LDR Prostate Brachytherapy Billing Codes
An administrative issue briefly affected private health insurance claiming for Low Dose Rate (LDR) prostate brachytherapy, with a temporary cancellation from 1 March 2026. This has now been resolved and practices can resume normal billing.
The issue sat entirely within private health insurance reimbursement arrangements – it did not reflect any concern about the treatment itself. During this issue the MBS item numbers, ARTG certification and TGA approval were all unaffected. LDR brachytherapy is still available and there are no safety, quality, efficacy or regulatory concerns associated with LDR prostate brachytherapy or the implants used in the procedure.
The matter has now been resolved, with new codes issued and available for use from 1 July 2026:
- RQ077 has been replaced by ZE003
- RQ078 has been replaced by ZE002
Pricing under the new codes remains unchanged.
All relevant Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) item numbers were unaffected throughout and remain valid.
From 1 July 2026, implant orders can proceed through the usual ordering process, using the new billing codes. Some health funds may take a little time to update their internal systems, so practices are advised to confirm a fund's readiness before submitting claims in early July, to avoid processing delays. Public hospital services providing LDR brachytherapy have not been affected by this issue.
With the new codes active, health funds will once again cover the cost of LDR prostate brachytherapy seed implantation for eligible members.
Practices with questions about claiming under the new codes should contact their relevant health fund provider directly, or refer to the Prescribed List for updated code listings: