Approved Medical Deputising Service Program

The Approved Medical Deputising Service (AMDS) Program is designed to expand the pool of available medical practitioners who may provide after-hours deputising home visit services. The program allows doctors who are permanent residents or citizens of Australia and who do not hold full medical registration or recognition of their specialist skills, and who are not in an approved placement (such as for training purposes or an approved rural locum placement), to provide a restricted range of professional services under supervision, for which Medicare benefits are payable.

Doctors need to be registered with Medicare Australia to work for an AMDS. The program also allows doctors subject to Medicare provider number restrictions to work in metropolitan areas---for after-hours work only.

Access to Medicare rebates is time and location specific and the doctor will need a Medicare provider number for the specific practice location.

For more information about this program, you may contact the Workforce Regulation Section in the Department of Health and Ageing, by phone on +61 2 6289 5903 (international) or (02) 6289 5903 (in Australia), or by facsimile +61 2 6289 1352 (international) or (02) 6289 1352 (in Australia).