Fees & Rebates

No GST. I am not registered for GST, so the fee shown is the total amount payable.

Fees for LEGO® - Based Therapy groups, group counselling, and couples and family counselling depend on the group or session type, so please ask for the current fee when you enquire. I will confirm it with you before you commit.

In-home play therapy attracts a small additional fee — please ask when you book. Longer supervision sessions of 90 or 120 minutes are available; get in touch for those rates.

Reports, letters and other work

Sometimes you may ask me to write a letter or report, attend a meeting, or spend time on your case outside our sessions. This work is charged at the same rate as a session, in 15-minute blocks — so a 30-minute letter is $70.

I will always tell you what something is likely to cost, and get your agreement, before I begin.

Rebates and private health insurance

Counselling with a registered counsellor is not eligible for a Medicare rebate, so you do not need a GP referral or a Mental Health Care Plan to see me.

Many private health funds do pay a rebate for counselling under extras cover. I am an accredited provider with the Australian Regional Health Group (ARHG), which manages provider accreditation on behalf of a number of funds.

The funds currently paying counselling rebates through ARHG are:

• AIA Health
• Australian Defence Force
• Defence Health
• Doctors Health Fund
• Emergency Services Health
• GMHBA
• HBF
• Mildura Health
• Nurses & Midwives Health
• Phoenix Health
• Police Health
• see-u by HBF
• St Luke’s Health
• Teachers Health
• Teachers Union Health
• UniHealth
• Westfund

What you get back depends on your own policy and level of extras cover, and some funds require a waiting period. Please check with your fund before your first session so you know where you stand.

Fund participation changes from time to time. If your fund is not listed, it is still worth asking them.

I am also a registered provider with Medibank, ahm, Bupa and HCF directly, so if you are with one of those funds you can claim your rebate the same way, after you have paid.

When and how to pay

An invoice is issued when you book, and payment is due on or before the day of your appointment.

Payment methods: bank transfer using the account details shown on your invoice, or cash in person.

If an account remains unpaid, I will contact you to talk it through. Where an account stays outstanding, further appointments may need to be paused until it is settled — and I will always raise that with you directly first.

NDIS participants

Services are provided in line with your NDIS plan and our agreed service arrangement. Invoices can be issued to you, to your plan manager, or to another authorised representative — whichever suits.

You remain responsible for making sure there is enough funding in your plan to cover the sessions we book. If funding runs low, let me know early so we can plan around it.

Cancelling or rescheduling

I understand that circumstances change. So that appointment times stay available for everyone, I ask for at least 24 hours’ notice if you need to cancel or move a session.

You can let me know by phone, text or email on 0402 597 600 or hello@hopeandhealingtherapy.com.au. A message left outside business hours still counts — what matters is the time it was sent.

With less than 24 hours’ notice, or if you do not attend, the full session fee may be charged. That time was set aside for you and usually cannot be offered to someone else at short notice.

Genuine emergencies and unexpected illness are treated with understanding, and considered case by case.

If you are running late

If you arrive late, we will use whatever time remains of your session, and it will still finish at the scheduled time so the next person is not kept waiting. The full fee applies.

If I am ever running late, you will still get your full session, or I will not charge for it.

Contact between sessions

Contact between appointments is for changing appointments, brief administrative matters, and urgent concerns about safety. A brief phone call of up to 10 minutes is at no additional cost.

Where something needs a longer conversation, we can arrange an extra session, or the additional time will be charged at the usual rate. I will always tell you if that is going to apply, rather than simply invoicing you afterwards.

Changes to fees

Fees are reviewed from time to time to keep the practice sustainable. If a fee changes, I will give you at least 30 days’ written notice and the chance to discuss it. A new fee only ever applies to future sessions, never to sessions already booked and confirmed.