Medicare

Our practice is linked with Medicare Online and we are able to submit patient claims directly to Medicare under the following Medicare initiatives:

Mental Health Care Plan (MHCP) 

Medicare rebates are available for the treatment of a range of mental health problems (for example, depression or anxiety). Your general practitioner (GP), psychiatrist or paediatrician will assess whether or not you are eligible for a rebate. They base their decision on a detailed mental health assessment and prepare a Mental Health Treatment Plan before making a referral. You will need to book a longer session with your GP to enable time for this.

Medicare rebates are available for up to 10 individual consultations in a calendar year with a registered psychologist and range between $96.65 - $141.85.

A MHCP also gives you access to 10 rebated group sessions per calendar year as well.  Please refer to our Group Programs page for upcoming groups.

Please note: Some services such as relationship counselling are not covered by Medicare.

Eating Disorder Treatment & Management Plan (EDTP)

Under an Eating Disorder Plan you may be eligible for up to a maximum of 40 Medicare rebated sessions.  

• Your GP can organise the initial EDTP and conduct the first review (which would cover up to 20 sessions). 
• To access a further 10 sessions you will be required to see a GP and a Psychiatrist/Paediatrician.
• Your GP can review for the final 10 sessions. 

Important: An EDTP expires after 12 months.

For more detailed information on EDTP's please visit Services Australia.

Chronic Disease Management Plan (CDMP)

People with chronic medical conditions and complex care needs may be eligible for rebates for up to five consultations through the ‘Chronic Disease Management’ program per calendar year. Eligibility for this program must be assessed and recommended by a GP.

Private Health Funds

Rebates may be available through private health insurers’ ‘Extras’ schemes. Please note that you are not permitted to use Medicare and private health insurance for the same consultation.

Third Party Payment

If you have a third party payer e.g WorkSafe, TAC, NDIS or you are covered under an Employee Assistance Program (EAP), please phone 9500 0455 to discuss your options.

Payment

Payment is expected in full on the day of consultation.

We accept Visa, Mastercard, EFTPOS or Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT).

Please note: Wattletree Psychology is not a bulk billing practice.

Our Cancellation Policy

Sometimes there are good reasons for cancelling or rescheduling an appointment. However, unlike brief medical appointments, it is quite difficult to fill as 50-minute psychology session at short notice.

Cancelling your appointment at short notice affects:

1. You – if you cancel or postpone your appointment you will not progress as planned and momentum of your treatment is lost.
2. Other Clients – we have many clients waiting for appointments, if you cancel at the last minute, they miss out on the opportunity to access that appointment too.
3. Your Psychologist – inadequate notice is disruptive to your Psychologist, not only will they have spent time planning for your session, but they also lose income.  Our psychologists pay room rental, like you would do if you were renting a house, even if you don’t attend your appointment, they still pay rent.

Please remember that converting your session to TeleHealth (video or phone) is a practical solution if you can’t physically attend your session.

If, for some reason you need to cancel or reschedule your appointment, you will need to provide 1 business days' notice. You can contact the practice Monday - Friday, during normal business hours - 8:30am to 5pm.

If you do not provide 1 business days' notice you will be charged the cost of the session.

To cancel or reschedule a Monday appointment, please contact reception by 5pm Friday.

If you miss a scheduled appointment a 100% non-attendance fee will be charged.

Please note that TAC, WorkSafe, Medicare & Private Health Insurance do not cover late cancellation/non-attendance fees, the fee will be charged as an out-of-pocket cost to you, the client. If you are on an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) and you cancel with insufficient notice the missed appointment will still count as one of your allocated sessions.

Here at Wattletree Psychology, we pride ourselves on our commitment to your care. 

We trust that you find this policy fair and reasonable & we thank you for your understanding and co-operation.