From 1 July 2026, all 33 endometriosis and pelvic pain clinics in Australia also provide care for menopause and perimenopause. Source. It sits inside a women’s health package worth nearly $800 million, and it lands in every state and territory at once. Source.
That is a policy announcement, but it is also a workforce one. Women’s health has moved from a personal interest that clinicians carried quietly into a funded service line with Medicare items, minimum consultation times, clinics in every region and a national awareness campaign behind it. Those are the conditions that turn interest into roles. And the roles are not only in general practice: they run through allied health, medical imaging, locum work and dental practice too.
Key Summary
- What changed: menopause and perimenopause care is now part of all 33 endometriosis and pelvic pain clinics, from 1 July 2026. (Ministers’ media centre)
- Who it affects: GPs, allied health, medical imaging, locums and dental teams, not only women’s health specialists.
- The scale so far: more than 125,000 menopause health assessments covered by Medicare, and more than 450,000 women helped by new PBS menopausal hormone therapy listings. (Ministers’ media centre)
- Where it sits: at least one clinic in each of the 31 Primary Health Network regions, so this is a regional story as much as a capital city one. (Department of Health, Disability and Ageing)
- The funding follows the skill: a 20 minute GP menopause assessment and a 30 minute complex gynaecological ultrasound both have their own Medicare items. (MBS Online)
- Worth watching: the first national menopause campaign runs to December 2026, and presentation rates tend to follow awareness. (Ministers’ media centre)
Why This Is a Workforce Story, Not Just a Policy Story
The clinic network is the clearest signal. There are now 33 endometriosis and pelvic pain clinics: the original 22, plus 11 delivered more recently, with all 31 Primary Health Networks having at least one clinic in their region. Source. The funding runs through the Primary Health Networks and covers additional practice staff, including allied health and nurse navigators. Source. In other words, the money is not only for doctors’ time. It is for a team.
The volume is already real. As at April 2026, the original 22 clinics had supported more than 10,000 women and girls and delivered more than 28,000 services. Source. On the Medicare side, the growth is visible in the space of a single month: nearly 105,000 menopause health assessments had been claimed as at 25 May 2026, and more than 125,000 as at 26 June 2026. Source and Source.
Awareness is being pushed too. Australia’s first national menopause and perimenopause campaign launched in 2026 and runs to December 2026. Source. Campaigns of this kind can lift the number of people who raise a symptom with a clinician, so practices may see more of these conversations over the second half of the year.
Practical read: you do not need to retrain to work in this area. In most cases it is an extension of what you already do, with some targeted upskilling and a clearer story about your interest.
Where the Work Sits, Division by Division
Here is what women’s health work looks like across the fields we recruit in, what is driving the demand, and what is worth building or showing if you want more of it.
General Practice
General practice has the most direct funding signal. Since 1 July 2025 there has been a dedicated Medicare item for a menopause or perimenopause health assessment: item 695 for GPs, with a schedule fee of $104.55 as at July 2026 after the 2.6 per cent indexation applied on 1 July, a minimum of 20 minutes, and a limit of one per patient in any 12 month period. Source and Source. Item 19000 is the equivalent for prescribed medical practitioners, at $83.60 as at July 2026. Source. Practice nurses and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health practitioners can assist with the assessment under supervision, which makes it a team item rather than a solo one. Source.
There is a training pathway attached as well. The AusLARC national training project, run by Sexual and Reproductive Health Australia with the RACGP, offers free hands-on training in intrauterine device and contraceptive implant insertion and removal across 21 sites plus mobile outreach, and it is open to GPs, nurse practitioners, registered nurses and midwives. Source.
One detail says something about how this interest is currently organised. The RACGP’s Specific Interests groups include Antenatal and Postnatal Care, Sexual and Reproductive Health, Breastfeeding and Lactation Medicine and Breast Medicine, and there is a Men’s Health group, but there is no single group titled Women’s Health. Source. For a GP building a profile in this space, that fragmentation is an opportunity as much as a gap: the interest is real, and it is not yet crowded.
