Medicare Referral You will need a referral if you wish to utilise the Medicare rebate. As I am an Accredited Mental Health Social Worker, I can offer Medicare rebates with a Mental Health Care Treatment Plan through your GP or Psychiatrist. To receive a referral, via a Mental Health Treatment Plan (MHTP), you will need to schedule an appointment with your treating medical practitioner to discuss your concerns. To claim the Medicare rebate, you must provide the referral letter and MHTP before or at the time of the first appointment. Once referred, you may receive up to 10 sessions every calendar year. Typically, an initial 6 sessions are delivered after which, a review with your referring GP/Psychiatrist is required to determine if you are eligible to access the remaining 4. Private referrals Counselling services can also be accessed without a GP or Psychiatric referral. Private referrals mean there is no medicare rebate and you pay the full amount. There is no limit of sessions per year. Private Health Funds Some private health fund members (including Bupa and the Teachers Health Fund) can claim benefits for services delivered by Accredited Mental Health Social Workers. A MHTP referral is not required for these services to be eligible for a private health fund rebate. Services can either be claimed from Medicare, via a MHTP, or their approved health fund, but not both. Please contact your private health fund to determine if you are eligible to access a rebate from an Accredited Mental Health Social Worker.

The fee for a face to face or online counselling session will depend on the type of referral you are utilising.The fee schedule for a 60 min counselling session (face to face or Telehealth) is substantially less than the Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW) recommended rate of $289 per hour.My current fee of $210 is intentionally set below the recommended professional rate, with a commitment to making therapy as accessible and affordable as possible. If you are utilising a Mental Health Treatment Plan (MHTP) you will receive $89.50 Medicare Rebate for each session.If you are utilising a private health care fund - the fee may vary depending on the rebate from your fund.