Standard Fees Schedule

Effective: 15th July 2024

Please note: Reports are included for all assessment sessions consistent with our high standards of clinical excellence. The most effective therapy outcomes are only achieved when we start with a comprehensive foundational understanding of your child .

Initial Assessment (with report)

$479 – Brief Report Assessment

$585 – Comprehensive Report Assessment (Standard)

Therapy Sessions

Contact our clinic for the Therapy Session Fee to match your family’s needs.

Therapy sessions are typically for 45 minutes

Indirect Services

Integrated Care Services = include 15 min of indirect services

Comprehensive Care Services = include 30min of indirect services

What are Indirect Services?

We aim to achieve quality outcomes for your child not only in the therapy room, but in everyday life. Like an iceberg, excellent care involves a portion of therapy ‘above the water’ that you can see, and a portion of therapy ‘below the water’ that you do not see. The less visible part of therapy that lies ‘below the surface’ are all other indirect (or non face-to-face) activities your therapist does behind the scenes.

This all takes time. Our team may take up to 30 minutes or more before, after and in between each therapy session to deliver a range of services for your child such as session preparation, research, resource preparation, bespoke activities design, case notes writing, data analysis, goals review, clinical review for quality outcomes, meetings and consultations with your child’s team, extended parent discussions/emails/calls and share notes if parent not present.

Our NDIS clients typically have large multidisciplinary teams and complex needs so require more comprehensive indirect services. Our NDIS fees include the cost of non face-to-face (indirect) services in every therapy session to support these regular complex needs for liaison, education, resourcing and research. Private clients typically have less complex needs and smaller teams although they too may require these indirect services occasionally to achieve goals.

When needed and approved by the family, private clients can choose our Integrated Care Fee (with indirect services of 15 – 30 minutes included in their session fee) or they can be billed separately for each indirect service (>10min) as it arises (with family approval).

How do they help?

Payments Accepted

Electronic claiming for private health funds and Medicare rebates available.

All payments expected at the time of appointment unless approved by Director.

Cancellations

Attending reliably is important to achieve outcomes in speech therapy. Trusting each other to communicate promptly and considerately about changes to appointments is also important. We will always send you a courtesy reminder 3 days before your appointment and notify you in advance (wherever possible) if your child’s therapist will be away. We offer make up sessions and alternative services when you cancel at short notice to support continuity of care (such as telehealth, parent planning catch ups, resource creation and team liaison).

When booked appointments are cancelled, it can be challenging to meet goals and have an impact. Cancellations make it difficult for us to manage the demand for appointments and help all children on our waiting list. They impact the health and wellbeing of clients, families and our therapists. They jeopardise our financial viability and the resources to retain highly experienced therapists who are dedicated to continuity of care.

It is for these reasons, our clinic does have a strict cancellation policy. Families will be charged a fee if they give less than two (2) clear days’ notice that they are unable to attend. This gives us time to make alternative arrangements to help other children on our waitlist and it ensures that our therapists do not spend time preparing and planning for sessions that do not occur.

Thank you for planning ahead and advising us more than two (2) days before your appointment if your child is not able to attend. This will ensure that you will not be charged a cancellation fee.

Travel

Our clinic charges for time travelled per hour at your usual therapy rate and additionally for KM travelled at 99c/km to reimburse therapists for the use of their own motor vehicle in travelling.

The NDIS is Australia’s first National Scheme for people with disability. It provides funding directly to individuals.

The NDIS takes a lifetime approach, investing early in people with disability and children with developmental delay to improve their outcomes later in life.

• Children with a disability (all ages) or a significant developmental delay (under 7 years) may be eligible for funding under the NDIS to cover the cost of private speech pathology.
• Therapy Matters is a registered NDIS Provider. We can provide to all funding types for children over 7 years but only Plan and Self-Managed Clients under 7 years of age (Early Childhood Scheme)

Private Health and Medicare rebates typically cover only part of the full cost of a session. Therapy Matters does not Bulk Bill.

Parent must present all referral letters (Medicare) and Essential NDIS Plan documentation at the time of the appointment.

Private Health Fund Rebates

• Families may be paid a rebate from their health fund if they have extras cover including speech pathology.
• Electronic health claiming is available in clinic for most private health funds so parents need only pay the gap.

Medicare Rebates – Chronic Disease Management (CDM)

• Children with chronic conditions and needing team care may be deemed eligible for this program by their local Doctor. A specific referral is required.
• A rebate for only 5 sessions per calendar year is available.

Medicare Rebates – Follow up Speech Pathology Services for People of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Descent

• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children may be deemed eligible for this program by their local Doctor
• A rebate for a further 5 sessions per calendar year is available

Medicare Rebates – Children with a Disability

• Children with an Autism Spectrum Disorder as well as children with other disabilities may be deemed eligible for this program by their local treating paediatrician/psychiatrist (ASD) or GP (Other disabilities).
• A rebate for up to 4 assessment sessions and 20 treatment sessions is available (lifetime limit) although a new referral must be presented for each course of 10 treatment sessions.