Medicare Rebate
The GP Chronic Condition Management Plan provides Medicare rebates for Allied Health services. You may be eligible to claim a maximum of 5 rebates through Medicare per calendar year. Allied Health services include speech pathology, occupational therapy, physiotherapy etc. The rebate is $61.80 for each of the 5 sessions. This means there will be a gap between the rebate you get back from Medicare and the cost of the therapy session.
Your GP can discuss with you whether your child is eligible for a GP Chronic Condition Management Plan. If they are eligible, the GP will provide you with a referral form to give your therapy provider. You will still need to pay for the therapy appointment as usual. After payment has been made, you can claim the rebate through the Medicare section of the My Gov web site.
Please talk to your GP to find out more about a GP Chronic Condition Management Plan, or visit the website for the Department of Health and Ageing here.
NDIS
Children with NDIS funding which is either self managed or plan managed are able to access services at The Virtual Speechie.
Private Health Funds
Many private health funds offer rebates for private speech pathology, depending on your level of cover and which health fund you are with. You will need to contact your specific health fund provider to find out whether you can claim for speech therapy services.
Cost
Therapy appointments typically run for 30 minutes, unless an alternative arrangement is preferred. The cost of a 30 minute appointment is $129. This includes the 30 minutes of direct therapy with you and your child, as well as time towards essential administration, such as planning the session, writing progress notes, and emailing any resources needed for home practice.
The cost of an assessment depends on how long it takes to complete. Most straightforward speech sound assessments cost $291. This fee includes the direct time taken to complete the assessment (typically around 45–60 minutes), and indirect time to analyse the assessment results and write a brief summary of findings and recommendations, which will be emailed to you.
An assessment includes:
- Time working directly with your child (for example, naming pictures or completing short tasks)
- Discussion with parents or caregivers
- Fun activities to help keep your child engaged (just like for an in-person assessment)
This means your child is not expected to sit and concentrate for the entire 45–60 minutes.
For some children, speech difficulties are more complex and this may not be apparent until after the first assessment session. In these situations, additional assessment time may be recommended, which can include further appointments and time for more detailed analysis of speech samples. Any recommendations for additional assessment — and the associated costs — will be discussed with you before proceeding.