Ultrasound cost Australia: Medicare, fees and gaps

By Dr. Mark Bekhit, Radiologist · Last updated August 2026

How much does an ultrasound cost in Australia?

There is no national retail price for an ultrasound. The Australian Government sets Medicare fees and benefits, while each imaging provider sets its own fee. Your cost follows one of the pathways below. Ultrasound is also used to guide procedures such as a cortisone injection, which is billed the same way — a set Medicare fee plus whatever the clinic charges on top.

For an out-of-hospital service, Medicare usually pays 85% of the Schedule fee. A privately billing clinic can charge more than the Schedule fee, so the 85% benefit is not the same as “85% of your bill”. The current examples below show why the exact item on the request matters.

What did patients actually pay for common ultrasounds?

The Schedule table shows statutory figures. The Australian Government’s Medical Costs Finder answers a different question: what patients were charged for out-of-hospital services in 2023–24. The graphic pairs two figures for each exact item.

The left column is the share of all patients who had no out-of-pocket cost. The right column applies only to patients who paid a gap; it is not an average across everyone. For some scans that was a minority, but for the 17-to-22-week pregnancy item most patients did pay a gap. For shoulder or upper-arm ultrasound, 83% paid nothing and the other group typically paid $104. For ultrasound of both breasts, 52% paid nothing and those who paid typically paid $115.

Pregnancy items show why a single “ultrasound price” is unhelpful. If your question is safety rather than cost, our guide to medical imaging in pregnancy explains why ultrasound is preferred. In the same 2023–24 dataset, 59% paid nothing for an ultrasound before 12 weeks, with a typical $110 patient payment among those who paid. For the 17-to-22-week item, 43% paid nothing and the typical payment among those who paid was $160. The after-22-week item recorded 70% paying nothing and a typical $120 payment for the remainder.

These are national historical benchmarks, not a 2026 quote. Compare them with the provider’s quoted final gap, rather than with the larger amount you might pay before Medicare is claimed.

Why can two ultrasound quotes be different?

The word “ultrasound” covers many MBS items. An abdominal examination, a bilateral breast examination and a pregnancy examination at 17 to 22 weeks have different item descriptions and benefits. A quote should therefore begin with the exact examination written on the request, not a generic price for “an ultrasound”.

Eligibility is the next factor. The shoulder item, for example, lists the clinical conditions it covers, while pregnancy items are divided by gestational age and other item conditions. A request can be clinically valid without matching a Medicare item for that particular service.

The provider’s billing decision then sets the final gap. Providers choose their own fee and whether to bulk bill. One can accept the benefit as full payment; another can charge above it. That difference is a billing choice, not a different Medicare rebate for the same item.

Does Medicare cover an ultrasound?

Medicare contributes when the examination matches an MBS item and its request conditions. Under MBS request guidance, an R-type service generally needs to be requested before it is performed, and the request should identify the service and include enough clinical information. All nine examples in the table above are marked R-type.

A matching item makes a Medicare benefit payable; it does not make bulk billing compulsory. When the provider does bulk bill, almost all diagnostic-imaging items attract a benefit at 95% of the Schedule fee and the patient pays nothing. When it bills privately, the usual out-of-hospital benefit is 85% of the Schedule fee and a gap can remain.

The detailed requester rules belong with the request, not a price guess. Our guide to ultrasound requests and referrals explains who can request common examinations, while the Medicare imaging guide compares ultrasound with X-ray, CT, MRI and nuclear medicine. The bulk-billed radiology guide separates eligibility from a provider’s billing choice.

Will private health insurance cover an ultrasound?

Not when the ultrasound is an outpatient Medicare service. Private health insurers are not allowed to cover out-of-hospital diagnostic imaging, so hospital cover cannot fill an outpatient ultrasound gap.

The admitted-private pathway is different. For a covered service while you are admitted as a private patient, Medicare pays 75% of the MBS fee and the insurer at least the remaining 25%; charges above the MBS fee and a policy excess can remain. As a public patient in a public hospital, treatment is free, although access follows clinical need. Our public-versus-private imaging checklist explains the practical trade-offs.

How do you get a useful quote before booking?

