Medicare rebate information
Access to a psychologist may be covered under Medicare. You must be assessed by your doctor as having a mental health disorder or condition. Your doctor must then complete a Mental Health Care Plan and a referral letter before you can receive psychological services under Medicare. A psychiatrist can also provide a referral letter. With an appropriate referral you can initially obtain up to six sessions under Medicare. Your doctor will then assess your progress, and may authorise further sessions. Generally you can access a maximum of 10 sessions per calendar year.
Our psychologists each set their own fees. Medicare rebates vary depending on the qualifications of the psychologist. This means that the gap fee will vary depending on who you are seeing. However, our psychologists have the discretion to reduce the gap for clients who are experiencing financial hardship. Our fees are reviewed annually at the beginning of the financial year.
Elaine Smale's fees for Medicare clients, as at 1/7/23
Elaine's standard consultation fee is $185. The Medicare rebate (the amount that Medicare refunds you after paying the account) is $137.05. This means that your out of pocket expense is $47.95. Her concession fees are $160 to $170, depending on client circumstances (this equates to an out of pocket expense of $22.95 to $32.95). A different fee structure applies to NDIS, Return to Work SA, and EAP clients. In these situations the fee is paid by an organisation (with the exception of self-managed NDIS clients).
Jean Malcolm's fees for Medicare clients, as at 1/7/23
Jean's standard consultation fee is $175. The Medicare rebate is $92.90. Her reduced fee is $123.
Please note that payment of the full appointment fee is required at the time of service . We are unable to accept payment of the gap fee only.
For your convenience our practice has EFTPOS and Medicare Easyclaim facilities. With Medicare Easyclaim the Medicare rebate is processed at the same time as you pay the consultation fee. This means that your refund from Medicare is deposited into your savings or cheque account within seconds of us processing the claim. We need a physical card to process your refund (this may be different to other systems you have used). We also have HiCaps for private health insurance claims.
Return to Work SA (formerly known as Workcover)
Where your case manager has authorised psychological therapy, the entire fee will be met by Return to Work SA or self-insuring employers. However, you will be liable for any fee for non-attendance or late cancellation.
Bulk-billing and reduced gap fees
Unfortunately our practice is unable to accept new referrals for bulk-billing as our fees are already well below the recommended rate set by the Australian Psychological Society. However we are able to offer reduced gap fees to clients in financial hardship who also have a relevant concession card. Your doctor may be able to suggest other options that are free of charge, such as Sonder, which is a counselling and therapy service that requires a GP referral.
Non Medicare Services
Relationship and family counselling is not covered under Medicare. Health insurance rebates may apply. Please contact Jean Malcolm directly to discuss fees and availability as Elaine Smale does not provide relationship or family counselling.
Non-attendance and late cancellation fees
Your commitment to your therapy and attendance at appointments is very important. Cancellations within 48 hours of an appointment or non-attendance at appointments may incur fees.
Elaine Smale's Cancellation and Non-attendance Fees from 1/1/24
Our psychologists charge fees that are significantly lower than many other practices located nearby. We aim to keep our fees as low as possible by minimising our costs, such as not employing administrative staff. However we can only operate a viable practice, and maintain fees that are affordable for most people, if there is a low level of cancellations. Due to the difficulty in filling cancelled appointments with less than 48 hours' notice, the administrative time taken trying to fill cancelled appointments, and the loss of income, late cancellation fees will apply to all cancellations with less than 48 hours' notice. This is regardless of the reason for the cancellation, unless there are exceptional circumstances such as sudden hospitalisation and severe ilness. Please note that clashes with other appointments that you may have, and being called into work, do not meet the criteria for exceptional circumstances. If you are unwell you have the option of changing to a phone appointment.
*Fees are not charged if your cancelled appointment can be filled.
Cancellations with less than 48 hours' notice but more than 24 hours' notice will incur a fee of 50% of your usual fee, plus GST. For example, if your current fee is $185 this means you will be charged $101.75 ($92.50 plus $9.25 GST). If you are currenty bulk-billed you will be charged $75.37 ($68.52 plus $6.85).
Cancellations with less than 24 hour's notice will incur a fee of 75% of your usual fee plus GST. If your current fee is $185 you will be charged $152.62. If you are bulk-billed you will be charged $113.05.