Allied Health
Allied health is written into the model rather than bolted on. Many of the clinics are broadening what they offer to women in menopause and perimenopause with access to physiotherapy, dietitians and psychology alongside clinical care. Source. The clinic funding also covers additional practice staff such as allied health and nurse navigators. Source.
Pelvic health physiotherapy is the clearest defined pathway. The Australian Physiotherapy Association’s Women’s, Men’s and Pelvic Health national group supports progression towards titling and specialisation in continence and women’s health physiotherapy, across continence, pelvic floor training, pregnancy and postnatal care, pelvic pain and oncology-related conditions. Source. If you want the day-to-day picture of that role, our guide to the women’s health physiotherapist role covers it.
The underlying demand is measurable. Deloitte Access Economics modelling for Continence Health Australia found that 4.8 million Australian women, almost 4 in 10, experience incontinence, and that the total cost to Australia in 2023 was $100.4 billion. Source. Post-menopausal bone health adds more. Healthy Bones Australia’s March 2026 position statement puts more than 196,000 fractures a year in Australia and sets out a combination of weight-bearing, resistance and balance exercise alongside calcium and protein targets, which is work for exercise physiologists, physiotherapists and dietitians. Source.
Medical Imaging
Medical imaging has the single clearest funding signal of any division. From 1 November 2025 there has been a dedicated MBS item, 55080, for a pelvic ultrasound in suspected or known complex gynaecological conditions, including severe endometriosis, adenomyosis, pelvic congestion syndrome, chronic pelvic inflammatory disease and pelvic floor dysfunction. Source. It carries a schedule fee of $261.65 as at July 2026, requires a minimum of 30 minutes scanning time, and cannot be claimed within 24 hours of the listed standard pelvic ultrasound items. Source. The Australasian Sonographers Association describes the item as recognising the advanced expertise required. Source.
For sonographers, that is unusual and worth reading carefully. A 30 minute protected scanning time attached to its own fee is Medicare paying for depth rather than throughput, and it rewards practitioners who build real capability in gynaecological imaging.
Breast imaging adds a second stream. BreastScreen Australia’s position statement recommends that women be informed in writing of their mammographic breast density, noting that about 33 per cent of women aged 50 to 74 have high breast density and about 10 per cent have extremely dense breasts. Source. Guidance issued in November 2025 sets out how GPs should handle that notification and when supplemental imaging such as MRI or contrast-enhanced mammography may be considered, and notes that services in several states are already reporting density in result letters. Source. For where imaging demand is concentrated, see our Sydney medical imaging demand article.
Locums
The geography of this program is what makes it a locum story. A clinic in every Primary Health Network region means small multidisciplinary teams in regional centres, and in a small team one absence can pause a service line altogether. Source.
There is already funded infrastructure for this kind of cover. The Australian Government funds the Rural Locum Assistance Program, which supports locum placements for nurses, midwives, obstetricians, anaesthetists and allied health professionals in rural and remote services. Source. Broader pressure is pushing in the same direction. RANZCOG reports that the proportion of births in private hospitals fell from 30 per cent to 20 per cent of total births over the decade to 2023-24, and that at least 14 private hospitals have closed their birthing units since 2018, which shifts volume towards public and regional services. Source.
Locum work is also the lowest risk way to test whether this niche suits you. A few weeks in a service with a heavy women’s health caseload tells you more than any course will, and you can do it without leaving your permanent role. Our 2026 locum guide sets out how that works across each field.
Dental
Dental is the division most often left out of the women’s health conversation, and there are two concrete reasons it should not be.
