A referral is essential for an initial appointment. A mental health care plan is also essential if you plan to see a psychologist and wish to receive the Medicare rebate. Your GP or other referrer should send the referral to us directly. No appointments will be made until the referral is received and processed.

Please note that in general we do not bulk-bill although exceptions may be considered.

We ask that all patients give us a minimum 48 hours notice if they wish to cancel or change an appointment.

A cancellation fee may be charged if this courtesy is not extended.

Please note that as our clinicians may have to attend to patients in crisis they can sometimes run late.

Please arrive 15 minutes before your first appointment to allow time to complete the required paperwork. Some of this (but not all) can be completed ahead of time if you wish to download it from here and bring it with you or email it to reception@seconsult.com.au.

Types of Appointments (Psychiatrist)

Initial Consultation

The first visit after your General Practitioner refers you to a Psychiatrist at South Eastern Consulting usually lasts 50 minutes. This is an assessment visit to gain a broad understanding of your situation, your GPs concerns, establishing or confirming your diagnosis, and how we may be able to help, possibly by seeing you regularly, adding to, or altering your current treatment.

Periodic Re-Assessments

After the initial assessment, your Psychiatrist together with your GP may decide to alter your treatment but that the GP can continue as the main contact. In these situations a re-assessment by the Psychiatrist is needed after a certain amount of time to see how you are progressing and offer further advice (usually after about 6 months). These reviews may be booked ahead at the time of your initial visit. Because the Psychiatrist already knows your situation, these appointments usually last 30 minutes.

Ongoing Appointments

In cases where the Psychiatrist, GP, and you have decided that regular ongoing visits to the Psychiatrist are best for your care, regular appointments may be scheduled. These may be from 3 times per week to once every 3 months – on average, once per fortnight in most situations. These appointments usually last for 30-50 minutes.

Other Appointments

A range of other appointment types, lengths, and fees are also used. If needed, these will be discussed with you.

TAC, WorkSafe, DVA, and Legal Reports

Most clinicians see patients under the Transport Accident Commission (TAC), WorkSafe and the Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA), and other funding sources.

Some clinicians are also willing to prepare legal reports, but these reports are not covered by any Medicare rebate and must be funded by the patient. Legal report requests do not require a referral from your GP.

Fees

All fees are collected on the day of your appointment.

We do not accept cash or cheques. Instead, we provide an EasyClaim service.

Fees will vary depending on the type of visit and the clinician that you see and will always be discussed with you at the time of booking your initial appointment. Some private health insurance funds will cover some Psychology appointments, but none will cover Psychiatry appointments.

EasyClaim

We have found that the quickest and simplest way to settle fees is using Medicare EasyClaim. The process involves charging the full fee to your credit/debit card, then swiping your Medicare card which allows Medicare to assess your rebate. A second swipe of your debit card (it will not work with credit cards), and the rebate is transferred directly from Medicare to your savings or cheque account. It takes less than 5 minutes. Most patients prefer the speed and convenience of this method. Out of pocket costs vary and will be discussed when making your appointment.