Key points
- Greater Sydney counted 5,231,147 people at the 2021 Census, and 42.0% of its households use a language other than English at home.1
- Australia had 39,449 GPs providing Medicare funded care in 2023, and New South Wales faces an unmet demand gap of around 460 full time GPs, rising past 1,000 by 2028.2
- Since 1 July 2026, pathology and imaging reports reach My Health Record within 24 hours, and from 10 December 2026 every clinic's privacy policy must explain decisions made by software.34
- NSW law limits moving health information outside the state and makes recording a private conversation without consent an offence, so hosting and consent are settled before go-live.56
- wai drafts the note, the reply and the letter, and a person at the clinic approves each one, with records hosted in Australia.
Summary
A Sydney clinic can run AI across the consult and the front desk today, with the patient's consent to recording, a clinician signing every note and records held where NSW law expects them. The rules that matter in 2026 are the NSW Health Records and Information Privacy Act, the NSW Surveillance Devices Act, Ahpra's AI guidance and two federal changes on My Health Record and automated decisions.
Sydney clinics now answer patients in Mandarin, Arabic, Cantonese and Vietnamese within minutes, and GPs sign every note before they leave. A person at the clinic approves every draft, under NSW health privacy law and two federal changes that land this year.
Part of the NSQHS and RACGP hub, with the framework explained, a readiness checklist and 8 guides.
See it in your clinicThirty minutes on your own patients and doctors.
Request a demoSee a Mandarin WhatsApp enquiry drafted for your front desk to approve, and a consult note written while the GP talks, in fifteen minutes.
| Body or law | Rule | What to ask | How wai meets it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ahpra and the Medical Board of Australia | Informed consent for AI scribes, noted in the record, and knowing where data is stored | Where is consent recorded, and where does the data sit | Consent recorded in the patient's record, records hosted in Australia |
| NSW Surveillance Devices Act 2007, s7 | Recording a private conversation needs the consent of all principal parties | What does the GP say before recording starts | Consent captured at the start of each consult |
| NSW HRIP Act 2002, HPP 14 and s25 | Transfers outside NSW only on listed grounds, adult records kept 7 years | Where are the records held, and for how long | Hosting set up in Australia with your clinic, retention set to the NSW periods |
| Privacy Act 1988, APP 1.7, from 10 Dec 2026 | Privacy policy explains decisions made or substantially assisted by software | Which decisions does the software make | wai drafts and a person approves every message and note |
| My Health Record Share by Default, from 1 Jul 2026 | Pathology and imaging reports shared within 24 hours | How do results reach the note | wai is built to connect to My Health Record, set up with your clinic |
The private care market in Sydney
Greater Sydney had 5,231,147 residents at the 2021 Census, and 52.4% of them had both parents born overseas.1 Most of its doctors work in general practice, and the national count of GPs providing Medicare funded care rose from 36,916 in 2018 to 39,449 in 2023.2
The Department of Health's 2024 study estimates an unmet demand gap in New South Wales of around 460 full time GPs in 2024, rising to over 1,000 by 2028 and over 2,700 by 2048.2
The rules a clinic in Sydney works under
Doctors are registered through Ahpra and the Medical Board of Australia. Ahpra tells practitioners using AI to obtain informed consent and ideally note the patient's response in the health record, and to understand where data is located and how it is stored.7
Recording is a state matter. Section 7 of the NSW Surveillance Devices Act 2007 makes it an offence to record a private conversation, even one you are part of, unless all principal parties consent or a narrow exception applies, with penalties up to five years' imprisonment.6 wai records only with the patient's consent.
Health records have their own NSW statute. HPP 14 of the Health Records and Information Privacy Act 2002 allows health information to be transferred outside New South Wales only on listed grounds, such as substantially similar protection or the patient's consent, and section 25 requires adult records to be kept for 7 years from the last service and children's records until age 25.5 Hosting in another state counts as a transfer.
Two federal changes land this year. Since 1 July 2026, pathology and imaging providers must share written reports with My Health Record within 24 hours of first giving them to the requesting doctor.3 From 10 December 2026, APP 1.7 requires a privacy policy to say which personal information computer programs use to make, or substantially help make, decisions that significantly affect patients.4
wai hosts each clinic's records in its own country, under that country's rules. We set this up with your clinic. wai is compliant with these rules and built for clinics in Sydney. wai drafts and a person approves, so the APP 1.7 paragraph stays short. wai is built to connect to My Health Record. We set up your clinic's connection with you.
