Medicare Information and Resources for General Practitioners and Psychologists

Help is on the way: Support for individuals, couples and families in the community

Recent changes to Medicare have made psychological support much more accessible the Australian community. Through the Medicare Benefits Scheme GPs can now create Mental Health Care Plan's for patients who would benefit from psychological treatment. Under a Mental Health Care Plan patients can claim up to 12 sessions with a registered psychologists and 12 sessions of group psychotherapy per calendar year.

Mental Heath Care Plan referrals are only required for the Psychology Clinic's OCD group therapy program which is run by a clinical psychologist. No referral is needed to access the Clinic's low cost counselling services, other group therapy programs or psychological assessments which are all provided to the Melbourne community on a low-cost basis. Information on how a patient can make an appointment at the Swinburne Psychology Clinic is available by clicking here.

The Swinburne Psychology Clinic continues to provides a unique avenue for providing psychological support to patients who cannot afford to pay a GAP fee to see a registered psychologists and also for patients who would benefit from psychological support but do not meet the diagnostic criteria for a mental illness. The Clinic can also provided treatment for patients who wish to obtain more than the 12 sessions of psychological treatment available through Medicare. The Swinburne Psychology Clinic is the largest university clinic in Australia and provides a vital role in providing future psychologists with the appropriate experience, training and clinical skills they need to work independently. All work conducted by counsellors at the Clinic is supervised by registered psychologists who have significant academic and applied experience to ensure a quality of treatment is not compromised.

The following documents are made available to GP's through the Swinburne Psychology Clinic. Please click on the links below to download.

Mental Health Care Plan Template (Medicare Item No. 2710, Fee $150)

A free template for the creation of a Mental Health Care Plan can be downloaded by GPs from the link above.

Medicare GP Item Descriptors

Important information about Medicare item numbers and fees earned by GPs to create and review a patients Mental Health Care Plan.

Medicare Item Explanatory Notes

Medicare information about the provision of psychological services by clinical psychologists.

To find out how to make an appointment for our counselling service click here.

To find out more about the Psychology Clinic's group therapy programs click here.

Email: psychclinic@swin.edu.au      Call: (03) 9214 8653     Visit: 34 Wakefield Street Hawthorn