The first is bone health. Healthy Bones Australia’s consensus statement on medication-related osteonecrosis of the jaw, published in March 2026 and endorsed by the Australian Dental Association, recommends assessment by a dentist where possible to identify and treat serious dental disease before anti-resorptive therapy begins, and states that discussion between dentists and physicians is essential. Source. Post-menopausal women are a named population in that pathway. The reported incidence in osteoporosis dosing is low, at 0.02 to 0.04 per cent for bisphosphonates and 0.04 to 0.3 per cent for denosumab, but it rises to 1 to 2.5 per cent following invasive dental procedures in at-risk patients, which is exactly why the coordination matters. Source.
The second is menopause itself. A clinical review in the Journal of Mid-life Health notes that hormonal changes during menopause can contribute to xerostomia, periodontal disease, burning mouth syndrome, oral mucosal changes, altered taste and osteoporosis-related oral issues, and recommends coordinated care between dental and medical practitioners. Source. A practice that takes a careful medication history and can hold that conversation with confidence is offering something many patients are not getting elsewhere. For context on where dental demand sits nationally, see our 2026 dental workforce update.
| Division | What drives demand | What the work looks like | What to build or show |
|---|---|---|---|
| General Practice | MBS items 695 and 19000, the clinic network, the national menopause campaign | Longer structured assessments, contraception and LARC procedures, clinic sessions alongside a multidisciplinary team | Menopause assessment experience, LARC training, a clearly stated special interest |
| Allied Health | Clinic multidisciplinary model, incontinence and pelvic pain volume, post-menopausal bone health | Pelvic health physiotherapy, dietetics, psychology, exercise programs, nurse navigator roles | Progress towards APA titling in continence and women’s health, group program experience |
| Medical Imaging | MBS item 55080, breast density notification, bone densitometry | Longer protocolled pelvic and transvaginal studies, breast imaging, DXA | Depth in gynaecological ultrasound, comfort with 30 minute protocols and detailed reporting |
| Locums | A clinic in every PHN region, Rural LAP, private maternity unit closures | Short stints covering leave and vacancies in small regional teams | Broad women’s health exposure, current registration, fast onboarding and travel flexibility |
| Dental | The MRONJ pathway for post-menopausal osteoporosis, menopause-related oral changes | Pre-treatment dental assessment, managing dry mouth and periodontal risk, liaison with treating doctors | Careful medication history taking, referral and communication habits with medical teams |
Why this matters: for clinicians, this is a niche you can enter from where you already stand, not a career restart. For practices and clinics, the staffing signal is multidisciplinary, so the planning needs to cover the whole team rather than one role. And because the menopause Medicare items sit on an initial two year footing, the safest move for everyone is to build capability that holds its value regardless of what happens at review.
How to Move Into Women’s Health Work Without Starting Again
The practical route in is narrower than it looks. Most clinicians already see women’s health presentations; the shift is doing more of them, doing them deliberately, and being able to say so.
Start with one targeted piece of training in your own field. For GPs and nurses that may be the free AusLARC contraception training, or a menopause-specific course. Source. For physiotherapists it is likely to be the APA titling pathway in continence and women’s health. Source. For sonographers it is building genuine depth in complex gynaecological studies, which the new item now recognises and funds. Source. For dentists it is reading the MRONJ consensus statement and putting a medication question into the routine history. Source.
Then make the interest visible. Hiring managers in this space are looking for evidence, not enthusiasm: a course completed, a caseload you have actually carried, a clinic session you already run, a referral relationship you have built. Put those on the CV in specific terms rather than describing yourself as having an interest in women’s health.
If you are not sure the niche suits you, take a short contract or a locum stint in a service with a heavy women’s health caseload before you commit. It is a low-risk way to find out, and it is often how a permanent role in the area starts.
Conclusion
Women’s health has spent a long time as an interest people carried on the side. Funded clinics in every region, dedicated Medicare items with protected consultation and scanning times, and a national campaign have changed what that interest can be. It is now something you can build a career direction around, whether you are a GP, an allied health clinician, a sonographer, a locum or a dentist.
If you want to know what is available in your field, talk to us.
