Rebates

Claiming with Medicare

You may be eligible to claim a rebate for your psychology consultation through Medicare. To be able to claim a Medicare rebate, you will need to bring a referral letter from your GP or Paediatrician prior to commencing sessions with ECA Psychology. Additional information on the Medicare Benefits Schedule can be read here.

*Note: different referral types have different fee and remuneration structures

Mental Health Care Plan (MHCP)

These rebates are for 10 individual and 10 group psychological sessions per year. The Medicare rebate on your standard consultation is $96.65 with a referral letter. Please click here to re-visit the fees of therapy sessions.

Complex Neurodevelopmental Disorders (Autism)

If you have been referred for an assessment under this scheme, we require a referral letter from your paediatrician requesting 4 assessment sessions with the psychologist, if you would like to claim a Medicare rebate for the assessment. Under this scheme, there are also a total of 20 therapy sessions available for each individual per lifetime. A separate referral letter is required if the medical professional refers to a psychologist for therapy sessions under this scheme.

Please note:

You or your child must be under the age of 25 years to access this scheme
To apply for rebates the referral letter must be provided in advance of the first appointment with the psychologist
The referring medical practitioner determines which allied health professionals are needed to assess the individual and how to best allocate the sessions.
This scheme offers a total of 8 assessment/diagnostic sessions for each individual per lifetime, reviewed with your Paediatrician/Psychiatrist after the initial 4 have been used
The Medicare rebate per consultation is $96.65 with a referral letter

For psychological diagnostic assessments, four sessions are typically requested:

Intake Session
Assessment Session 1 (Cognitive)
Assessment Session 2 (Autism)
Feedback Session

Chronic Disease Management Plan (CDM)

You may be eligible to apply for a chronic disease management plan (CDM). This Medicare item, as part of a government initiative, assists people living with a chronic or complex medical illness to get the support they need from allied health professionals. Please click here to re-visit the fees of therapy sessions.

Medicare provides rebates for up to a total of 5 visits per year from a range of allied health professionals including psychologists. To be eligible to claim rebates under this initiative, you must have a chronic medical condition that has been present or is likely to be present, for six months or more.
The Medicare rebate on your standard consultation is $60.35 for a current CDM.

Claiming Your Medicare Rebate

To claim your rebate please provide a copy of your current referral and current Medicare card prior to your first appointment. Full payment is taken at the time of the session and the Medicare rebate will be processed by ECA Psychology on your behalf. The rebate will be returned directly to the bank account you have nominated with Medicare, usually within 1-2 business days.

National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS)
We offer services to children and adolescents who have access to NDIS self and plan-managed funding. The fee is required to be paid in full on the day of service, a paid invoice is then provided that is to be submitted to NDIS by the parent/caregiver. Please click here to re-visit the fees of therapy sessions.

Private Health Fund

If you have extras cover, please contact your private health insurance provider to confirm they offer rebates for psychological services prior to your consultation.

You cannot use your private health insurance ancillary cover to pay for any additional costs above Medicare rebates.

You need to decide if you will use Medicare or your private health insurance ancillary to pay for the psychological services you receive. You may want to look into and calculate your rebate amounts on both before you decide which one you would like to use.

For example, if you obtain a MHCP and have Private Health Insurance, you may first use the MHCP allocation of 10 sessions/year and then access your Private Health Insurance for a rebate on any additional sessions if required.