benefit and the schedule fee) exceed $560.40 (2025). After this, Medicare pays 100% of the schedule fee for out-of-hospital services. The Extended Medicare Safety Net kicks in when total out-of-pocket costs exceed $2,544.30 for general consumers or $844.80 for Commonwealth concession card holders and families eligible for Family Tax Benefit Part A.
To benefit from the safety net, you should register your family group with Medicare (via myGov or a Medicare service centre). This pools the out-of-pocket costs of all family members towards the threshold. Without registration, only individual costs count, making it harder to reach the threshold. The safety net resets at the start of each calendar year.