*Please note that the current fee recommended by the Australian Psychological Society (APS) for a one-hour appointment is $300. The APS recommends that psychologists charge the full fee for cancellations with less than 24 hours' notice and 50% of that fee for cancellations between 24 and 48 hours' notice. Hence my cancellation fees are much lower than the APS recommended rates, and of those charged by many psychologists.
Our psychologists each set their own fees. Medicare rebates vary depending on the qualifications of the psychologist. This means that the gap fee will vary depending on who you are seeing. However, our psychologists have the discretion to reduce the gap for clients who are experiencing financial hardship. Our fees are reviewed annually at the beginning of the financial year.
Elaine Smale's fees for Medicare clients, as at 1/7/23
Elaine's standard consultation fee is $185. The Medicare rebate (the amount that Medicare refunds you after paying the account) is $137.05. This means that your out of pocket expense is $47.95. Her concession fees are $160 to $170, depending on client circumstances (this equates to an out of pocket expense of $22.95 to $32.95). A different fee structure applies to NDIS, Return to Work SA, and EAP clients. In these situations the fee is paid by an organisation (with the exception of self-managed NDIS clients).
Jean Malcolm's fees for Medicare clients, as at 1/7/23
Jean's standard consultation fee is $175. The Medicare rebate is $92.90. Her reduced fee is $123.
Please note that payment of the full appointment fee is required at the time of service . We are unable to accept payment of the gap fee only.
For your convenience our practice has EFTPOS and Medicare Easyclaim facilities. With Medicare Easyclaim the Medicare rebate is processed at the same time as you pay the consultation fee. This means that your refund from Medicare is deposited into your savings or cheque account within seconds of us processing the claim. We need a physical card to process your refund (this may be different to other systems you have used). We also have HiCaps for private health insurance claims.
Return to Work SA (formerly known as Workcover)
Where your case manager has authorised psychological therapy, the entire fee will be met by Return to Work SA or self-insuring employers. However, you will be liable for any fee for non-attendance or late cancellation.
Bulk-billing and reduced gap fees
Unfortunately our practice is unable to accept new referrals for bulk-billing as our fees are already well below the recommended rate set by the Australian Psychological Society. However we are able to offer reduced gap fees to clients in financial hardship who also have a relevant concession card. Your doctor may be able to suggest other options that are free of charge, such as Sonder, which is a counselling and therapy service that requires a GP referral.
Non Medicare Services
Relationship and family counselling is not covered under Medicare. Health insurance rebates may apply. Please contact Jean Malcolm directly to discuss fees and availability as Elaine Smale does not provide relationship or family counselling.
Non-attendance and late cancellation fees
Your commitment to your therapy and attendance at appointments is very important. Cancellations within 48 hours of an appointment or non-attendance at appointments may incur fees.
Elaine Smale's Cancellation and Non-attendance Fees from 1/1/24
Our psychologists charge fees that are significantly lower than many other practices located nearby. We aim to keep our fees as low as possible by minimising our costs, such as not employing administrative staff. However we can only operate a viable practice, and maintain fees that are affordable for most people, if there is a low level of cancellations. Due to the difficulty in filling cancelled appointments with less than 48 hours' notice, the administrative time taken trying to fill cancelled appointments, and the loss of income, late cancellation fees will apply to all cancellations with less than 48 hours' notice. This is regardless of the reason for the cancellation, unless there are exceptional circumstances such as sudden hospitalisation and severe ilness. Please note that clashes with other appointments that you may have, and being called into work, do not meet the criteria for exceptional circumstances. If you are unwell you have the option of changing to a phone appointment.
*Fees are not charged if your cancelled appointment can be filled.
Cancellations with less than 48 hours' notice but more than 24 hours' notice will incur a fee of 50% of your usual fee, plus GST. For example, if your current fee is $185 this means you will be charged $101.75 ($92.50 plus $9.25 GST). If you are currenty bulk-billed you will be charged $75.37 ($68.52 plus $6.85).
Cancellations with less than 24 hour's notice will incur a fee of 75% of your usual fee plus GST. If your current fee is $185 you will be charged $152.62. If you are bulk-billed you will be charged $113.05.
*Please note that the current fee recommended by the Australian Psychological Society (APS) for a one-hour appointment is $300. The APS recommends that psychologists charge the full fee for cancellations with less than 24 hours' notice and 50% of that fee for cancellations between 24 and 48 hours' notice. Hence my cancellation fees are much lower than the APS recommended rates, and of those charged by many psychologists.