Referrals

Self-referrals

You do not need a referral to make an appointment to see a clinical psychologist at Perth Clinical Psychologists and can self-refer instead. While this will affect your eligibility for Medicare rebates, you may still be eligible for rebates through your private health insurance fund, if you are covered for clinical psychology services. See further details below.

Better Access to Mental Health Care Initiative

You may visit your General Practitioner (GP), Paediatrician or Consultant Psychiatrist and ask to be assessed for a Mental Health Treatment Plan (Item 2717, 2715, 2700 or 2701). If you qualify for a Mental Health Treatment Plan, your GP, Paediatrician or Consultant Psychiatrist can provide a referral to the practice, Perth Clinical Psychologists, or directly to Dr Mimma Nikoloski. The Mental Health Treatment Plan must be completed, signed and dated by your GP and must state what condition you are being referred for as well as the number of sessions your are being referred for, up to a maximum of 6 sessions per referral. 

As at 1 July 2024, a Mental Health Treatment Plan enables you to access a rebate of $141.85 per 50+ minute individual consultation for up to six individual sessions.

After these initial six sessions (individual, group or both), you may visit your GP and request a Mental Health Treatment Plan Review (Item 2712 or 2713) or Re-Referral under your existing MHTP to determine whether you qualify for an additional four sessions (individual and group). The maximum sessions allowed under a Mental Health Treatment Plan in any calendar year is 10 sessions (1 January to 31 December). 

It is important that you bring your GP referral and Mental Health Treatment Plan with you to your initial consultation in order to be given a receipt that will allow you to claim the Medicare rebate. If you do not bring your GP referral and Mental Health Treatment Plan with you, we will not be able to give you a receipt with the Medicare Item Code and you will not be able to claim a rebate for that session. You may, however, be able to claim a rebate through your private health fund, if you are covered for clinical psychology services.

For more information regarding the Better Access to Mental Health Care Initiative, please visit the Services Australia website.

Please note that we are required to keep a copy of your GP referral and Mental Health Treatment Plan on file for at least 7 years.

Important Note on the Medicare Safety Net 

The Medicare Safety Net is designed to protect high users of health services from large out-of-pocket expenses within each calendar year (1 January to 31 December). 

When you or your family spend certain amounts in gap and out-of-pocket expenses on Medicare-related services, you’ll reach the Medicare Safety Net threshold.

If you’re an individual, Medicare will automatically pay you the higher Medicare benefit (i.e., the usual Medicare rebate for the Medicare service plus 80% of the out-of-pocket expenses you incur*), when you reach the Medicare Safety Net threshold.

If you’re part of a registered family, you will need to confirm your family members with Medicare and you’ll need to do this before Medicare will pay you a higher Medicare Safety Net benefit (i.e., the usual Medicare rebate for the Medicare service plus 80% of the out-of-pocket expenses you incur*), when you reach the Medicare Safety Net threshold.

Once you’ve reached the Medicare Safety Net threshold, you and your family will receive higher Medicare benefits for all future Medicare services, including psychology services, within a calandar year. When the calendar year ends on 31 December, the threshold resets and you and your family will need to reach the threshold again before you can receive the additional Medicare benefit.

The Medicare Safety Net thresholds are detailed in the table below:

This threshold applies to all individuals and family members who do not qualify for a concession. 

This threshold applies to individuals with a Commonwealth Seniors Health Card, Health Care Card, Pensioner Concession Card or if they are eligible for Family Tax Benefit Part A.

*Please note that there are different benefit caps for different Medicare items, which will impact the additional Medicare Benefit you receive even once you reach the relevant Medicare Safety Net Threshold. For example, the Extended Medicare Safety Net (EMSN) benefit cap for Mental Health Treatment Items with a Clinical Psychologist (i.e., Item 80010) is currently a total of $500.00 per person. Other EMSN benefit caps may apply to other Medicare items also. Once the cap is reached for a particular item for an individual, the Medicare Benefit paid will revert to the Medicare rebate only.

