A GP clinic at the centre of Sydney’s COVID-19 outbreak has been condemned for charging new patients $250 initial consult fees before administering the Pfizer vaccine.

Blessed Health Care is based in the suburb of Campsie and currently has notices posted on the windows of its two clinics outlining the payment structure.

The notices say that while the vaccine itself is free, for all new patients a pre-vaccination consult costs $225 on weekdays and $250 on weekends for a first dose and up to $120 for the second dose. 

According to media reports, staff said the justification for the fees was that the clinics did not bulk-bill new patients and it could not give the vaccines to them without first taking a medical history.