Billing and Fees

Better Access to Mental Health Care – Medicare

In 2006, the Australian Government introduced the Better Access to Mental Health Care Initiative. This initiative provides rebates towards sessions with a Psychologist. In order to access the rebates, you need to have a Mental Health Care Plan that can be prepared by your GP, Psychiatrist or Paediatrician. If you have a Mental Health Care Plan, Medicare provides a significant rebate towards the total cost – currently this is $137.05 for Clinical Psychologists and $93.35 for Psychologists. Clients are eligible to receive rebates for up to 10 individual sessions per calendar year*. 

In addition to individual therapy sessions, Medicare provides rebates towards 10 Group Therapy sessions per calendar year.

The out of pocket gap for an individual, 50-60 minute consultation with a Psychologist and Clinical Psychologist will be approximately $90. 

You are not required to get a Mental Health Care Plan to see our Counsellors as there are currently no Medicare rebates available for Counselling Services. The private fee for a 50-60 minute consultation with a Counsellor is $125.

* The number of rebated sessions are based on Government budget allocation and is not representative of how many sessions a person may need

Claiming Your Medicare Rebate

Online Claims

You can make an online claim for Medicare rebates using your Smart Phone and the Express Plus Medicare App.

Our reception staff will provide you with a Medicare receipt when you have seen our psychologist. You will need this when you submit your claim. To submit an online claim you need to:

  1. Register Online Medicare Claims account. To create an account go to http://www.my.gov.au. 
  2. You will see an Online Hub that enables you to add different services such as Medicare or Centrelink  
  3. Download the Express Plus Medicare Smart Phone App and set up with my.gov.au login details from Google Play Store
  4. Make your Psych Services claim using the App by using the SQUARE link to upload your Medicare Receipt as an attachment
  5. Rebates usually take 24-48 hours to process and will be transferred directly to your nominated bank account

Paper Claims

  1. In order to make a paper based claim, download a Medicare Claim Form
  2. Attach your Medicare receipt that will be provided to you following the session with our psychologist 
  3. Post the completed application to: 

MEDICARE

GPO BOX 9822

MELBOURNE VIC 3000

In Person Claims

  1. Take your Medicare Receipt and completed Medicare Claim Form to your nearest Medicare Service Centre to claim your rebate

For more information on Medicare benefits please see the Australian Government website on How to Claim a Medicare Benefit

Provisional Psychologist & Counselling Interns

Emerald Psychology Practice is a placement location for Provisional Psychologist and Counselling Interns. Interns are affiliated with a University and required to complete on site Internship placements. All Interns are completing a PostGraduate Masters or Doctorate level courses and are qualified and experienced to provide psychological assessment and treatment under the Supervision of a Board Approved Clinical Psychologist Supervisor. Provisional Psychologists and Counselling Interns are able to provide low cost psychological care to our clients.

The out of pocket gap for a 50-60 minute consultation with an Intern is just $50 and there is no requirement for a Mental Health Care plan. Clients can access long-term psychological treatment without the limitation of 10 rebated sessions through Medicare.

Our clinic is passionate about supporting Internship programs and building links with local Universities in return for a valuable service to our patients.

TAC, Workcover, DVA & VOCAT

Emerald Psychology Practice accepts clients with an approved claim under a number of third party providers. There are no out of pocket expenses under the above schemes. All of our Psychologists are registered to provide care under third party providers. The number of sessions is dependent upon the type of claim you have.

Brief Intervention Service

Emerald Psychology Practice offers a Brief Intervention services with our Provisional Psychologists. 

The out of pocket gap is $50 for: 

1X 60 minute phone consultation

2X 30 minute follow up phone consultations

There is no requirement for a Mental Health Care plan and clients will not lose their place on our waitlist. 

National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS)

Emerald Psychology Practice is registered to provide assessment and treatment to patients registered under the NDIS. There are no out of pocket gaps for NDIS patients and accounts are all recovered from NDIS directly. We accept all self managed plans.

Private Health Cover

Clients who have Private Health cover can receive rebates towards consultations with a Psychologist. The number of rebated sessions and the out of pocket fee will depend on the type of cover you have.

Private Fees

Clients who wish to see a Psychologist outside of Medicare or any other schemes are able to pay the full fee for a consultation. Emerald Psychology is committed to providing affordable services within the private sector and as such the fees are well below the recommended rate by the Australian Psychological Society of $280

The fees for our services are as follows:

Individual 50-60 Minute Consultations: 

  • Clinical Psychologist $225
  • Psychologist $185
  • Counsellor $125

50-60 Minute Couples or Family Therapy:

  • Clinical Psychologist $245
  • Psychologist $205
  • Counsellors $185

Billing & Cancellation Fees

The Emerald Psychology Practice uses the HICAPS billing system to allow for a convenient and efficient payment process. Clients can receive their Medicare and Private Health Cover rebates immediately. Medicare and EFTPOS cards are required in order to process rebates. For tele-health sessions, clients can attend the clinic to claim their rebate or rebates can be claimed individually. 

Emerald Psychology Practice in an independent private practice therefore all accounts must be settled on the day of service.

Late Cancellations

We require 48 hours notice, within business hours, to cancel or reschedule a session. Any missed appointments or late cancellations will incur a late cancellation fee of 50% of the total invoice. There are currently extensive wait times to see psychologists so it is important that where support can be offered to someone, that we make every effort to fill available sessions. 

Medicare and most other third party payees DO NOT cover late cancellation fees. This is a private bill that will be invoiced directly to the client. 

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