We have daytime weekday GP referred telehealth appointments that are bulk-billed through Medicare, so as long as your GP has made a referral under the appropriate Mental Health Care Plan, your out of pocket costs to see our psychologist are zero and the session is FREE of cost to you. With COVID-19 the demand for our Bulk Billed sessions has skyrocketed and so we now have very long waiting lists. Please also see FAQ 14 below. FAQs1. I am not an Australian Citizen or Permanent Resident, how can I pay for my appointment?If you are not covered by Medicare, and so not eligible for free telehealth sessions, you can pay for the sessions using cash or card. Your private health insurance may provide rebates for you. 2. How long are the sessions?Each appointment is scheduled for 50 minutes. 3. Can I make an appointment without seeing a GP?Yes. You can make an appointment, but this will not be bulk-billed through Medicare and you will need to cover the costs of the session yourself. This cost may then be claimed back from your private health insurance if your policy covers psychology. 4. If I cannot cancel the appointment within 24 hours, will I still be charged?Yes. If you cannot make your appointment, please notify us at least 24 hours in advance so that your appointment can be made available to other patients. If you simply do not turn up for your appointment or cancel later than the close of business on the day before your appointment, the full charge of $190 to $280 for the appointment will be payable. If you cancel your appointment the day before but still with less than 24 hours notice before the appointment time, a cancellation fee of $75.00 will be payable, and this is not covered by Medicare or Private Health Insurance. |
5. Do you see WorkCover, WorkSafe, TAC, VOCAT, NDIS or DVA clients?Yes. All our registered psychologists are registered with these authorities, and you can be referred to them by your GP. |
6. How can I pay for my non-bulk billed session?We accept cash or card (EFTPOS, Visa, MasterCard) for payments that are not bulk-billed through Medicare. Your card details need to be provided at the time of booking, and they are saved in our secure payment processor. Your card will be charged on the morning of the day of your session. All sessions need to be paid for before the the session. |
7. How do I claim back the Medicare Rebate?In most cases, we can lodge your Medicare Rebate Claim for you after the session is completed. Medicare will then take 48-72 hours to deposit your rebate into the account you have registered with them. If you do not have a bank account registered with them, the refund will not be sent to you as Medicare no longer issues cheques. In some cases, we are unable to lodge Medicare Claims on your behalf, and you will be given a paid invoice by email that you can take to your nearest Medicare office for claiming. |
8. Do I need a Pension or Health Care Card to receive free access to a psychologist?No. We have daytime (starting before 5 pm) weekday appointments that qualify for Medicare bulk billing (up to 10 per calendar year) and are bulk billed to Medicare, so there is no payment required at all. Note that these appointments are very popular and so there is always a long waiting list to access them. Access to these appointments is not restricted to only those who have a Pension or Health Care Card. Your GP can prepare a Mental Health Care Plan and referral letter for you. Make sure to bring these along to your first session. |
9. Do you accept ATAPS vouchers?No. Since we have daytime weekday appointments that are bulk-billed to Medicare, there is no out of pocket cost to the patient, and so no need for ATAPS vouchers or subsidies. Simply make sure your GP refers you under the Better Access to Mental Health Care Initiative and provides you with a referral letter and Mental Health Care Plan. This enables us to bulk bill your appointments to Medicare. If you are not sure, show your GP this website, or have them ring us for more details. 10. Do you do Home Visits?Yes. By special appointment, depending on your location, one of our psychologists may make home visits if you are unable to attend our offices. These appointments are NOT Bulk Billed to Medicare, although if they are Medicare Eligible, rebates can be claimed. Please contact us to arrange a Home Visit appointment. 11. How much do private sessions cost?A daytime private session with one of our Provisional Psychologists is $90. A daytime private session with one of our Registered Psychologists is $190. An After Hours private session with one of our Registered Psychologists is $230. A daytime private session with one of our Clinical Psychologists is $240. An After Hours private session with our Clinical Psychologists is $280. *We work hard to keep our costs as low as possible and we are still below other private practices. 12. Can you write letters and reports?Yes. Some of our psychologists can write a letter or report covering your situation. These may be required for university, school, employers, insurers, court or other purposes. Additional charges apply to these reports, and they are not covered by Medicare. The cost will depend on the purpose and content of the report and may range from $143 to more than $3,500. 13. Which number will you call from?In order to protect your privacy, ALL our calls, whether from the Administrative or Clinical teams will come through as “Private Caller”. We will never risk breaking your privacy by having our number come up on your phone. This does mean that if you have a block on Private Callers, you will not be able to receive our calls. In this case, our team member will leave a message on your Voicemail service requesting that you call us back to complete the call. We apologise if this causes any inconvenience, but protecting your privacy is of utmost importance. 14. Why aren’t all your appointments Bulk Billed?Medicare rates for Psychology items were frozen as part of the Federal Government’s Medicare Rate Freeze from 2013 until July 2019 when annual indexation was re-introduced. This has meant that the rates have fallen far behind inflation and our costs. This is also why very few other private psychology services offer Bulk Billed appointments to the general public. The inclusion of Daytime Fee Payable and After Hours appointments for those who can afford it helps to subsidise our provision of Bulk Billed telehealth appointments. If we were to try to offer Medicare Bulk Billing for all our appointments, our service would quickly cease to exist and we would not be able to help anyone. For more details on the effect of this freeze, see here. 15. When will my card be charged?Your card may be charged at any time on the day of your appointment. This payment will cover your session fee, or the late cancellation fee if you cancel with less than 24 hours notice (See Cancellation Policy). Please ensure your card has sufficient funds available on the day of your appointment. Payment failures may result in your appointments being cancelled. In limited circumstances, this payment may be refunded or used as credit for a future session. |
