Fee information if you are on limited income

What does limited income mean?

We know that there are many people who work part-time or are paid minimum wages who will find the full fees challenging rate of $133.

[Please note existing clients this rate will not take effect until 2022]

IF you have an appropriate medical referral from a GP you can receive $88.25 rebate. You will not be required to prove limited income and we rely on your own honesty and self-assessment – discuss with us if you are not sure. Please note you will need to pay the $133 (credit/debit card) and then receive the rebate from Medicare. This means that you will be paying a gap of $44.75 per session.

How many sessions can I receive under Medicare?

It can be slightly confusing, however, to simplify it in one calendar year you can receive 10 sessions this is usually done in sessions of 6 then a medical review then another 4 can be authorised by your GP. At present under the Covid-19 arrangements, the GP can then authorise an additional 10 sessions making a total of 20 in one year. There are some complications as a GP may not always authorise the sessions in neat lots of 6, 4 and then 10 as they may choose to review you on a more regular basis. A psychologist can only access Medicare rebates for the number of sessions a GP specifies.

Can I take a referral to any psychologist?

Patients can be referred to a specialist for treatment of their condition. The referral must include:

  • relevant clinical information about the patient’s condition for investigation, opinion, treatment and/or management
  • the date of the referral, and
  • the signature of the referring practitioner
  • For psychologists the number of sessions must be specified

Referrals don’t need to be made out to a certain specialist or consultant physician that is they can be made out to The Psychologist

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