Some answers to common questions
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Better Access - Medicare
Q. How long will the session be?
A. Sessions are for fifty (50) minutes with ten (10) minutes to make payment and book your next appointment.
Q. How many sessions am I entitled to have with the Medicare rebate?
A. You are entitled to ten (10) individual sessions and ten (10) group sessions (maximum) every calendar year. A calendar year is valid from 1 January to 31 December and does not relate to your referral letter date.
Generally, your GP will approve the initial six (6) sessions which is known as the 1st course of treatment. At the completion of the initial six (6) sessions, we will send a progress report to your GP.
Your GP will then determine approval for the remaining four (4) sessions and provide a new referral letter for the 2nd course of treatment. If your GP approves, your counselling services will continue to the maximum of ten (10) sessions with a rebate.
If your GP fails to provide a new referral for the remaining four (4) sessions, your treatment will be considered completed at the end of the initial six (6) sessions. You can undertake the 2nd course of treatment at any time later in the same calendar year as required.
Q. How much will I get back from Medicare?
A. The current Medicare Rebate rates are as follows:
$84.80 General Psychologists
$124.50 Clinical Psychologists
Please go to the link below on the Human Services (Medicare) website as it has all the information you may be looking for and may answer a lot of your questions regarding how to access psychology counselling services and what your entitlements are. If you still have questions, then our FAQ may provide further clarification. Click Here
Q. How do I access psychology counselling with a Medicare Rebate?
A. You will need to obtain a GP Mental Health Treatment Plan (“GP MHTP”) from your GP and a GP referral letter.
Q. I have my GP Mental Health Treatment Plan and Referral letter – what happens now?
A. Contact 0431 694 447 to arrange an appointment or book online. Please ensure that your GP has either faxed or emailed the GP MHTP and GP referral letter to New-Well Start Psychology
Fax. 08 6311 7470
Email. info@newellpsych.com.au
Alternatively, you must bring a copy of your GP MHTP and referral letter with you to your initial appointment if you have received a copy to ensure that you will receive your Medicare rebate.
Q. MHCP initial 6 of the 10 sessions, is there a waiting period to access the additional 4 sessions?
A. All MHCP’s provide a patient with 10 sessions per calendar year. The GP approves the initial 6 sessions and then reviews progress in order to provide approval for the remaining 4 sessions. There is sometimes a delay during the review process depending on how quickly the GP approves the ongoing counselling but there is no set period of delay and most GPs are efficient at ensuring the continuity of treatment.
Q. What does New-Well Start Psychology do if they receive my referral and GP MHTP?
A. Once we receive a referral with a valid GP MHTP, we make every attempt to contact the client to book an initial appointment. If we fail to make contact, we will leave a message and/or send a text message advising that we have received your referral and have attempted to contact you
Q. What happens if I did not attend (“DNA”), or I reschedule or cancel my appointment with less than 24 hours notice?
A. Should you decide to cancel/reschedule your appointment without providing 24hrs notice, following two (2) reminders, then you will be liable for the full fee without the Medicare Rebate regardless of the reasons for the cancellation/reschedule. If possible, a one (1) hour telephone consultation may be conducted at that missed appointment time. In effect, you will then receive one (1) hour of counselling at the full fee without the Medicare Rebate.
Q. What if I change my mind and decide I no longer wish to continue with the referral?
A. Please notify New-Well Start Psychology of your decision not to proceed with the referral. If we have failed to make contact with you within two (2) weeks of receipt of the referral, we will notify your GP.
Q. What happens if I use up my ten (10) rebated sessions but I still want to attend counselling?
A. You are welcome to continue psychology counselling as a private client, however, you will be required to pay the full fee without receiving any further Medicare rebate until the following calendar year allocation becomes valid again. You may be entitled to receive a rebate from your Private Health Fund – please check details of your cover directly with your relevant fund once you have exhausted your Medicare rebate allocation.
Q. What do I do if I decide to start psychology counselling a few months after I obtained my referral?
A. Your GP MHTP and referral letter remain valid for twelve (12) months, therefore, if they are not out of date, you can book an appointment any time within that twelve (12) month period. There is no problem waiting until you feel ready and committed to attend.
Contact 0431 694 447 to arrange an appointment or book online.
Q. What happens if my GP MHTP is dated later in the year – do I still get my ten (10) sessions?
A. Yes – regardless of when your referral is dated, you are entitled to ten (10) sessions per calendar year (1 January to 31 December). However, please note that you cannot transfer any unused sessions to the following calendar year.
