Information and Policies

Medicare Rebates

If you have a valid Mental Health Care Plan (MHCP) and referral from your GP or psychiatrist, you will be eligible for a rebate of $141.85 per session for the maximum number of sessions allowed by Medicare per calendar year (usually 10). Rebates can usually be processed automatically following payment of the session. Please note that I will need your current Medicare card number and a copy of your valid referral and MHCP in order to provide you with a Medicare-eligible receipt.

Additional information about the various Medicare rebates and programs is available on the APS website.

Private Health Rebates

Your rebate will depend on your level and type of cover, and who your insurer is. Please contact your private health fund if you are unsure what rebates you may be able to claim.

Please note that you cannot use your Private Health extras cover and claim a Medicare rebate for the same session.

Cancellations

Please give as much notice as possible if you need to reschedule or cancel your appointment so that this spot can be offered to someone else who is waiting.

If you are cancelling or rescheduling with less than 48 hours’ notice, the following fees apply:

  • Less than 24 hours’ notice will result in the full session fee still being charged.

  • Less than 48 hours’ notice will incur a cancellation fee of 50% of your normal session rate.

Cancellation fees are due ahead of your next session, and unfortunately Medicare and Private Health funds do not allow rebates to be claimed for cancellation fees.

By booking an appointment you are agreeing to this cancellation policy.

After-Hours Availability

Please note that I am unable to provide emergency services in private practice, and therefore I cannot guarantee to return urgent messages left for me via phone, email, or online within a certain timeframe. I may also be unreachable for significant lengths of time during business hours, and I am not contactable outside of business hours unless organised beforehand.

For these reasons, returning your contact can sometimes take over 48 hours.

Privacy & Confidentiality Policy

Your relationship with us (“us/we” refers here to me as your psychologist as well as any professional support staff engaged by me, such as admin assistants or IT technicians) is a professional one with important and specific limitations to what can be kept confidential. 

The limits to what we can keep confidential applies to all information of any nature (i.e., during the administrative process, active psychological service delivery, incidental communication exchanges, etc.) that you share with us, in any format (via email, telephone call, text, social media, mail, in person, etc).

Any and all information you share with us will remain strictly confidential, except under any of the following circumstances:

  • When there is a legal obligation to disclose information (e.g. if I or my file notes are subpoenaed);

  • If we reasonably believe that the collection, use, or disclosure of such information is necessary to lessen or prevent a serious threat to the life, health or safety of any individual, or to the public’s health or safety;

  • When I access clinical supervision (where appropriate, patient information is discussed in a non-identifiable way, and only with colleagues who are professionally and ethically bound to preserve your confidentiality too);

  • To comply with the conditions of your funding (e.g. reporting requirements for sessions funded by a Medicare scheme, your employer, WorkSafe, NDIS, etc.);

  • In following all legal requirements for reporting alleged or suspected child abuse to the relevant authorities as specified by the Government; or

  • If you disclose information about a registered health practitioner (including yourself) that AHPRA defines as requiring mandatory notification.

In all of the above exceptional circumstances, we make efforts to safeguard your privacy where possible by disclosing only the minimum, necessary, and relevant information. If we wish to share your information under any circumstances not listed above, we will first gain your consent or the consent of the person/s with legal authority to act on your behalf. 

Your session notes and records of all other communication are stored securely and comply with relevant privacy laws.

We respect and support your right to make an informed decision about how and what you communicate with us, and so we will alert you to our confidentiality policy and seek your consent to our policy as early in our first communication as we reasonably can. By communicating with us, you are consenting to all information being treated in accordance with our confidentiality policy. If you have any questions or concerns about your privacy and information, please raise these with us at the beginning of our first contact before disclosing anything further.