Better and Faster Access

My Health Record has strong privacy and security protections:

• You decide who can see your information.
• You can see who has accessed your record.
• There are penalties for unauthorised access or misuse.
• Audit trails and access history are available to you.
• Emergency access is tightly controlled.

Healthcare providers that don’t follow the new rules may be required to repay money received for that service under the Medicare Benefits Scheme and may face penalties. If a provider has an approved extension and is not yet uploading information, they must display a notice in their clinic and on their website.

Only written reports from pathology and diagnostic imaging services will be uploaded by default. The images won’t be included. If you don’t want a report uploaded, just let your healthcare provider know.

Most pathology reports are available as soon as they are uploaded. However, for certain types of tests, there will still be a delay of 5 days. This delay is in place to give your healthcare provider time to review the results first. If one report contains several results with different delay periods, a 5‑day delay will apply to the report.

X-ray reports of your arms and legs will be available as soon as they are uploaded. However, for other types of imaging, there will still be a delay of 5 days. This delay is in place to give your healthcare provider time to review the results and plan for your care.

Your pathology and diagnostic imaging reports will also still be sent directly to your GP or healthcare provider. It is recommended that you discuss your pathology and diagnostic imaging results with your healthcare provider. They are best placed to provide advice and help you understand your results.

You can also visit the Pathology Tests Explained website to learn more about pathology tests.

If you don’t have a My Health Record, your reports won’t be uploaded. You can register for one at any time.

To register for My Health Record you must:

• Be 14 years or older.
• Have the capacity to make decisions for yourself.
• Have an Individual Healthcare Identifier (IHI) – an IHI is a unique 16-digit number used to identify an individual for healthcare purposes. It helps ensure the right information is associated with the right individual at the point of care. If you are enrolled in Medicare, or are listed on a Medicare or DVA card, you will already have an IHI. If you are not enrolled in Medicare and are not listed on a Medicare or DVA card, you need to get an IHI before completing this form. To apply for an IHI, visit the Service Australia website or call the Healthcare Identifiers Service on 1300 361 457.

Yes, you can ask your healthcare provider not to upload a particular report. Your authorised or nominated representative (someone you trust to manage your health information) can also make this request on your behalf.

If you don’t have My Health Record, reports won’t be uploaded for you.

If you decide later that you don’t want a report in My Health Record, you can delete it, hide it from view, or restrict who can see it by using the privacy and access controls. Explore all the privacy and access controls.

Currently, some pathology and diagnostic imaging reports are not uploaded to My Health Record. Changes are expected to transition into effect throughout 2026, so that your results must be shared to My Health Record by default, unless the provider has an extension, or an exception applies. 

Prior to this, some reports may not be uploaded.

In some situations, information may not be uploaded, if an exception applies, such as:

• if you or your representative ask that it not be uploaded
• if your healthcare provider has concerns about your health, safety or wellbeing
• if technical issues (like a system outage) prevent uploading.

When exceptions like these apply, your provider must keep a record for at least 2 years.

There may be another reason that your report is not uploaded, for example, if a state or territory law prohibits uploading particular information.