Have the request in front of you. A figure such as “$210” can mean the full provider fee before Medicare, while “$110 out of pocket” means the amount left after the benefit. Treat those as different numbers.

The Australian Government’s informed-financial-consent guidance recommends a written estimate that includes the likely item number, total fee, expected Medicare contribution, out-of-pocket amount and payment timing. That is enough information to compare two providers on the final amount you pay.

You can take the request to another provider that performs the examination, even when a particular imaging company is printed on the form. A change of provider does not change the request or the MBS item conditions, but it can change the fee and bulk-billing decision.

Where can you find an ultrasound clinic?

Start with the ultrasound clinic finder or the national radiology directory. You can also browse ultrasound services in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and Perth.

Use the same request and the five quote questions with two nearby providers. Once booked, follow the provider’s instructions; the ultrasound preparation guide explains why some scans need fasting, a full bladder or neither.

Common questions about ultrasound costs

Can an ultrasound be completely free?

Yes. An eligible outpatient ultrasound costs $0 when the provider bulk bills and accepts the Medicare benefit as full payment. Treatment is also free as a public patient in a public hospital. A request alone does not guarantee either pathway.

Why is the Medicare benefit less than 85% of my bill?

Because the 85% is calculated from the MBS Schedule fee, not the provider’s retail fee. If the Schedule fee is $131 and a provider charges $212, Medicare’s current 85% benefit for that item is $111.35, not 85% of $212.

How much is a pregnancy ultrasound?

The item and benefit change with pregnancy stage. Current 85% benefits include $60.10 before 12 weeks and $100.20 at 17 to 22 weeks. In 2023–24, patients who paid a gap for those items typically paid $110 and $160 respectively.

Is a breast ultrasound covered by BreastScreen?

No. BreastScreen Australia provides free screening mammograms for women without symptoms, not diagnostic breast ultrasound. If a screening mammogram reported dense breasts, whether to add an ultrasound is a decision for you and your GP. A bilateral breast ultrasound has its own MBS item and request pathway; its cost depends on whether that service is eligible and how the provider bills it. For whether you need a free screening mammogram or a GP-referred diagnostic one, see BreastScreen vs a diagnostic mammogram.

Does private health insurance pay an outpatient ultrasound gap?

No. Private insurers cannot cover out-of-hospital diagnostic imaging. Hospital cover is relevant only when the scan forms part of a covered private admission, which is a separate funding pathway.

Can I compare prices at another ultrasound provider?

Yes. Services Australia says you may choose another provider as long as it offers the required scan. Compare the total fee, expected Medicare benefit, amount payable on the day and final gap using the same request.

How we know: sources and method

The current item descriptions, Schedule fees and benefits were checked in MBS Online on 6 August 2026. The patient-payment examples come from the Australian Government Medical Costs Finder’s 2023–24 national out-of-hospital claims data. The percentage and dollar in the graphic use different denominators: the percentage covers all patients for the exact item, while the dollar covers only those who paid a gap.

• Department of Health: diagnostic-imaging fees, Medicare and item restrictions
• MBS Online: current items 55036, 55038, 55065, 55076, 55864, 55700, 55704, 55706 and 55718
• Medical Costs Finder: 2023–24 patient data for abdomen, both breasts, shoulder/upper arm, pregnancy before 12 weeks and pregnancy at 17 to 22 weeks
• Services Australia: medical costs and Medicare benefits
• Department of Health: private health insurance boundaries
• healthdirect: ultrasound, safety and preparation

This article is general information, not personal medical advice. Discuss your individual report and next steps with the healthcare professional responsible for your care. It does not replace a written quote for your exact requested service.

Author: Dr. Mark Bekhit

Dr Mark Bekhit (MBChB, FRANZCR) is a musculoskeletal radiologist practising in Brisbane and an AHPRA-registered specialist in diagnostic radiology (MED0002920947). He spends as much time building software as reading scans: he founded Imaging Finder (Australia) and Radiology Clinics NZ to make imaging easier to find, and builds radiology dictation and pain-tracking tools with one aim — better patient outcomes and a smoother reporting workflow. Outside the reading room he's usually training, bringing the same performance mindset to imaging.