Q. What happens if my referral overlaps two (2) calendar years?
A. Please see the following this link to the Medicare Human Services website which explains what happens to your allocated entitlement of counselling services when they overlap two (2) calendar years.
Q. How much will psychology counselling cost?
A. Please discuss your financial situation with our Psychologist when booking your initial appointment if you require a discounted fee. Pension and Health Care Card holders will need to provide a copy of their details in order to receive a discounted and/or bulk billed rate.
Q. What does “GP MHTP” stand for?
A. GP Mental Health Treatment Plan, but some people refer to a GP MHTP as a GP Mental Health “Care” Plan.
Q. When does my Mental Health Care Plan expire?
A. Essentially, a Mental Health Care Plan is valid for twelve (12) months but you must have a valid referral letter. At various points in your treatment process, your GP may review your GP MHTP (or MHCP) and update the plan according to any changes in your circumstances. Alternatively, your GP may simply provide you with an updated referral letter and maintain the original GP MHTP as appropriate.
Q. When does my GP referral expire?
A. GP referral letters are valid for 12 months only. You will need to obtain a new referral if your referral letter is dated more than 12 months ago.
Your GP may also require you to attend a review appointment at the end of the initial six (6) sessions – 1st course of treatment. Your GP should provide an approval letter for the remaining four (4) sessions prior to commencing the 2nd course of treatment.
Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
Q. Can I use New-Well Start Psychology for my EAP service?
A. New-Well Start Psychology is a registered EAP provider with a number of different EAP companies, however, you will need to check and make this request to your EAP provider.
Q. How do I access psychology counselling through EAP?
A. You need to determine which EAP provider your company uses and contact them to arrange your psychology counselling.
Q. How long will the session be?
A. Sessions are for fifty (50) minutes with ten (10) minutes to book your next appointment.
Q. How many sessions am I entitled to under EAP?
A. This is dependent upon your organisation’s EAP agreement and allocation. Most companies provide three (3) to six (6) sessions under EAP services
Q. How much will EAP psychology counselling cost?
A. Your fee is covered by your Employer under your EAP service so there is no personal cost to you.
Q. What does “EAP” stand for?
A. EAP stand for Employee Assistance Program. Many companies entitle their staff access to Psychological Counselling and there is no cost to you the client. Ask you company if they provide EAP support!
Q. What happens if I did not attend (“DNA”), reschedule or cancel my appointment with less than 24 hours notice?
A. If you do not provide notification within 24 hours of the date and time of your appointment, you will forfeit that EAP session, regardless of the reason for your cancellation or no-show and it will be deducted from your annual allocation.
Q. What happens when I complete my EAP sessions?
A. You can request approval for additional counselling sessions under EAP. This request will then be processed by the EAP provider with your Employer and approval will be provided or declined.
Q. What can I do if I want to continue psychology counselling?
A. You can become a private client and access psychology counselling for ten (10) sessions under the Medicare Better Access program (see steps above).
Private Clients
Q. How do I access psychology counselling privately?
A. Contact 0431 694 447 to arrange an appointment or book online HERE.
You do not require a GP referral if you wish to attend as a private client. As a private client, you will pay the full fee without Medicare rebate
Rural and Remote Clients Through Telehealth
Q. Is New-Well Start Psychology able to provide me with Telehealth Services if I live in a remote rural location?
A. Yes, NWSP is able to use video conferencing to provide Telehealth Services provided you qualify.
Q. Do FIFO (fly in fly out) workers qualify to access Telehealth Psychological Services.
A. YES, if you have a valid referral and you are in a MMM 4 – 7 area at the time of the service. See “What Determines the Regions” FAQ for details on how to view the regions.
Q. How is the Telehealth session delivered, is it via phone?
A. For a Medicare Telehealth benefit the service MUST be provided by an audio AND video link. A phone call is not sufficient to qualify. These services can be provided via a Smart Phone.
Q. How many sessions am I entitled to have utilising Telehealth Services?
A. You are entitle to ten (10) individual sessions and ten (10) group sessions (maximum) every calendar year. A calendar year is valid from 1 January to 31 December and does not relate to your referral letter date.
After 6 sessions under the Better Access initiative you will require a review by your referring practitioner to access further sessions.
Q. Where can I access further information?
A. You can view the following Department of Health Guidelines and FAQ’s:
Better Access Telehealth initiative for rural and remote patients Frequently Asked Questions
Better Access Telehealth initiative for rural and remote patients Guidelines
Q. What determines if a region is rural or remote?
A. The Department of Health uses the Modified Monash Model (MMM) to classify regions. To qualify for Telehealth services you must live in a region MMM 4 – 7.
