All GPs should be allowed to charge membership fees in return for bulk-billing and there is no clear law against them doing so, the AMA says.

It wants the Federal Government to level the playing field against the increasing number of not-for-profits operating as membership organisations.

The call has been promoted by the growth of the GP co-operatives, such as National Health Co-op.

With financial backing from the ACT Government, the organisation charges patients $120 a year. It has become the territory’s largest provider of GP services, with 11 clinics and 180,000 bulk-billed consults a year.