Published October 13, 2026

Card Surcharges Are Banned: What Allied Health Clinics Must Change (and What You Can Still Charge)

Since 1 October 2026, you can no longer add a surcharge when a patient pays by card. The card surcharge ban covers eftpos, Mastercard and Visa, and American Express, UnionPay and JCB have dropped surcharging too. PayPal followed on 5 October.

If your clinic surcharged, that small line on the receipt was helping cover your merchant fees. Now it’s gone, and it raises some practical questions. What do you need to switch off? Can you put your prices up? Can you still charge cancellation fees, after-hours fees, or give a discount for cash?

This post explains what changed, how it fits with Medicare, DVA, NDIS and private patients, and finishes with a checklist you can work through with your front desk.

Last checked: 7 October 2026. Every source is Australian and listed at the end. This is general information, not legal, financial or tax advice, so check anything specific to your clinic with your payment provider, accountant or adviser.

The short version

From 1 October 2026, surcharges on eftpos, Mastercard and Visa cards aren’t allowed. That’s credit, debit and prepaid cards, in person and online, including cards in phone wallets.
American Express, UnionPay and JCB removed surcharging from the same date, and PayPal from 5 October 2026.
It’s enforced through card network rules and your payment provider, not by a new law.
You can still raise your prices, offer a discount for paying another way (like cash or PayID), and charge fees that apply however someone pays, such as after-hours fees and fair cancellation fees.
Medicare bulk billing, DVA and NDIS still have their own rules on extra charges.
Your merchant fees should come down. Interchange caps dropped on 1 October, so ask your provider what you’re paying now.

What changed, and when

On 31 March 2026, the Reserve Bank of Australia announced the outcome of its review of merchant card payment costs and surcharging. The RBA Board decided on “removing surcharging on debit, prepaid and credit cards on the designated eftpos, Mastercard and Visa card networks”, together with lower interchange fees and more transparency about what merchants pay.

The changes started on 1 October 2026.

It’s a network rule, not a new law

This is the part that surprises people. There’s no new Act of Parliament. For years, the RBA stopped the card networks from banning surcharges. It has now lifted that restriction, and eftpos, Mastercard and Visa brought in their own no-surcharge rules from 1 October 2026.

So the rule reaches you through your merchant agreement. The ACCC says the card networks and payment providers are responsible for enforcing it, not the ACCC. AusPayNet, the industry body, says businesses that keep surcharging may be contacted by their payment provider or bank and may face penalties.

The RBA has also said that if surcharging continues, it could recommend that the Government legislate a ban.

Which cards are covered

Payment type	Can you surcharge?
eftpos, Mastercard and Visa (credit, debit and prepaid)	No, from 1 October 2026
Commercial and corporate cards on those networks	No
Overseas-issued cards on those networks	No
American Express, UnionPay and JCB	No. They removed surcharging from 1 October 2026
PayPal	No, from 5 October 2026
Buy now, pay later	Depends. Tyro says buy now, pay later paid through Mastercard, Visa or eftpos is covered. Other buy now, pay later services weren’t part of this review, and the RBA will look at them separately

The ban applies in person, online and to cards stored in mobile wallets.

One detail to watch: the RBA says that if a patient pays on or after 1 October 2026, surcharging may no longer be available, even if the invoice was issued earlier. If you have outstanding invoices that still show a surcharge, the safest option is to reissue them without it.

Why the RBA did it

The RBA’s own numbers make the case:

About 16% of Australian merchants surcharged. The RBA estimated around $1.8 billion a year in surcharges on eftpos, Mastercard and Visa cards, with consumers paying about $1.6 billion of that.
76% of consumers surveyed wanted surcharging to stop.
Cash fell to around 15% of in-person transactions in 2025, down from 69% in 2007.

When nearly everyone pays by card, a card surcharge stops being a choice and becomes a fee on almost every patient.

The upside: your card fees should fall

The ban came with cheaper card acceptance. From 1 October 2026:

Interchange cap	Before	After
Debit and prepaid cards	10c or 0.2%	8c or 0.16%
Consumer credit cards	0.8%	0.3%
Foreign-issued cards	No cap	1.0% (from 1 April 2027)

Interchange is the part of your merchant fee that goes to the patient’s bank. The RBA expects these changes to cut merchants’ costs by around $910 million a year.

Here’s the catch for smaller clinics. The RBA found small merchants pay an average of 1.4% of the transaction on single-rate plans, compared with 0.9% on unblended plans. Large merchants pay around 0.6%. Only 19% of small merchants are on unblended plans.

So if you’re on a flat single rate, the interchange cut only helps if your provider passes it on. More transparency is on the way:

From 30 October 2026: card networks and large acquirers start publishing fee data each quarter
From 30 January 2027: large acquirers publish how much of the interchange cut they’ve passed on to merchants
From 1 April 2027: all acquirers must give merchants more detailed statements

A quick call to your provider is worth it. Ask what your rate is now, whether an unblended plan would cost you less, and whether least-cost routing is switched on for debit cards.

