On bulk billing again - I've been astounded at the amount of people I've seen saying similar to ausgirl, that they have to pay when they see a doctor anyway. Every doctor I've been to in my entire life, aside from some private specialists, has bulk billed. Maybe it's a location thing? I've only lived in the suburbs... To me, paying anything is strange.

Swaying back to the topic - perhaps for non-bulk-billed places, the $7 is on top of the usual fee?
It is common out where I live (regional/rural NSW) that only patients under 16 are bulk billed. Most Dr's make you pay. I think it's only those with concession cards that get bulk billed. And again, long term patients may get bulk billed, but the majority don't.

We're largely unaffected by many of the changes. We earn too much to get any FTB at all and we've only ever viewed the school kids bonus as just that - a bonus. We also don't have kids in care either. I'm not sure how other things will affect us. We rarely use Dr's either. The only thing that will really bite is the fuel excise. I haven't had much of a chance to actually see exactly how we will be affected though.