To be eligible to receive psychological services under Medicare, you must be referred by your treating doctor (i.e., a typically a GP, Psychiatrist, or Paediatrician). Speak to your treating doctor about your eligibility to claim Medicare benefits.

With a valid referral/Mental Health Care Plan you can receive rebate for up to 10 sessions within a calendar year. A doctor can only refer for up to 6 sessions at a time. After you have used 6/10 of the sessions, you will need to return to your referring practitioner to receive a review referral for the final 4.

Joplin Clinic is a registered provider of therapeutic services. Sessions funded by NDIS are charged at the standard psychology rate of $214.41 per hour.

A comprehensive extras policy for health insurance can include benefits for psychology. This coverage can allow you to claim a rebate for psychology sessions that provide support with issues such as relationship difficulties, anxiety and phobias, stress and pain management and eating disorders. You cannot receive Medicare and Health Fund rebates for the same invoice, you can only use one or the other.

The main difference between a Clinical Psychologist and a Registered Psychologist is their route of training. Both Clinical and Registered psychologists will have completed a bachelor’s degree with a major in psychology as well as an honours thesis. Typically, a Clinical Psychologist will have also completed a Master or Doctorate in Clinical Psychology alongside 2 years of supervised clinical training. Whereas a Registered Psychologist will have completed the 4+2 route (4 years of undergraduate study and 2 years of supervised clinical training) or the 5+1 route (4 years of undergraduate study, 1 year of postgraduate study and 1 year of supervised clinical training).

A Psychiatrist is a medical doctor, who specialises in mental health. Psychiatrists can prescribe medication, whereas psychologists do not.