The languages Sydney patients write in
The 2021 Census counted 57.3% of Greater Sydney residents using only English at home. The top other languages were Mandarin at 5.0% (259,429 people), Arabic at 4.2%, Cantonese at 2.8%, Vietnamese at 2.2% and Hindi at 1.5%.1
wai works in any language, so an enquiry in Mandarin or Arabic is read, matched to the patient and answered with a draft for the team to approve.8
What a demo shows in Sydney
Bring your own week. A Mandarin WhatsApp message arrives at 10pm asking for a Saturday skin check in Chatswood, and the morning team finds a reply drafted with the slot held, ready to approve. A missed call from the Parramatta rooms becomes a drafted text within minutes.
In the consult, the note is written while the GP talks, consent is recorded at the start, and the GP signs before anything leaves the room. A deposit in Australian dollars runs through the clinic's own Stripe account, and the booking lands in the clinic's calendar. Test it on real messages in the languages your patients use, and judge the drafts yourself.
For health systems, governments and insurers in Sydney
Local health districts, private hospital groups and insurers need the same controls at scale, with consent recorded, every action logged and records held in Australia. wai builds clinical documentation, patient contact and one record across services around a defined pathway, with data and model rights agreed in the contract. The approach is set out on the page for health systems and governments.
Where to start
First, write the consent line your GPs will say before recording, and add it to a consent form that meets section 7 of the Surveillance Devices Act. Second, confirm in writing where records and processing sit, and the HPP 14 ground for any transfer outside New South Wales.
Third, draft the APP 1.7 paragraph for your privacy policy before 10 December 2026. Fourth, export one month of enquiries by channel and language, and measure reply time before and after a pilot. Book a Sydney demo and bring that export with you.
Bring a week of your Sydney enquiries, in every language they arrive in, and see the drafts your team would approve.
Frequently asked questions
Do patients in NSW have to consent before an AI scribe records the consult?
Can a Sydney clinic store records in Melbourne?
Only on an HPP 14 ground, such as substantially similar protection or the patient's consent, because the NSW HRIP Act restricts transfers outside New South Wales, including to another state.5
Does Share by Default mean our clinic must upload to My Health Record?
No. The 24 hour duty sits with pathology and imaging providers, and results reach the record sooner.3
What changes on 10 December 2026?
Every APP entity's privacy policy must describe the personal information used by computer programs that make, or substantially help make, significant decisions about individuals.4
Does wai reply to patients on its own?
No. wai drafts each reply in the clinic's voice and a person at the clinic approves it before it sends. Clinical questions go to a clinician.
Can patients write in Mandarin or Arabic?
wai works in any language, and each draft still goes to the team for approval.8 Test it on your own messages during the demo.
Sources
- 1Australian Bureau of Statistics, 20222021 Census QuickStats, Greater Sydney (1GSYD)Read 14 October 2026Read source
- 2Department of Health and Aged Care, 2024Supply and Demand Study, General Practitioners in AustraliaRead 14 October 2026Read source
- 3Federal Register of Legislation, 2025My Health Record (Share by Default) Rules 2025, F2025L01569Read 14 October 2026Read source
- 4Federal Register of Legislation, 2024Privacy and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2024, Schedule 1 Part 15Read 14 October 2026Read source
- 5NSW Legislation, 2002Health Records and Information Privacy Act 2002 No 71, HPP 14 and s25 (archived copy read 14 Oct 2026)Read 14 October 2026Read source
- 6NSW Legislation, 2007Surveillance Devices Act 2007 No 64, s7 (archived copy read 14 Oct 2026)Read 14 October 2026Read source
- 7Ahpra and National Boards, 2024Meeting your professional obligations when using Artificial Intelligence in healthcare (archived copy read 14 Oct 2026)Read 14 October 2026Read source
- 8wai, 2026wai changelog, intake answered by voice in any languageRead 14 October 2026Read source
Every Sydney patient answered, every note signed before five.
Fifteen minutes with a clinician who uses wai daily, on your own enquiries and consults. We reply within one working day.
Partner with us
See it on your own patients, then build it with us
Thirty minutes on your own patients, doctors and rules, in your market. We reply within one working day, and the clinics that partner with us early shape what we build next.
See what wai does between the visits