How much does a full blood test cost in Australia?

• Medicare's schedule fee for a full blood count is $17.80 (MBS item 65070, from 1 July 2026). If the lab bulk bills, you pay nothing.
• In 2025 the Department of Health said almost 100% of pathology tests done outside hospital had been bulk billed over the previous five years.
• Medicare funds tests a doctor decides you need for your care. Health screening with no clinical reason is usually billed privately.
• Every lab blood test in Australia needs a request from a doctor or another authorised health professional, including tests you order online.

What does a full blood test include?

There is no single test called a "full blood test". Doctors use the term for a full blood count (FBC), also called a full blood examination (FBE): one test that counts your red cells, white cells and platelets. Most people mean something broader: the group of tests a GP orders for a general check, also called a full body blood test or routine bloods.

Routine bloods usually combine the tests below. Your GP chooses them based on your age, symptoms and history, so yours may include more or fewer. Each test links to what it measures in our test library.

Medicare schedule fees from MBS Online, checked 12 October 2026. The lab can also claim $5.95 for collecting your blood at a collection centre (item 73928). These are the fees Medicare sets, not what you pay. If the lab bulk bills, you pay nothing.

Liver, kidney, glucose, total cholesterol and triglyceride tests all come from one Medicare item list. The schedule fee is $9.70 for one of them and stops at $17.70 once a request has five or more, so twenty results cost the same as five.

Does Medicare cover a full blood test?

Yes, when a doctor requests the tests because you need them for your care. A GP, specialist, participating nurse practitioner or participating midwife can make the request, and it can come from a telehealth consult.

Three rules shape what Medicare funds:

• Clinical need. Medicare funds tests your doctor decides are necessary. Australian Clinical Labs, for example, says health screening isn't Medicare eligible and has to be paid upfront.
• Rules on some tests. Vitamin D is funded only if you have a listed risk factor, such as osteoporosis, malabsorption, deeply pigmented skin, long-term lack of sun exposure, kidney failure or a medicine that lowers vitamin D. HbA1c is funded to manage diabetes, or to diagnose it in people at high risk.
• The three-item limit. When a GP requests pathology outside hospital, Medicare pays for the three most expensive items in that patient episode, and some tests are exempt. This limits what the lab is paid. If the lab bulk bills you, you aren't charged for the rest.

Are blood tests bulk billed?

Usually. In 2025 the Department of Health said almost 100% of pathology tests done outside hospital had been bulk billed over the previous five years. Each lab sets its own policy, so it's worth checking before your blood draw:

• Dorevitch Pathology says it bulk bills all tests covered by Medicare.
• Douglass Hanly Moir, Sullivan Nicolaides and QML bulk bill concession card holders and may bill other patients privately.
• QML caps out-of-pocket costs for Medicare-eligible outpatient tests at $320 per visit to a QML collection centre, and Douglass Hanly Moir at $225 per day.

The bigger cost is often the GP visit. From April to June 2026, 84.1% of GP visits were bulk billed. Since 1 November 2025, GPs have received bulk billing incentive payments for every patient with a Medicare card, where before it was only concession card holders and children. If your GP charges a gap, the average for patients who paid one was $60.27 (AusDoc, August 2026), and you'll often need a second visit to go through your results.

What does a private blood test cost?

A private test costs more than the Medicare fee because there is no rebate, and online prices include the doctor's request. These are the prices each provider published, checked 12 October 2026 (Everlab rechecked 14 October 2026):

i-screen's terms say you can't claim Medicare for tests bought through its platform. Prices change often, so check each provider's website before you order.

A lab will also bill you privately when a doctor requests a test that Medicare doesn't fund, such as vitamin D without a risk factor. Labs don't publish these fees, so ask at the collection centre before your blood is taken.

How Vively compares

Your Baseline Health Check covers 70+ markers across heart, metabolic, liver, kidney, blood, thyroid and nutrient health for $99, your first month of Vively membership. Buying the same core markers on i-screen costs about $376 across five tests. A practitioner explains your results 1:1 after every Baseline, checks in between tests and builds your plan: diet, lifestyle and supplement recommendations, plus any extra tests worth doing, from hormone and nutrient panels to an at-home omega-3 kit or a continuous glucose monitor. A targeted re-test after 3 months is part of your membership, and there’s no minimum term. Add-on tests are priced individually, some under $50.

If you need one or two tests for a symptom, your GP is cheaper, often free. Vively costs more than a bulk-billed GP visit. It suits you if you want a broad check, results read against optimal ranges as well as the lab's normal range, a practitioner to explain them and a re-test to see what changed. You also skip the GP waiting room: see how a blood test without a GP referral works.

How to keep the cost down

• Ask your GP whether each test is Medicare eligible before you leave, especially vitamin D.
• Bring your Medicare card, and your concession card if you have one.
• Choose a lab that bulk bills. Your request form says you are free to choose your pathology provider, unless your doctor names a lab for a clinical reason.
• With an online provider, check whether the price includes collection and a doctor to explain your results.

When to see your GP instead

See your own GP or seek urgent care if you have chest pain, shortness of breath, unexplained weight loss, blood in your stool or urine, a fever that won't settle, or new or worsening symptoms. Vively supports preventive health and doesn't replace your GP for diagnosis, treatment or prescriptions. If you're planning a broader check that includes scans, read our guide to getting a full body check in Australia.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

• MBS Online: items 65070, 66500, 66512, 66536, 66551, 66596, 66716, 66833, 66838, 66841 and 73928 (fees checked 12 October 2026)
• MBS Online: changes from 1 July 2026, including 2.6% indexation of haematology items
• MBS Online: Introduction of annual indexation for certain pathology services (bulk billing rate)
• Services Australia: pathology patient episode coning rule
• Department of Health: National GP bulk billing snapshot, April to June 2026
• North Western Melbourne PHN: Bulk Billing Practice Incentive Program
• AusDoc, 11 August 2026: GP bulk billing rate and average gap
• Billing policies: Dorevitch Pathology
• Billing policies: Douglass Hanly Moir Pathology
• Billing policies: Sullivan Nicolaides Pathology
• Billing policies: QML Pathology
• Billing policies: Australian Clinical Labs
• Published prices: i-screen (and terms and conditions), MediTests, Everlab, checked 12 October 2026 (Everlab rechecked 14 October 2026)

Medically reviewed by Dr Michelle Woolhouse, Vively Medical Director. Medicare fees checked 12 October 2026. Provider prices checked 12 and 14 October 2026.