What you need to change

The card terminal is the obvious one, but surcharges tend to live in more places than that. CommBank’s guidance lists EFTPOS terminals, practice management software and payment gateways, then websites, invoices, pricing displays, receipts and signage.

For a clinic, that usually means:

Card terminals. Some providers switched surcharging off for you. Tyro made a bulk change on 1 October 2026, and CommBank switched it off on its CommWeb and BPOINT platforms. Don’t assume. Run a test transaction and check the receipt. If you used Tyro’s Dynamic Surcharging for weekend or public holiday rates, Tyro says that’s no longer available through that feature, so set those fees up another way.
Your practice management software. If your system adds a card fee at checkout, on invoices or on payment links, turn it off.
Online bookings and payment links. Check deposits, prepayments and pay-by-link invoices.
Cards on file. Memberships, packages and payment plans charged to a saved card can’t carry a surcharge either.
Your website, fee schedule and signage. Remove any “a surcharge applies to card payments” wording from the front desk, website and booking confirmations.
Intake forms and financial consent. Plenty of clinics mention surcharges in their payment terms. Update them.
Your reception team. Give them a short, accurate answer for patients who ask.

Don’t rename the surcharge

It’s tempting to swap “card surcharge” for an “admin fee” or “processing fee” that only applies when someone pays by card. The ACCC warns that describing a card surcharge as a different kind of fee may be misleading conduct. If a fee only exists because the patient paid by card, it’s a surcharge.

The same goes for health fund claims. HICAPS’ provider terms say you must not disadvantage a cardholder, for example by charging a fee, solely because a health insurance claim is processed through HICAPS.

What you can still charge

The ban is about adding a fee for paying by card. It doesn’t stop you charging properly for your time.

Charge	Still allowed?	Watch out for
Higher prices to cover card costs	Yes	Don’t mislead patients about why your prices went up
A discount for cash, PayID or bank transfer	Yes	Show the full price as the main price. If you advertise the discount, state its terms
After-hours, weekend or public holiday fees	Yes, if they apply however the patient pays	Not on bulk-billed Medicare services or for DVA clients. NDIS price limits apply
Booking or service fees that apply to everyone	Yes, under the card rules	Not on bulk-billed Medicare services. No gap for DVA clients
Cancellation and no-show fees	Yes	Disclose upfront and keep it fair. DVA and NDIS have specific rules
Gap payments for private health patients	Yes	That’s your fee minus the fund’s rebate, not a surcharge

Raising prices

This is the simplest option, and the one the ACCC points to. Businesses can keep recovering card costs by building them into their overall prices. Just don’t mislead patients about the reasons for the increase. Telling patients your fees have gone up to cover rising costs is fine. Blaming it on something that isn’t true is not.

Discounts for other payment methods

You can offer a lower price for paying by cash, PayID or bank transfer. The ACCC’s rule is that the full price must be displayed, and the discounted price can’t be shown on its own or more prominently.

For example, “Initial consult $120, or $115 if you pay by PayID” is fine. “Initial consult $115*” with the real price in small print is not.

If you advertise a discount, AHPRA’s advertising guidelines say an advertised discount or inducement must include its terms and conditions.

After-hours and booking fees

The RBA has confirmed the card rules don’t cover weekend or public holiday surcharges, booking fees, or service fees that apply no matter how the customer pays. So a Saturday rate or after-hours fee is still fine for private patients, as long as it’s the same whether they pay by card, cash or PayID. Funding rules still come first, though. You can’t add any extra charge to a bulk-billed Medicare service, and DVA cardholders can’t be charged a gap.

Cancellation and no-show fees

The ban doesn’t touch cancellation fees, and they’re still one of the best ways to protect your diary. For private patients, the key is a policy that’s clear, disclosed before the appointment, and fair.

Since 9 November 2023, unfair terms in standard form contracts with consumers and small businesses can attract significant penalties. For a company, the maximum is the greatest of $50 million, three times the benefit gained, or 30% of adjusted turnover. The ACCC’s examples of potentially unfair terms include one that can penalise one party, but not the other, for breaching or ending a contract.

In practice, a reasonable notice window and a fee that reflects the lost appointment is a much safer place to be than a fee that looks like a penalty.

Medicare, DVA, NDIS and private health: the funding rules

The card rules sit on top of rules you already work with. Here’s a quick refresher.

Funding	Extra charges
Medicare, bulk billed	No additional charges of any kind. The Department of Health gives booking fees and annual admin or registration fees as examples, and says it doesn’t matter how the fee is described
Medicare, patient billed	You set your fee. Get informed financial consent
DVA Veteran Card	Accept the DVA fee as full payment, with no gap. DVA’s exercise physiology FAQ says a missed appointment fee is OK if it’s your standard practice and the client was told beforehand. Check DVA’s notes for your profession
NDIS	Under the most recent NDIS pricing guidance, prices can’t exceed the price limits, and you generally shouldn’t charge participants more than anyone else for the same support. Short-notice cancellation rules apply
Private health	Your fee, with the fund paying its rebate. Don’t add a fee because the claim goes through HICAPS
Private, no funder	Your fee schedule and policies, applied fairly and disclosed upfront

A note on NDIS

From 24 September 2026, a new NDIS Pricing Schedule, set by the Minister, replaced the Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits. The NDIA says updated pricing and claiming guidance is coming.

