Am I eligible for the Medicare rebate?
Medicare provides rebates for individual and group counselling sessions if you have a referral from your GP, psychiatrist or paediatrician (for child referrals). This includes our Group Sessions and Courses.
Getting a referral involves making an appointment with your GP to complete a Mental Health Care Plan together. It is a good idea to tell the doctor’s reception staff that you will need a psychological referral when you make the appointment so that they know how long to book you in for. It usually takes 30 minutes.
In order to receive Medicare rebate for psychologist services, you will need to obtain your GP referral prior to your first appointment and bring in a copy of your Mental Health Treatment Plan.
You are able to request a referral for specific psychologist; however, it is advisable to first ensure that the psychologist is registered with the Victorian Registration Board and has a Medicare Provider Number. All psychologists at Psylegal are registered and have Medicare Provider Numbers, enabling you to claim a Medicare rebate for your counselling sessions. Our Group Sessions and Courses are also claimable with a referral.
With a GP referral, you are entitled to the following number of counselling sessions:
- Up to 10 individual counselling sessions in a calendar year. Your psychologist will provide your referring doctor with a progress report following the initial six sessions AND
- Up to 10 group program sessions in a calendar year, which include the Group Sessions and Courses held at Psylegal.
Our staff will process the Medicare claim for you after each session, so you do not have to do it yourself. The rebate is electronically transferred to your bank account from Medicare within 1-2 business days.
Note that you do not require a referral from a GP to access psychological services unless you intend to claim a Medicare rebate. You are welcome to call or email us to book an appointment without a GP referral.
Online Consultations
You can now access the experienced psychologists at Psylegal via video-call!
Medicare has recently introduced rebates for online counselling sessions. This allows individuals in certain regional and rural locations to access video-counselling at a reduced cost.
Check your eligibility here and click Modified Monash Area 2019 and enter in your address.
To book a video-counselling appointment with one of our trusted psychologists, download the free app Cyber Clinic and search for Psylegal. Cyber Clinic is available for download on both iPhone and Android phones. You can book the appointment online, and our psychologist will start a video-call at a time of your choosing, just like Skype or FaceTime.
To find out if you are in an eligible location to claim online counselling sessions, please call Cyber Clinic on 1300 112 115.