Who sets the fee
Each practice sets its own fee. There is no regulated price, no schedule a psychologist must follow, and no maximum. The Australian Psychological Society publishes a recommended fee each year, but it is advisory and most practices charge below it.
This is why "how much does a psychologist cost" has no single answer, and why any figure quoted without naming the practice should be treated as a rough guide rather than a price.
What Medicare pays back
Two amounts, and which one applies depends on the clinician rather than the session. A 50-minute individual session with a registered psychologist is claimed under MBS item 80110 and rebates $101.55. The same session with a psychologist endorsed in clinical psychology is claimed under item 80010 and rebates $149.05.
The rebate is a fixed dollar amount, not a percentage. A higher fee does not produce a higher rebate — it produces a larger gap.
Working out your gap
Your out-of-pocket cost is simply the fee minus the rebate. Because the clinical rebate is $47.50 higher, the same fee produces a smaller gap with an endorsed clinical psychologist.
| If the session fee is | Registered psychologist (rebate $101.55) | Clinical psychologist (rebate $149.05) |
|---|---|---|
| $200.00 | $98.45 gap | $50.95 gap |
| $230.00 | $128.45 gap | $80.95 gap |
| $260.00 | $158.45 gap | $110.95 gap |
How many sessions are subsidised
Ten individual sessions per calendar year, from 1 January to 31 December, plus up to ten group sessions. An initial referral covers a maximum of six, after which your GP reviews the plan before referring you for the rest.
Sessions beyond the annual cap are not rebatable. They continue at the full fee, and private health extras cover may apply at that point.
The Medicare Safety Net
Once your out-of-pocket costs for out-of-hospital Medicare services pass an annual threshold, the Safety Net increases the benefit on subsequent services for the rest of the calendar year. Psychology gaps count towards it.
Families need to be registered as a family with Services Australia for their costs to be combined. Registration is free and is not automatic for couples or families with different Medicare card arrangements — worth checking in January rather than December.
Private health, and why you cannot use both
Most private health extras policies pay a benefit on psychology, usually a fixed amount per session with an annual limit. No referral is generally required.
You cannot claim Medicare and private health for the same session. Which is better depends on your policy: if your extras benefit per session is higher than the Medicare rebate, or you have used your ten Medicare sessions, extras is the better claim.
What telehealth costs
The same. Medicare telehealth items for psychology are permanent and rebate identically to in-person sessions, so a video appointment costs you exactly what a session in the rooms would.
Telehealth also removes the travel cost and the time off work, which for a CBD appointment is often the larger number.
What is never rebatable
Couples and family sessions, coaching, clinical supervision, workplace programs and most psychometric assessment fall outside Better Access, which funds individual treatment for a diagnosed condition. No referral changes that. Private health extras may cover couples therapy depending on the fund and the practitioner’s registration.
Our own fees and the current rebate for each session type are set out on the fees and rebates page, and confirmed in writing when you book.