With a valid referral, you may be able to claim a rebate from Medicare to subsidise the cost of your appointment.
The most common type of referral we receive is called a Mental Health Care Plan. There are several other types of referral.
See our quick guide to Mental Health Care plans, and then our full FAQ, below.
FAQ – Mental Health Care Plans
- A mental health care plan is a type of referral, usually written by a GP.
- If we receive a valid referral, you can claim a rebate from Medicare. They will pay you by bank transfer.
- The referral is valid for a certain number of appointments, usually 6 or 4.
- After all appointments on the referral are used, your referring doctor can write another referral – this is called a review.
- Only 20 appointments can be claimed per calendar year.
- You can still see your psychologist without a valid referral, but Medicare will not pay you a rebate.
As of October 2020, up to 20 appointments can be claimed on a Mental Health Care Plan per calendar year. This limit was previously 10.
To access these extra 10 appointments, you must return to your referring doctor for a new referral after you have had 10 appointments in the calendar year. They can then write a referral that is valid for a further 10 appointments.
A typical case might look like this:
- Initial referral by GP
- 6 appointments with psychologist
- Review referral from GP
- 4 appointments with psychologist
- Second review referral from GP
- 10 appointments with psychologist
FAQ – Other Referrals
- Most of the information in the section above also applies for other Medicare referrals.
- The main differences are the number of appointments allowed per referral, and the amount of the rebate.
- The other referrals we frequently receive are Eating Disorder Plans (EDP), Chronic Disease Management Plans (CDM)