FREQUENTLY ASKED
QUESTIONS

When you arrive at Moving Forward, please kindly sit in the waiting room until your Clinical Psychologist arrives to greet you.

You will then be invited into the consulting room where your therapist may ask you for any paperwork or referral letters that you have brought with you, as well as the consent form and optional questionnaires that were emailed to you by our admin when your appointment was confirmed.

The first appointment is all about coming to an understanding of the difficulties that have led you to seek help, as well as some background information about your life. You may be asked a question along the lines of ‘what’s brought you here today?’.

This may seem overwhelming at first, and it’s completely natural to feel nervous during the initial appointment.

However please feel assured that your therapist will try to help you to feel comfortable and there will be no pressure to present a coherent story – any gaps can be filled in later on. Your Psychologist will ask you some questions along the way and interact with you and guide the session in such a way that helps the two of you to work together to identify some personal goals, and to develop a therapy plan.

There is no need for you to watch the clock, your therapist will let you know when the session is coming to an end. All sessions are based on a 50-minute hour – it’s often surprising how much is talked about in this time, and how quickly the session progresses.

Recommendations regarding follow-up appointments will be discussed with you, and will take into account your particular needs and budget.

Most often, sessions are weekly or fortnightly for 50 minutes, usually decreasing in frequency as you hopefully start to feel better. Typically, treatment lasts somewhere between 5 and 15 sessions. Some people may prefer shorter or longer-term therapy.

Our standard fee is $215 per appointment, which is significantly less than the standard fee recommended by the Australian Psychological Society ($300). Our receptionist can advise you of our fees and what rebates may be available to you on 1300 133 013 or info@movingforward.net.au.

At Moving Forward, each Clinical Psychologist has the training and experience to qualify patients for the maximum Medicare rebate available under the Better Access to Mental Health (BAMH) initiative for psychology. To qualify for a Medicare rebate, a referral letter and Mental Health Care Plan is required. The Medicare rebate for each appointment is currently $137.05. With a valid Mental Health Care Plan, the gap payment is therefore $77.95 ($215 – $137.05). 

In some cases, depending on your level of cover, you may be able to claim a rebate from your Private Health fund. This option is only available if you are not claiming from Medicare.  

It is important to us to be as accessible as possible. Patients can request reduced fees if experiencing financial hardship.

Medicare may cover $137.05 per session for a maximum of 10 sessions per calendar year if a GP, Pediatrician or Psychiatrist refers you under a Mental Health Care Plan.

At Moving Forward, each Clinical Psychologist has the training and experience to qualify patients for the maximum Medicare rebate available under the Better Access to Mental Health (BAMH) initiative for psychology.

To qualify for a Medicare rebate, a referral letter and Mental Health Care Plan is required.

With a valid Mental Health Care Plan, the gap payment is therefore $77.95 ($215 – $137.05). 

You may like to click on this link for further information about Psychology and Medicare.

You may also be aware that some private health funds cover part of the fees. In many cases, this can significantly reduce the cost of treatment. As not all health funds cover psychology, and rebates vary from policy to policy, we advise checking out with your health fund what your level of rebate will be.

Please note that accessing a Medicare rebate and a private health fund rebate for the same consultation is not allowed.

No. Please note that accessing a Medicare rebate and a private rebate for the same consultation is not allowed.

In most cases, we are able to provide the Medicare rebate directly to your bank account at the conclusion of your appointment.

An EFTPOS card with a cheque or savings account is required for this to occur.

Alternatively, rebates can be obtained by yourself directly through the Medicare app or by visiting your nearest Medicare office.

In the case of private health-fund rebates, we can issue a receipt for you to claim from your healthfund.

In many cases, this can significantly reduce the cost of treatment.

As not all health funds cover psychology, and rebates vary from policy to policy, we advise checking out with your health fund what your level of rebate will be.

Please note that accessing a medicare rebate and a private rebate for the same consultation is not allowed.

You may like to click on this link for further information about mental health care plans / Medicare and psychology: https://www1.health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing.nsf/Content/mental-ba-fact-pat.

No. A referral is not required to see a Psychologist. However, if you wish to claim a rebate from Medicare, then a mental health care plan is required. Please see above for further information about this.

Generally, no – Medicare rebates are for individuals (who are referred under a mental health care plan referral).

However, if one of the individuals in the couple or family is suffering from a condition that meets the criteria of being a diagnosable disorder and is severe enough then that individual can also seek a mental health care plan referral from their doctor.

Please note that any appointments where the identified patient (under the mental health care referral) is not present will not be eligible for a rebate from Medicare. An example of this situation might be where a Psychologist is working for a period of time to assist parents of a child or young person who is the identified patient.

If you have health cover for psychology treatment, then you are entitled to claim. The claimable amount and number of sessions per calendar year depends on your plan. In many cases, this can significantly reduce the cost of treatment. As not all health funds cover psychology, and rebates vary from policy to policy, we advise checking out with your health fund what your level of rebate will be. Please note that accessing a Medicare rebate and a private health fund rebate for the same consultation is not allowed.

Our cancellation fee is 50% of the consultation fee for less than 24 hours’ notice of cancellation. This cancellation fee is to cover basic costs and is not claimable from Medicare, your health fund, or other schemes. The fee also applies for missed appointments.

If you are unable to attend the practice for your session, you have the option of changing the appointment to Telehealth.

Our cancellation fee is charged to cover basic costs and is not claimable from Medicare, your health fund, or other schemes.

The fee is charged for a few different reasons.

These include:

(i) You will get the best results by attending sessions as planned with your Psychologist. We understand that prioritising your own wellbeing can be difficult and hope the cancellation policy will assist you to prioritise yourself therefore getting the most out of therapy.

(ii) We constantly have a high demand for our services and like to be able to offer cancelled appointments to someone else in need.

(iii) There are many fixed costs involved in operating a private practice. To ensure that we are able to continue providing quality support to our community well into the future, it is vital that we minimise the number of unused sessions in our practice as much as possible.