To receive a Medicare rebate, we must receive a valid referral from a doctor – a GP, Psychiatrist, or Paediatrician. A referral can be used with any psychologist regardless of who it is addressed to.
If you have already used your referral with another psychologist, please inform us how many appointments you had with that psychologist.
Once you have sent us your referral, you can check its status at any time using this page. We will also email you when your referral is finished.
Note that referrals cannot be backdated. You must have a referral in place before your appointment with your psychologist in order to claim a rebate.
Mental Health Care Plans
Your doctor may provide you with a document called a Mental Health Care Plan. The doctor needs to create this document in order to write a referral, but this is not a referral letter. A referral letter will look like an ordinary letter, written by the doctor to the psychologist. A plan will look like a form. See below for an example of the difference. A plan is not sufficient to claim a Medicare rebate.
Eating Disorder Treatment Plans
If your doctor has instead written you an Eating Disorder Treatment Plan, then a referral letter is not required – the plan itself is sufficient.