All Medicare-eligible consultations are bulk billed for patients with a valid Medicare card. Some items, including privately purchased vaccines and consumables, attract a fee.
Certificates come with rules, and most of the friction comes from not knowing them. Tap each one.
Four things worth knowing
A certificate records what your doctor found when they assessed you. Being seen while you are actually unwell makes it straightforward; coming in a week later and asking for cover for days nobody saw is a much harder conversation.
“I'm unwell today and I'll need a certificate.”Special consideration forms, insurance forms and workplace forms all ask particular questions in particular boxes. Bring the form and it gets completed properly in one visit instead of two.
“I've got a form that needs filling in.”You know your job and what it involves. Your GP knows what the illness usually does. Between you the right number of days is usually obvious, and it does not have to be all or nothing — reduced duties are often the better answer.
“Here's what my work actually involves.”If you are off because a child or a family member is unwell rather than you, that is carer's leave and it needs its own certificate. The person being cared for does not always need to be seen — ask reception.
“It's for carer's leave, not for me.”Open any of these for what it involves. Most are written during an ordinary appointment.
Sick leave
What happens Your GP assesses you, forms a view about whether you are fit for your work, and writes a certificate stating the dates. It does not have to name your condition — "a medical condition" is sufficient and is what most certificates say.
Your employer is entitled to evidence that you were unfit for work. They are not entitled to your diagnosis, and you are under no obligation to disclose it.
If a few days will not be enough, say so. Extending later is possible but it means another appointment, and it is easier to get the length roughly right the first time.
Carer's leave
What happens A certificate confirming you were needed to care for a family or household member. In many cases the person being cared for should be seen, particularly a child, but ring and ask — it depends on the circumstances.
Carer's leave is a separate entitlement from personal sick leave under the National Employment Standards, and it needs its own certificate.
If you are bringing a child in anyway because they are unwell, the certificate is written at the same visit and there is nothing extra to arrange.
Study
What happens Special consideration and academic adjustment forms are completed during an appointment. Bring the form — every institution has its own and they all ask slightly different things.
Most universities have deadlines for special consideration that are measured in days, so do not sit on it. Check the deadline before you book.
Some forms ask for detail about the impact on your study rather than a diagnosis. Your GP will complete what is asked and nothing more.
Fitness for work
What happens An assessment of what you can safely do at the moment, which is often more useful to everyone than a straight yes or no. Reduced hours, lighter duties, or a graduated return over a few weeks.
Most people recover better going back to something than sitting at home waiting to be fully better. A clearance with restrictions is frequently the right answer.
Bring a description of what your job actually involves. "Office work" and "office work plus lifting stock twice a week" lead to different certificates.
Forms
What happens Insurance forms, superannuation claims, Centrelink medical certificates, licence forms and pre-employment medicals vary. Some are part of your care; some are requested by a third party and sit outside Medicare.
Where a form is completed because an insurer, employer or licensing body has asked for it, Medicare does not cover it and a fee applies. That is a Medicare rule rather than a decision of ours.
Reception will tell you the fee before you book, so nothing at the desk comes as a surprise.
Certificates are legal documents, and there are lines your GP cannot cross regardless of how reasonable the request is. Tap a card.
More than most people assume, as long as there has been a genuine assessment.
Not unwillingness — these carry real professional consequences.
Bulk billed for patients with a valid Medicare card on weekdays. Weekend arrangements differ — please check with reception.
Eight steps, and the first one matters most. Tap any card.
Say you are unwell and will need a certificate. Being assessed while you are actually sick removes every complication that follows.
Flip backIn person where you can. Telehealth is sometimes possible, but Medicare has eligibility rules and not everything can be assessed down a phone line.
Flip backIf your employer, university or insurer has their own, bring it. Otherwise your GP writes a standard certificate.
Flip backA genuine consultation. This is not a formality — it is precisely what gives the certificate its weight.
Flip backTell your GP what your job involves. The right number of days depends on the work as much as the illness.
Flip backYour name, the dates, and that you were unfit for work. A diagnosis is included only if you want it there.
Flip backBook again before it runs out. Extensions are ordinary; retrospective ones are not.
Flip backIf you are returning to something physical, ask about reduced duties rather than choosing between fully off and fully on.
Flip backTap whatever applies and print the list, so nothing is missed and you are not back again on Thursday.
Certificates follow from an assessment, so whoever can see you soonest is the right choice. All twelve read the same notes.
Our GPs hold general registration with AHPRA. Areas listed are special interests within general practice rather than recognised specialist registration. Every one of our doctors provides this. If the GP you usually see is booked, any of the others can help — your records are shared across the practice, so nobody is starting from scratch.
Pick your situation and what you're coming in for. We'll show you what to expect before you book.
What are you coming in for?
Figures shown are what you pay at the clinic for the appointment itself. Medicines, devices, imaging and specialist fees are set elsewhere. Reception will always confirm the cost with you before anything goes ahead.
The appointment is, on weekdays, with a valid Medicare card — and the certificate is written as part of it. Forms requested by a third party, such as insurers and employers, sit outside Medicare and attract a fee that reception will quote beforehand.
A day or two, where the history clearly supports it and your GP is satisfied you were unwell then. A week of absence nobody assessed cannot be certified — a certificate is a statement of professional opinion, and signing an untrue one puts a doctor's registration at risk.
No. "A medical condition" is sufficient and is what most certificates say. Your employer is entitled to evidence that you were unfit for work, not to your diagnosis.
Not as a rule. The certificate follows from the assessment, which is what makes an employer accept it.
Sometimes. Medicare has eligibility rules about existing patients, and some things simply cannot be assessed remotely. Ring reception and they will tell you whether your situation qualifies.
Book again before it expires. Extending forward is ordinary; certifying a period retrospectively is the difficult one.
Yes. If you are bringing a child in anyway it is written at the same visit. If the person cannot attend, ring first and reception will explain what is needed.
Yes — we are open seven days, including public holidays. Ring early, as same-day appointments go quickly.
Yes. Bring the form with you, and check your institution's deadline first — most are measured in days rather than weeks.
Ring us and tell us what they have asked for. Often it is wording rather than substance, and your GP can address it properly. What cannot change is the clinical opinion behind it.
Being seen while you are actually unwell makes everything else straightforward. Leaving it until you are back at work is what turns a simple request into a difficult conversation.
A certificate for work, school, university or carer's leave is written during an ordinary appointment, and the clinic is open seven days. Ring on the first day you are unwell, and bring any form your employer or school has asked for.
We are in Salamander Bay Shopping Centre with free parking, and patients come from across Port Stephens and the Tomaree Peninsula, including Nelson Bay, Corlette, Soldiers Point, Anna Bay, Lemon Tree Passage and Medowie.
Book online with HotDoc at any hour, or call (02) 4008 4400.
From the health journal