Disclaimer: This blog is a general overview and should not be construed as professional legal, financial or medical advice.
FAQs
- What changed for endometriosis and pelvic pain clinics on 1 July 2026?
From 1 July 2026, all 33 endometriosis and pelvic pain clinics also provide care for menopause and perimenopause. The clinics sit in every state and territory, with at least one in each of the 31 Primary Health Network regions.
- Do I need a formal qualification to work in women’s health?
In most fields, no. Your existing registration is the foundation, and the usual route is targeted upskilling on top of it: a contraception or menopause course for GPs and nurses, the APA titling pathway for physiotherapists, deeper gynaecological scanning experience for sonographers. What employers tend to look for is evidence of actual caseload rather than a single certificate.
- Which Medicare items support menopause care in general practice?
Item 695 for GPs and item 19000 for prescribed medical practitioners, both introduced on 1 July 2025. The assessment must last at least 20 minutes and can be claimed once per patient in a 12 month period. Item 695 has a schedule fee of $104.55 as at July 2026.
- What is MBS item 55080 and who performs that scan?
It is a pelvic ultrasound item for suspected or known complex gynaecological conditions, including severe endometriosis and adenomyosis, which commenced on 1 November 2025. It requires a minimum of 30 minutes scanning time and carries a schedule fee of $261.65 as at July 2026. It is performed in diagnostic imaging practices, and it rewards sonographers who have built real depth in gynaecological imaging.
- Is there women’s health work outside the capital cities?
Yes. The clinic network was designed so that all 31 Primary Health Networks have at least one clinic in their region, which puts services in regional centres as well as capital cities. Rural locum programs funded by the Australian Government also support cover for nurses, midwives, obstetricians, anaesthetists and allied health professionals in rural and remote services.
- How does women’s health affect dental practice?
In two ways. Post-menopausal osteoporosis treatment involves anti-resorptive medicines, and the March 2026 consensus statement endorsed by the Australian Dental Association recommends dental assessment before therapy begins and close communication with the treating doctor. Separately, menopause itself is associated with dry mouth, periodontal disease, burning mouth syndrome and altered taste, which changes how a practice manages risk and recall for those patients.
Information Sources
- Ministers’ media centre: Menopause care at all endometriosis clinics (26 June 2026)
- Ministers’ media centre: 33 endometriosis and pelvic pain clinics now open (27 April 2026)
- Ministers’ media centre: Delivering the first national menopause campaign for Australian women (25 May 2026)
- Department of Health, Disability and Ageing: Endometriosis and pelvic pain clinics
- MBS Online: Item 695, menopause and perimenopause health assessment
- MBS Online: Item 19000
- MBS Online: Menopause and perimenopause health assessment services factsheet
- MBS Online: July 2026 changes and indexation
- MBS Online: Item 55080, ultrasound for complex gynaecological conditions
- MBS Online: New ultrasound item for complex gynaecological conditions factsheet
- Australasian Sonographers Association: New ultrasound MBS item for complex gynaecological conditions (25 October 2025)
- BreastScreen Australia: Position statement on breast density and screening (6 November 2024)
- BreastScreen Australia: Breast density guidance for GPs (November 2025)
- Australian Physiotherapy Association: Women’s, Men’s and Pelvic Health national group
- Continence Health Australia: The economic cost of incontinence (Deloitte Access Economics, 2024)
- Healthy Bones Australia: Position statement on the management of osteoporosis (March 2026)
- Healthy Bones Australia: Consensus statement on medication-related osteonecrosis of the jaw (24 March 2026)
- Shrivastava S, Menopause and oral health: clinical implications and preventive strategies, Journal of Mid-life Health, 2024
- RANZCOG: Gender bias is undermining maternity care in Australia (17 November 2025)
- Rural Locum Assistance Program (Rural LAP)
- newsGP: GP training for IUD and birth control implants a game-changer (4 September 2025)
- RACGP: Specific Interests groups