For more information, please visit the Medicare Benefits Schedule Online website (click here to go to the website).

Paediatrician or Consultant Psychiatrist Referrals

You or your child may be referred for Medicare rebateable clinical psychology services by a specialist if your child or adolescent is referred by their Paediatrician, or you or your family member is referred by a Consultant Psychiatrist.

All specialist referrals can be made to the practice, Perth Clinical Psychologists, or directly to Dr Mimma Nikoloski.

Important Note on Medicare Items for Autism Diagnosis and Treatment – Referral for Complex Neurodevelopmental Disorder and Eligible Disabilities (MBS Item 135 for Paediatricians and Item 289 for Consultant Psychiatrists)

On 1 March 2023, the government made the following changes to the Medicare Benefits Schedule for Complex Neurodevelopmental Disorders, such as Autism Spectrum Disorder as well as changes for items for eligible disabilities:

• The age eligibility for these items has increased from under 13 years to under 25 years for patients diagnosed with a Complex Neurodevelopmental Disorder.
• The number of assessment services has increased from four to eight per lifetime (review and agreement by the referring eligible medical practitioner is required before the same eligible Allied Health practitioner can provide more than four assessment services to the patient).
• The list of eligible disabilities has been expanded to include Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD), Lesch-Nyhan Syndrome, and 22q deletion syndrome.
• Allied Health inter-disciplinary referrals are permitted (in consultation and agreement with the referring eligible medical practitioner).

Paediatricians and Consultant Psychiatrists can activate a referral for patients under 25 years of age for Allied Health, including Psychology for:

• Assessment to confirm or exclude a diagnosis of autism or other eligible disability (4 to 8 sessions in total per lifetime)
• Treatment for autism or other eligible disability (10 sessions per referral and a maximum of 20 in total per lifetime)

For more information, click the links here for Services Australia and Medicare.

Fees

The 2024-2025 fee recommended by the Australian Psychological Society is $311.00 for a 46-60 minute consultation (click here to view the APS Schedule of Recommended Fees 2024-2025).

Currently, the Initial Consultation fee is $450.00 for a 50-minute consultation. At this consultation, you will also be given self-report and other-report (if necessary) screening assessments to determine a baseline of symptoms.

Two Assessment Consultations ($375.00 and 50 minutes each) then follow the initial consultation to obtain a detailed history, provide verbal feedback (only) of the screening assessment results, devise a plan for therapy goals and discuss appropriate therapy approaches. In some cases, an additional Assessment Consultation is required if an individual’s history is more complex.

Once a therapy plan has been devised together, subsequent appointments are invoiced at the Standard Consultation (50 minutes) rate of $345.00.  

Higher or additional fees apply to assessment consultations (e.g., private autism assessments, which require several additional assessment consultations to complete an autism interview and adaptive behaviour assessment), couples or family consultations, intervention programs and manuals, and psychological assessment letters, diagnositic reports or progress reports.

Please note that consultation fees are subject to change and clients will be advised of any changes in advance, however, fee changes typically occur towards the end of the calendar year.

All fees are payable in FULL by cash, Eftpos or direct deposit on or before the date of service.

Please see the Fee Schedule below. Psychological consultations are exempt from GST, however, services or reports billed to an agency (e.g. Employment Assistance Programs, external agencies or organisations) are subject to GST. The figures provided in the schedule below are exclusive of GST.

2024-2025 Perth Clinical Psychologists Fee Schedule

Autism Assessment Process and Costs

For information about the costs and process of private Autism Spectrum Disorder Assessments by Dr Nikoloski, please send an email to info@perthcp.com.au. 

Fees for Reports and Letters

All written reports and letters must be requested and are not covered as part of the consultation fee.