You can view THIS MAP to see the regions, then follow the instructions below.
On the right under “Select Your Layers” find “Department of Health – custom remoteness classification” and check the box next to “Modified Monash Model (2015)”. You will see different colours for the regions, you can enter your address in the search box above “Select Your Layers”.
Q. Who can access Telehealth Services?
A. Clients must meet the normal requirements for Better Access services and be in a rural or remote region at the time of the service. The client must also be located more than 15 kilometres by road from the providing practitioner.
What to Expect
We endeavour to provide a professional service at all times, maintaining our client’s privacy and confidentiality (see our policy) and keeping all records secure.
Our offices are comfortable with a pleasant ambience to ensure your comfort and to enable you to feel confident that we are here to help and support you through your mental health experiences.
You can expect to feel some apprehension, stress and potentially even anxiety when coming in to meet us for the first time. To alleviate these heightened feelings, please ensure that you know the location, date and time of your appointment and leave yourself additional travel time to arrive punctually in order to minimise any additional stress.
Registered and Clinical psychologists need to be fully registered with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (“AHPRA”). Being under AHPRA ensures accountability for services being provided, legal protection and safety for the client and the practitioner should a dispute arise, and compliance with required protocols under strict Codes of Ethics and Conduct as appropriate. All psychologists working for New-Well Start Psychology are qualified, registered with AHPRA and also have valid insurance for professional indemnity and public liability.
Provisional psychologists are in training, however, are under the supervision of a Registered Psychologist during this provisional registration period.
We also abide by recommendations and regulations under membership of the Australian Psychological Society (“APS”) to ensure maximum benefit and compliance for our clients and our practice.
We are approved Medicare Providers and have valid Provider Registration numbers for each location where services are provided which entitles our clients to receive their Medicare rebate.
We utilise a variety of therapeutic strategies, techniques and tools to ensure a wholistic psychology counselling experience. Our main current therapy is Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (“ACT”) which is based on functional contextualism and Relational Frame Theory (“RFT”) in order to assist our clients to navigate their mental health issues. For more on the range of issues we manage, please go to our Services page.
Workers Compensation Claims
Q. How can New-Well Start Psychology help me to obtain approval from my Insurer?
A. If we receive your GP referral and details of your claim, we will, on your behalf, seek written approval from your Workers Compensation Insurer for psychology counselling services to commence.
Q. How long will the session be?
A. Sessions are for fifty (50) minutes with ten (10) minutes to book your next appointment. An initial appointment may be for a longer period between ninety (90) minutes to two (2) hours – you will be notified of this.
Q. How many sessions will I be entitled to under my Workers Compensation claim?
A. Some Insurers will approve for an initial assessment only and we will then provide a report to the Insurer with recommendations for ongoing counselling as appropriate. Alternatively, some Insurers may approve an initial four (4) to six (6) sessions and we will then provide a progress report and make recommendations for ongoing services as appropriate.
The total number of sessions you are entitled to will depend on a number of factors including but not limited to, the nature of your injury, whether counselling services are a reasonable and necessary part of your treatment plan and whether the Insurer provides approval for psychology treatment.
Q. How much will psychology counselling cost?
A. Your fee is covered by your Workers Compensation Insurer under your claim so there is no personal cost to you.
Q. I have a workplace injury claim and I am on Workers Compensation – am I able to receive psychology counselling?
A. Access to psychology counselling services under Workers Compensation is entirely dependent upon receiving approval from your Workers Compensation Insurer to undertake these services.
Q. What happens if I did not attend (“DNA”), reschedule or cancel my appointment with less than 24 hours notice?
A. If you do not provide notification within 24 hours of the date and time of your appointment, a $150 cancellation fee will be applied, regardless of the reason for your cancellation or no-show. You will need to pay this cancellation fee privately as your Insurer does not cover cancellations.
Q. What if my GP refers me for psychology counselling services under my Workers Compensation Claim?
A. You must obtain approval from your Workers Compensation Insurer following a GP referral in order to receive psychology services.
Q. What if my Insurer declines my request for psychology counselling?
A. You can either dispute this decision directly with the Insurer or you can obtain psychology counselling via the “Medicare Better Access” program – see above for these steps.
Q. What information do I need to provide to New-Well Start Psychology?
A. You will need to provide the following information regarding your Workers Compensation claim:
Workers Compensation Claim Number
Name of your Case Manager
Contact Details of your Case Manager
Workers Compensation Company Name eg. CGU, QBE, GIO, RiskCover etc.
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