Fees and Policy

Empowering Young Minds Psychology provides a private psychology service for families. We do our best to keep our fees below the rate recommended by the Australian Psychological Society which is currently $311 for 50 minutes. 

The session fee for a standard consultation (50 minutes) for private paying families are as follows:

with an Educational and Developmental Psychologist: $225.00

with a General Psychologist: $215.00

Please note that appointments scheduled from 5:00 PM on weekdays and on Saturdays incur an after-hours fee of $25.00.

Sessions are required to be paid in full on the day of the appointment.

Whilst we try our best to keep emails or phone calls short to keep these costs free of charge for clients, for any letters, emails, statements or phone calls requiring 15 minutes or more are billed. Communication via email and telephone in-between sessions will be kept to a minimum with an expectation that it is limited to administrative issues. Extensive emails will be printed to discuss in the next scheduled session however it is strongly recommended that private information not be shared via email due to privacy and confidentiality issues.

Assessment fees are quoted dependant upon individual needs based on the hourly rate. The fee will be made up of the testing sessions, as well as an admin session which will include fees for the questionnaires required for the assessment, testing costs, scoring, interpretation and formulation, and corroboration with professionals in the child's care team, and a report fee ranging from $550.00 to $700.00, Please get in touch for further information.

Whilst you do not need a referral to make an appointment, in order to access Medicare rebates that may be available for psychology sessions, you will require a referral from your GP.

Medicare card holders with a valid Mental Health Care Plan are entitled to a rebate of $96.65 per session for a total of 10 counselling sessions per calendar year. 

NDIS funding for intervention services can be used under the line item 'Improved Daily Living' for Self-Managed and Plan-Managed clients. 

For clients with an NDIS plan accessing their funding for services, fees are set as per the NDIS schedule of fees. Sessions are charged at $222.99 (50 minutes).

If you have extras cover, you may be able to claim from your private health fund for non-Medicare sessions. Please check with your private health insurer to determine your eligibility. If eligible, you will need to submit your paid invoice to your fund directly to receive your rebate.

We require a minimum of 48 hours notice for any appointment cancellations or rescheduling.

• Private Clients:
  • Cancellations made with less than 24 hours notice will incur a fee equal to 100% of the session cost. 
  • Cancellations made with 24-48 hours notice will incur a fee equal to 50% of the session cost. 
• NDIS Participants:
  • In line with NDIS guidelines, we reserve the right to charge 100% of the session fee for cancellations made with less than 24 hours’ notice or for non-attendance.
     

This policy ensures that we can offer the appointment to another waiting family and respects your therapist’s time. Thank you for your understanding.

Consent from both parents is required, unless in exceptional circumstances. This is determined from a legal and ethical basis assessed individually. Court orders or legal documents may be requested where appropriate.

Working with a Child Client

Empowering Young Minds Psychology's focus is the emotional and psychological wellbeing of the clients we see. When providing services to a child client, the child is considered to be the primary client. Participating parents are deemed client-parents, who may collaborate with the psychologist in order to support the child’s therapy. We require consent of both parents to provide services to a child under the age of 18 in most circumstances. Exceptions are made case-by-case and assessed in both a legal and ethical framework. As per Australian Psychological Society Ethical Guidelines, the child’s best interests are paramount, and the treating psychologist must ensure that services are provided in a way which best supports treatment outcomes for the child.

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Separated Parents Policy

• It is the parents’ obligation to provide us a copy of any relevant legal documents or court orders.
• Your psychologist encourages active communication between parents to ensure agreement relating to administrative matters, such as appointment bookings or payment. It is not the responsibility of the psychologist to keep each parent availed of information relating to appointments, payment, or treatment for your child.
• Your psychologist welcomes both parents to attend appointments. If the appointment is made by one parent, it is the responsibility of this parent to inform the other parent and invite them to attend. The attending parent is encouraged to share any relevant information regarding their child’s therapy with the other parent.
• In addition to attending their child’s appointments, each parent may book parent-only appointments to provide information regarding their child’s needs or discuss their child’s treatment; please note any information discussed during parent-only sessions are bound by confidentiality (i.e., if one parent attends a parent-only appointment, this information cannot be divulged to the other parent).
• Payment is to be made on the day of the child’s appointment.  If there is a legal agreement that requires the other parent to pay all or part of the treatment costs, it is the attending parent’s responsibility to settle the account and collect reimbursement from the other parent.

Empowering Young Minds does not offer reports or letters for courts, recommendations for custody arrangements, or court appearances.