Under the most recent guidance (the 2025-26 Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits), a short-notice cancellation for therapy supports was one with less than two clear business days’ notice. Providers could claim up to 100% of the agreed fee if they couldn’t find other billable work for that time, and the cancellation terms had to be documented in the participant’s service agreement. Check the new guidance once it’s out.

What about GST?

Most allied health services are GST-free. The ATO lists physiotherapy, podiatry, psychology and occupational therapy, among others, as GST-free when the service is necessary for appropriate treatment. Exercise physiology isn’t on the list, and ESSA says GST generally applies to exercise physiology services.

That matters if you raise your prices. A GST-free service stays GST-free, while an increase on a taxable service carries GST.

For cancellation fees, the ATO’s ruling on the topic (GSTR 2009/3) treats a cancellation fee on a booking for a GST-free health service as GST-free. Its worked example is a medical practitioner, so check with your accountant how it applies to your services.

Your card surcharge ban checklist

Work through this with your practice manager or front desk.

Payments setup

Surcharging switched off on every card terminal, including spares
Test transaction run, with no surcharge on the receipt
Surcharge settings removed from your practice management software
Online booking deposits, prepayments and payment links checked
Recurring payments for memberships, packages and payment plans checked
Outstanding invoices that show a surcharge reissued without it

Pricing

Decided whether to absorb card costs or adjust your fees
New fee schedule set, with GST treatment confirmed for each service
Any cash, PayID or bank transfer discount shows the full price first
After-hours, weekend and booking fees apply the same way however patients pay
No extra charges on bulk-billed Medicare services, and no gap for DVA clients

Paperwork and communication

Website fee page and booking confirmations updated
Front desk signage updated
Invoice and receipt templates updated
Intake forms, financial consent and payment terms updated
Cancellation policy reviewed for clarity and fairness, and shown before booking
NDIS service agreements checked against the latest NDIS pricing guidance
Reception has a short, accurate answer for patient questions

Merchant fees

Asked your provider what your rate is after 1 October 2026
Compared single-rate and unblended plans
Asked whether least-cost routing is on for debit cards
Diary reminders set to check your provider’s published fees (from 30 October 2026) and interchange pass-through (from 30 January 2027)

How Clinic1 helps

Without surcharges, getting paid properly for the time you’ve booked matters even more. That’s a big part of what Clinic1 is built for:

Payment at booking. Take payment when the appointment is booked, using a saved card, so there’s less chasing invoices. See how payments work in Clinic1.
Cancellation fees applied automatically. Clinic1 checks each cancellation against your policy and applies the fee if it’s been breached, so your team isn’t making the call every time.
After-hours pricing. Set after-hours and dynamic pricing that applies the same way however the patient pays.
Memberships and packages. Predictable recurring revenue, with pause rules you control. See memberships.
Rebates through Clinic1. Staff can claim Medicare, DVA and private health rebates through the Tyro Health app. Alternatively, patients can download invoices from their patient app and upload them to their private health app to claim.

If you’d like to see it, start a 14-day free trial or book a walkthrough with me. Data migration is free from any practice management system.

FAQ

Are card surcharges banned in Australia?

Yes. From 1 October 2026, eftpos, Mastercard and Visa don’t allow surcharges on credit, debit or prepaid cards, in person or online. American Express, UnionPay and JCB removed surcharging from the same date, and PayPal from 5 October 2026. The ban works through card network rules rather than a new law.

When did the card surcharge ban start?

1 October 2026. The Reserve Bank of Australia announced the decision on 31 March 2026. The RBA says that for payments made on or after 1 October 2026, surcharging may no longer be available even if the invoice was issued earlier.

Can my clinic still charge a cancellation fee?

Yes. The card surcharge ban doesn’t cover cancellation or no-show fees. For private patients, make sure your policy is clear, disclosed before the appointment and fair. DVA and NDIS have their own rules on missed appointments and short-notice cancellations.

Can I offer a discount for paying cash or by PayID?

Yes. The ACCC says businesses can offer discounts for a particular payment method, such as cash or PayID. The full price must be displayed, and the discounted price can’t be shown on its own or more prominently.

Can I still charge an after-hours or weekend fee?

Yes, as long as it applies however the patient pays. The RBA has said the card rules don’t cover weekend or public holiday surcharges, booking fees or service fees that apply regardless of payment method. You still can’t add extra charges to bulk-billed Medicare services or charge DVA clients a gap.

Can I call the card surcharge an admin fee instead?

No. If a fee only applies because the patient paid by card, it’s a surcharge. The ACCC warns that describing a card surcharge as a different kind of fee may be misleading conduct.

Who enforces the card surcharge ban?

The card networks and payment providers enforce the no-surcharge rules through merchant agreements. The ACCC still enforces the Australian Consumer Law on misleading prices.