The response to COVID-19 transformed primary care: new telehealth items were added to the Medicare Benefits Schedule, and their use quickly escalated, general practices and community health centres developed new ways of working and patients embraced the changes. As new coronavirus infections plummet and governments contemplate lifting spatial distancing restrictions, attention should turn to the transition out of pandemic mode. Some good things happened during the pandemic, including the rapid introduction of the new telehealth items. The post-pandemic health system should learn from the COVID-19 changes and create a new normal.