Under this initiative, up to four assessment sessions provided by a psychologist and other allied health professionals are available to assist the referring practitioner with diagnosis, or to contribute to a child’s treatment and management plan.
In addition, up to 20 treatment sessions provided by a psychologist and other allied health professionals are available.
It is important to note that these are the total number of services available to each child through Better Start – not an annual entitlement.
It is also important to note that these are the total number of services available for all allied health service providers, not the number of services provided by a psychologist alone. For example, an assessment might involve a speech pathologist, a psychologist and an audiologist which may require more than the four sessions funded under Medicare. If additional sessions are required, these would not be eligible for Medicare rebates under this initiative.
It is the responsibility of the referring medical practitioner to allocate these services in keeping with the child’s individual needs.