Psychology Assessment Reports are detailed documents that place the individual’s assessment results within the context of their history, provide a detailed analysis of the self-report and clinician-rated assessment results and offer a detailed list of reccomendations to assist the individual in seeking further assistance via services, therapies and resources.  

Reports are requested for various reasons (e.g., Psychological Reports for Educational or Disability Services etc.). If the report is used for the appropriate treatment of the individual, then the report will be GST-free. If the report is to be used by a third party for the purpose other than the appropriate treatment of the client, the report will be subject to GST.

The cost of written reports and letters will depend on their length and the time taken to prepare and write them. Some psychology assessment reports have a set fee, which can be quoted upon request, and other reports and letters are charged at the assessment consultation rate ($375.00 per 50 minutes) for the time it takes to complete them.

Invoices for requested reports and letters must be paid in full before they can be added to a list to be written. Depending on the length of the report or letter, it can take up to 4 to 8 weeks from the date of payment to receive the completed letter or report. An estimate of the wait time for the report/letter to be completed will be offered when the report is requested.

Private Health Insurance

Private health insurers may provide a rebate for clinical psychology consultations. The rebate depends upon the company rebate policy and your level of insurance coverage. There are links supplied through the APS that provide further information regarding Health Insurance Rebates. However, it is important that you contact your private health insurer directly to determine exactly what rebate you are entitled to for clinical psychology consultations.

NDIS funding

Individuals who are Self-Manage their NDIS plan funding can be accepted as a new client. Clients will be provided with a receipt after their consultation is paid on the day, which will be invoiced privately according to the Fee Schedule above. Clients can then submit the receipt to the NDIS via the NDIS portal on the myGov website to seek a full reimbursement. 

Individuals who are have their NDIS funding Plan-Managed may be accepted as a new client. As Plan-Managed clients are limited to the NDIS Price Guide, they will need to agree to personally pay the gap based on the respective consultation rate that applies according to the Fee Schedule above. Currently, the NDIS 2024-2025 Price Guide for psychology services is $244.22 per 60 minutes, which can apply to:

• direct service provision
• non-face-to-face support provision
• provider travel
• short notice cancellation – 2 clear business days

Therefore, Plan-Managed clients must agree in writing or verbally (which will be noted in writing) to personally pay the cost difference between the NDIS price ($244.22) and the pro-rata Consultation Fee (see above) for any appointment they attend, in order to be accepted as a new client. All gap fees are payable in FULL by cash, Eftpos or direct deposit on or before the date of service.

Individuals who are have their NDIS funding Agency-Managed cannot be accepted as new clients as Dr Nikoloski is not registered with the NDIS, which is mandatory for clients who have their funding managed by the NDIS. 

Cancellation Policy (Updated as at 1 July 2024)

To avoid paying a late cancellation fee, please contact (text or email) Dr Nikoloski by 8.30am at least three clear business days prior to the day of your appointment. This provides us an opportunity to contact other clients to offer them the appointment.

Please note that ‘business days’ are Monday to Friday 8:30am to 5:00pm (excluding public holidays).

A late notification will result in cancellation fees applied according to the following fee schedule:

*Full fee is considered $345 for a standard consultation (50 minutes) or a higher fee if an assessment, longer than 50 minutes, cognitive assessment or initial consultation had been booked.

As an example, if you have an appointment booked for a Monday, a notification via email must be sent before 8:30am on Wednesday the week prior.

Cancellation fees or non-attendance fees cannot be claimed via Medicare or Private Health Insurance Funds.

In special circumstances or in the event of an unavoidable personal emergency, fee exemptions can be considered so please discuss this with Dr Nikoloski. Illness or the need to attend work or another commitment are not valid reasons to seek a late cancellation fee exemption. 

If you have any questions regarding this policy, please discuss this with Dr Nikoloski.

Questions About Fees or Rebates

If you have any questions about our fees or if you are unsure as to whether you are eligible for a rebate, please send an email to info@perthcp.com.au.