Chronic Disease Management Plans in 2026: What Changed and What You’re Entitled To

A chronic disease management plan is a structured, written plan your GP puts together with you when you’re living with an ongoing health condition. It sets out your health goals, the care you need, and which health professionals are involved in supporting you. Rather than each appointment starting from scratch, it gives your ongoing care an actual structure: and, practically speaking, it also unlocks Medicare-subsidised access to allied health services like physiotherapy, dietetics, podiatry, exercise physiology or psychology.

Until mid-2025, this worked through two separate items: a GP Management Plan (GPMP) and, where relevant, Team Care Arrangements (TCA) that coordinated care with other providers. From 1 July 2025, these were merged into a single, streamlined GP Chronic Condition Management Plan (GPCCMP). The purpose hasn’t changed: it’s still about coordinated, structured care for an ongoing condition: but the process is simpler, and a requirement that used to apply (your GP needing to consult with at least two separate collaborating providers to set up TCAs) has been removed, with more focus placed on your own choice of allied health provider.

If you’ve had a care plan before 2025 and it’s due for review, don’t be surprised if the terminology your GP uses has changed slightly. The entitlement itself hasn’t gone backwards.

You’re eligible if you have at least one medical condition that has lasted, or is likely to last, six months or more: or a terminal condition. There’s no fixed list of eligible conditions, which matters more than it might sound: eligibility isn’t restricted to a narrow set of named diseases. It’s based on your GP’s clinical judgement about whether a structured approach would genuinely help you manage what you’re dealing with.

The main practical benefit for most patients is Medicare-subsidised access to a set number of allied health visits per calendar year, covering services relevant to your condition: things like physiotherapy, podiatry, dietetics, exercise physiology or psychology, depending on what your GP identifies as useful. The exact number of subsidised visits and rebate amounts are set by Medicare and reviewed periodically, so it’s worth confirming current figures directly with your GP rather than relying on an older figure you might have seen elsewhere.

Setting up a plan typically involves a longer consultation than a standard GP visit, since your GP needs time to understand your condition properly, discuss realistic goals with you, and work out which services would actually help. It’s worth mentioning when you book that you’d like to discuss a chronic disease management plan, so the appointment is scheduled with enough time.

Bringing relevant records: recent test results, specialist letters, current medications: helps this go more smoothly, though it’s not essential if you don’t have everything to hand.

Plans are reviewed periodically rather than being a one-time, permanent arrangement. Your GP will let you know when a review is appropriate based on how your condition is tracking, and reviews can also happen sooner if your circumstances change significantly.

If you’re managing an ongoing condition and haven’t discussed a chronic disease management plan, it’s worth asking about directly. It costs nothing extra to ask, and for many people managing conditions like diabetes or chronic pain, the allied health access alone makes a genuine difference to what ongoing care looks like day to day.