What we do

Setting up an AI scribe in your practice.

Heidi and Lyrebird setupAccounts and user access with multifactor authentication, linked to Best Practice or your clinical software, and a backup way to take notes if the scribe is down.
Care planningTemplates for GP chronic condition management plans (MBS items 965 and 967). The scribe drafts; the GP sees the patient, checks the plan, records the patient’s agreement and offers them a copy. Best Practice templates →
TemplatesNote, referral, letter and report templates set up in the scribe for each doctor.
Patient complianceConsent before the scribe listens, recorded in the notes. Wording for signs, the enrolment form and your website. A patient can say no or withdraw at any time, and the doctor takes notes another way.
Clinic compliancePrivacy policy updated for AI. Vendor checks before you sign: where data is stored and processed, whether patient data trains the AI, security, and whether any feature makes it a medical device. A privacy impact assessment. Compliance documentation →
GovernanceA written AI policy: which tools are allowed, who checks the output, how errors and privacy breaches are reported, and a regular review at practice meetings. Set against RACGP criterion F11 and the 5th edition criteria a scribe touches. Accreditation →

The rules

What the rules say.

Checked 13 October 2026. General information, not legal advice.

Consent firstGPs must get the patient’s consent before using an AI scribe in a consultation, and record it. Recording a private conversation without consent may be an offence under state and territory surveillance laws. Sources: RACGP, AI scribes (page updated 29 June 2026); Ahpra, AI in healthcare.
The clinician checks every noteThe practitioner is responsible for the accuracy of records made with generative AI. Do not rely on item numbers a scribe suggests. Sources: Ahpra, AI in healthcare; RACGP, AI scribes.
Privacy policyTell patients in your privacy policy and notices that the practice uses an AI scribe. From 10 December 2026, privacy policies must also cover computer programs, including AI, that make or substantially and directly help make decisions that could significantly affect a person. If you are unsure whether that covers you, the OAIC says include it. Sources: RACGP, AI scribes; OAIC, APP 1.7 to 1.9 fact sheet (September 2026); OAIC, AI products guidance (updated 17 January 2025).
Medical device or notA scribe that only transcribes the consultation into a written record is not a medical device. One that suggests a diagnosis or treatment the practitioner did not state is a medical device, and must be in the ARTG before it is supplied. Check again after software updates. Source: TGA, Digital scribes (updated 30 January 2026).
Where the data is keptNational guidance says scribe data must be stored and processed in Australia unless the patient explicitly consents to it going offshore. It is guidance, not law; sending health information overseas falls under Australian Privacy Principle 8. Sources: ACSQHC, AI Safety Scenario: Ambient scribe (August 2025); OAIC, AI products guidance.
AccreditationThe RACGP 5th edition, still used for accreditation, has no AI criterion; a scribe falls under consent, records, privacy and security (C1.3, C6.2, C6.3, C6.4, C7.1). The 6th edition adds criterion F11 for practices that use AI: consent, clinical oversight, and a risk check before and review after. Sources: RACGP Standards 5th edition; RACGP criterion F11; ACSQHC, 6th edition (updated 26 August 2026).

AI and compliance.

Setting up an AI scribe in your practice.

What the rules say.

Accreditation, compliance and Best Practice.

Using an AI scribe, or about to?

AI and compliance.

Setting up an AI scribe in your practice.

What the rules say.

Accreditation, compliance and Best Practice.

Accreditation

Compliance Documentation

Best Practice Premier

Using an AI scribe, or about to?