Fees

You may be eligible for the Medicare Benefits Scheme (MBS) under the Better Access Initiative for mental health support by discussing with your GP about a personalised mental health care plan. A Medicare mental health care plan, also called a "GP Mental Health Treatment Plan (MHTP)", allows eligible Australians to access up to 10 individual and 10 group sessions with a registered psychologist each calendar year, with a referral from their doctor, enabling them to claim a Medicare rebate for a portion of the cost of their therapy sessions with a psychologist; essentially providing subsidised mental health care through Medicare (Medicare Rebate, as highlighted above). To find out more, please visit the Better Access Initiative and the MBS Online websites.

The Medicare rebate calculated is the rate allocated for services received from a clinical psychologist, which is $141.85, and your out-of-pocket expense that is displayed above is the amount after the Medicare rebate has been processed.

Akbay Psychology accepts clients referred by their GPs under a MHTP and eligible for Medicare rebates.

Standard Appointment:

50-minute consultation: $245

Out-of-pocket after Medicare Rebate: $103.15

FUNDING TYPES

Private healthcare insurance in Australia can cover psychology sessions, but the details vary by provider. You can check your policy or contact your health fund for more information. How it usually works is that your private healthcare insurance provider pays a set percentage or benefit towards the cost of the service and you pay the rest. Waiting periods, benefits, and limits vary by fund. If you aren't eligible for Medicare rebates, you can use private healthcare insurance to access reduced-cost psychology sessions or if you want to continue with therapy after your 10 Medicare sessions, you can use private healthcare insurance.

Akbay Psychology accepts clients with private healthcare insurance, but does not bill private healthcare insurance providers directly and must be self-managed by the client, i.e. full fees are paid to Akbay Psychology at the time of appointment, and you process the claim directly with your private healthcare insurance provider using our invoice/receipt. Please refer to your private healthcare insurance provider first if this is possible, and Akbay Psychology will not be liable for delivering services to clients with private healthcare insurance who will not accept self-managed claims.

Private Health Care Insurance

Other third party providers in Australia can cover psychology sessions, but the details vary by provider. You can check with your agency or institution for more information. How it usually works is similar to that of a private health insurance provider, which pays a set percentage or benefit towards the cost of the service (in some cases, all of the cost) and you pay the rest (if applicable). Waiting periods, benefits, and limits vary by provider. Some agencies require approval from applications. Please discuss with us if you require a report or application completed to support accessing funds from a particular agency.

Akbay Psychology accepts self-managed National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) participants. Please see further below.

For Victorian residents: Akbay Psychology accepts clients using these agency providers: Transport Accident Commission (TAC) and Victims of Crime Assistance Tribunal (VOCAT), which may still require a GP referral. Akbay Psychology does not bill these agencies directly and must be self-managed by the client, i.e. full fees are paid to Akbay Psychology at the time of appointment, and you process the claim directly with the relevant agency provider using our invoice/receipt. Please refer to these agencies first if this is possible, and Akbay Psychology will not be liable for delivering services to clients with agencies who will not accept self-managed claims.

Other Third Party Providers

Fee Information: Akbay Psychology is committed to affordable mental health services with a flexible model that includes after hours availability and concession rates. As such, the fees are competitively lower than the recommended rate of $311, as listed in the APS National Schedule of Suggested Fees 2024-2025 for psychologists. For more information, please visit the APS National Schedule of Suggested Fees.

*Concession appointments are available for Low-Income Health Care Card holders. Please visit Services Australia for more information on eligibility.

Cancellation Policy: When you make an appointment with a psychologist, that time has been reserved for you, and psychologists do considerable preparation and planning for your appointment. While of course sometimes things happen in life that mean cancelling or rescheduling is needed, doing so at late notice impacts a psychologist's ability to see other clients, especially people who are on the waiting list. Unlike other professionals, such as doctors who offer shorter medical appointment times, psychologists are unable to fill that time allocated for you at short notice with other work. Given this, Akbay Psychology has a 48 hour cancellation fee policy. Appointments that are cancelled between 24-48 hours notice will attract a 50% cancellation fee, and appointments that are cancelled under 24 hours will attract the full fee.

Forms & Reports: Completion of third party forms/reports are limited to applications for funding, such as with TAC/VOCAT, school/university health forms, and any supporting letters to other health practitioners and agencies/organisations (outside of the Medicare letter requirements), and will incur a fee that is equivalent to the standard appointment. Akbay Psychology does not complete court/forensic reports and does not provide mental capacity assessments.

Private

Medicare Benefits

Akbay Psychology accepts clients who wish to fund the full cost of services privately at their own expense.

Concession* Appointment:

50-minute consultation: $195

Out-of-pocket after Medicare Rebate: $53.15

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