The official bulk-billing rate for a standard level B consultation is now 80.1% — a drop of 2.5% over the past 12 months, representing some 1.8 million consults.

Released by the federal Department of Health and Aged Care on Tuesday, the statistic comes amid claims by Australia’s biggest GP corporates that bulk-billing rates are falling much faster within their own practices and could sink to just 30% by the end of the year.