Fees & Rebates
The Psychological Health Centre is a private billing practice. Fees are set by each clinician and are required to be paid immediately following each session. Please contact us for information regarding current fees and payment options.
Referrals
A referral is not required to receive psychological or occupational therapy services. However, our clinicians welcome referrals from GPs or mental health professionals.
To claim a rebate through Medicare a valid referral from a General Practitioner or Psychiatrist is required. If you are referred with a Medicare Referral please read the following information carefully. If you attend a session without a valid GP referral letter, you will not be eligible for a Medicare rebate, and your session will be billed at the private rate.
Mental Health Treatment Plans (MHTP)
If your GP has referred you under a Mental Health Treatment Plan (MHTP) through the Medicare Better Access Program, you may be eligible for a rebate on up to ten individual therapy sessions per calendar year.
Medicare requires a signed referral letter from your GP in addition to your Mental Health Care Plan for each “episode of care.”
- The initial referral covers a maximum of six sessions.
- A further four sessions may be accessed with an additional GP referral letter.
If you are attending a group program at The Psychological Health Centre, you may be eligible for up to 10 Medicare rebates for group sessions. For group therapy sessions a referral covers a maximum of ten sessions.
A valid Medicare referral under the Better Access Program must include:
- referral date
- referring Dr name, address and provider number
- the referring practitioner’s signature (noting this can be an electronic signature)
- reasons for referral
- patient’s name, date of birth and address
- patient’s symptoms or diagnosis
- a list of any current medications
- the number of services the patient is being referred for
- a statement about whether the patient has had a MHTP Plan prepared
Medicare rebates for an individual consultation on a MHTP (50mins):
- Clinical Psychologist $145.25
- Psychologist $98.95
- Mental Health Occupational Therapist $87.25
Please visit the Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) website for current rebates for other session types.
Eating Disorder Treatment Plans (EDP)
If your GP has referred you under an Eating Disorder Treatment Plan (EDP) through the Medicare Better Access Program, you may be eligible for rebates on up to 40 sessions within a 12-month period from the date of your initial plan.
- Eating Disorder Plans are structured into four episodes of care, each consisting of up to ten sessions.
- Your GP must provide an initial Eating Disorder Plan and a signed referral letter for the first episode of care, as well as a new referral letter for each subsequent episode.
Additionally, Medicare requires a psychiatric review before you can access more than 20 sessions (i.e., before receiving a referral for sessions 21 and beyond). If a referral is provided without evidence of this review, you will not be eligible for a Medicare rebate, and your session will be billed at the private rate.
Chronic Condition Management Plan (CCMP)
If your GP has referred you under a Chronic Condition Management Plan (CCMP), you may be eligible for Medicare rebates on up to five sessions per calendar year. Please advise our intake team if you have been referred under a CCMP.
Chronic Condition Management Arrangements are available to patients that have at least one medical condition that has been (or is likely to be) present for at least 6 months. It is up to the GP’s clinical judgement to determine whether an individual with a chronic condition would benefit from these services. Services provided by your clinician must be consistent with your GP plan. Acceptance of a referral is at the discretion of the individual clinician, if the referral is not accepted your clinician will inform the referring practitioner that the request cannot be accommodated.
Processing Medicare Rebates
The Psychological Health Centre is able to process your Medicare rebates for you promptly following receipt of payment. Our admin team and your clinicians will take all reasonable steps to ensure that the Plan/Referral documents you provide comply with Medicare guidelines for rebate processing. However, we cannot guarantee that Medicare will approve or process a rebate payment.
Please note that Medicare rebates vary depending on the length of your session. Individual appointments shorter than 50 minutes attract a lower rebate. If your session is booked for an hour but runs under 50 minutes — for example, if you arrive late or leave early — we are required under Medicare guidelines to apply the lower rebate. However, the full session fee will still apply.
Medicare rebates do not apply for services that are provided by any other Commonwealth or state funded services or provided to an admitted patient of a hospital.
Bulk Billing
As The Psychological Health Centre is a private billing practice, we do not offer bulk billing. In the rare event that a clinician bulk bills an appointment, you must have a valid referral on file. Without a valid referral, The Psychological Health Centre is unable to process a bulk billing claim.
Additionally, for each bulk billed session, you are required to sign an Assignment of Benefit, confirming that Medicare should issue the benefit payment directly to the clinician. This ensures that you incur no out-of-pocket costs.
Private Health Funds
You may be eligible to claim services received from your clinician on your private health insurance. The Psychological Health Centre cannot directly process private health claims on your behalf; however, we can issue you an invoice for you to claim directly with your health fund. Please check with your health fund regarding your specific eligibility and rebate entitlements.
Please note that it is not permitted to claim both Medicare and private health insurance rebates for the same session.
Other funding options
In some cases, services can be provided under other funding arrangements (such as NDIS, Victims Services, Veterans Affairs). If you think you may be eligible, please speak with your clinician or our intake team.
Cancellation fees
Please note that clinicians charge cancellation fees for sessions cancelled less than 24 hours prior to the appointment or that are not attended or cancelled. Please be aware that Medicare will not rebate cancellation fees.
Consultation, supervision and training
Many of our clinicians offer consultation, supervision and/or training in their area of practice. Fees for consultation, supervision and training vary and are available upon request.
Payment Terms
All payments are due at the time of the session. We accept all major credit cards and payment can be made in the office by EFTPOS. If you choose you can provide credit or debit card details that will be stored by us in an encrypted form enabling us to process the payment following each session. This option will incur a processing fee.