I provide consultations online over Skype video or phone and also work in-person (‘face to face’) from consulting rooms at 410 Elizabeth Street in Surry Hills.
Fees:
I charge the consultation fees recommended by my professional body the Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW). Click here to download the AASW recommend fees.
The fee for a 1 hour consultation is AUD$270.
Australian patients: After making full payment, you may be eligible to claim back a benefit of $82.30, reducing the final cost of the consultation to $187.70. Please note I do not ‘bulk bill’ under Medicare: you will need to make a co-payment for my services even if you have a Mental Health Treatment Plan.
If you reside outside Australia you are welcome to make payment in US dollars, British pounds, Euro, Canadian dollars, Japanese yen, Swedish crowns, Danish crowns or Norwegian crowns. Please contact me first if you would like to be invoiced in another currency.
Online (Skype video or phone) Consultations:
Click here to see all my upcoming available online times or make a booking.
The link is live so times are updated whenever someone books or changes their time or times are added.
For online appointments I generally require full payment at least 24 hours prior to the session. Once you book a time, I will send you an invoice. You can then make payment by bank transfer, with a credit card or with an existing Paypal balance (If you have not used Paypal before, it is quite easy and safe. I will not see your card details and Paypal have a complaints mechanism if you are concerned about the security of the payment). If eligible, you can claim back the Medicare rebate ($82.30) or health fund rebate using the receipt I will send you after the session.
In-Person Consultations:
Click here to see all my upcoming available in-person times for Surry Hills or make a booking.
Prior to the initial appointment, I will invoice you the full fee to confirm the first consultation time. You won’t need to pay the fee in advance each time, just for the initial appointment. For subsequent appointments, you can pay the consultation fee when we meet (by bank transfer or by card payment through a Square tap device in my consultation room). After the consultation I will send you a receipt that you can use to claim back the Medicare ($82.30) or health fund rebate with instructions about how to claim.
Medicare Rebates for Mental Health Plans:
Consultations qualify for a Medicare rebate of $82.30 if you are eligible and have been referred by a GP. If you want to claim the Medicare rebate, you will need to bring your GP referral letter, addressed to me, to the initial appointment (or email it to me prior to the session). It does not matter if the letter is addressed to myself or another provider however you do need to have had a ‘Mental Health Treatment Plan’ completed for you by a GP and your referral letter needs to have been written in the last 12 months. This benefit is currently available for up to 10 consultations in a calendar year provided it hasn’t already been already paid to you towards the cost of services with another practitioner in which case the rebate is available for the remainder of those 10 consultations.
Health Insurance Fund Rebates:
Teachers Health Fund and their associated funds (UniHealth and Nurses and Midwives Health) will provide benefits for these consultations for members with top extras cover. Doctors Health Fund and GU Health may also pay benefits. You can only claim one benefit per consultation (not both Medicare and health fund). I’m not aware of any other health funds currently paying benefits for my consultations and recommend you check with your health fund first to see if they will pay a benefit.
If you have any questions, contact me.