The APS National Schedule of Suggested Fees 2026-2027 puts a standard 46 to 60 minute consultation at $330. It is a suggestion, not a rule: every psychologist sets their own fee. Medicare rebates $149.05 for a clinical psychologist session and $101.55 for a registered psychologist, so most clients pay a gap.
That single sentence hides most of what practitioners actually get wrong about fees. The schedule is not a price list you are bound to, the rebate is not a discount off your fee, and the disclosure obligations that sit around the number are enforceable in a way the number itself never is. Here is how the three pieces fit together for the 2026-27 financial year.
What is the APS recommended fee for 2026-27?
The first correction is the name. The Australian Psychological Society does not publish a recommended fee, it publishes a National Schedule of Suggested Fees, and its own public guidance is unambiguous about the weight that carries: "This is a suggestion only. The fee at which a service is set is at the discretion of the individual psychologist."
For 2026-27 the headline figure for a standard 46 to 60 minute consultation is $330. The full member schedule covers many more service types than the standard consult, including assessments, reports and shorter or longer sessions.
The wording is deliberate rather than modest. Price fixing is one of the four forms of cartel conduct the ACCC polices, alongside sharing markets, rigging bids and controlling output. Independent practices are independent businesses, so a professional body cannot set their prices, and two practice owners cannot agree on theirs over coffee either. Treat the schedule as a well-researched reference point you are free to adopt, sit under, or exceed with justification.
What does Medicare actually rebate, and what gap does that leave?
Under the Better Access initiative, a client referred by a GP, psychiatrist or paediatrician can claim a rebate against a specific MBS item. The two that cover a standard individual session in consulting rooms were both reindexed on 1 July 2026:
- Item 80010, psychological therapy by an eligible clinical psychologist, at least 50 minutes: schedule fee $175.30, benefit 85% = $149.05. Against a $330 fee the client's gap is $180.95.
- Item 80110, focussed psychological strategies by an eligible registered psychologist, at least 50 minutes: schedule fee $119.45, benefit 85% = $101.55. Against a $330 fee the client's gap is $228.45.
Two things follow that are worth being explicit about with clients. The rebate is a fixed dollar amount, not a percentage of what you charge, so every dollar you add to your fee is a dollar the client carries in full. And the schedule fee is not your fee: the $175.30 against item 80010 is the government's own valuation of the service, which is why bulk billing at that rate is a substantially different business decision from charging $330 and rebating $149.05 back.
Clients with high annual out-of-pocket costs may also reach the Extended Medicare Safety Net, which lifts the benefit once a threshold is met, capped at $500.00 for item 80010 and $358.35 for item 80110.
How many rebated sessions can a client claim in a year?
This is the question that most often gets answered wrong at intake. Per the MBS explanatory note on Better Access, eligible patients can claim a Medicare benefit for up to 10 individual and 10 group therapy mental health treatment services per calendar year. The allocation resets in January, not in July.
Within that ceiling:
- A maximum of 6 services can be claimed on the initial referral. After those, the referring practitioner must review the Mental Health Treatment Plan and issue a new referral for further treatment.
- A further 2 services per calendar year can be delivered to another person, such as a family member or carer, as part of the client's treatment. These count towards the same allocation.
- A Mental Health Treatment Plan does not expire, and a new plan should not be created in place of a review except in exceptional circumstances.
The rule practitioners most often miss: private health insurance cannot top up a Medicare rebate. The explanatory note is direct about it, stating that patients cannot use their ancillary cover to "top up" the Medicare benefit paid for the service. A client can use extras cover for sessions once their Medicare allocation is exhausted, but never for the same session. If your fee sheet implies otherwise, correct it.
Each of these items also carries a reporting condition in its descriptor: on completion of a course of treatment you must give the referring practitioner a written report on assessments carried out, treatment provided and recommendations for future management. That is a billing requirement, not a courtesy, and it is covered in detail in our guide to writing a psychologist letter to a referring GP.
What must you tell clients about fees before you charge them?
The number you land on is a commercial decision. Disclosing it is a regulatory one. Ahpra's shared Code of conduct puts financial consent inside informed consent at section 4.2, where good practice includes that you "get financial consent by discussing fees in a manner appropriate to the professional relationship and addressing the costs of all required services and get general agreement about the level of treatment to be provided, preferably before the service is provided". Section 8.11 adds the standard that practitioners "must be honest and transparent in financial arrangements with patients".
In practice, "preferably before the service is provided" means your fee belongs in the intake pack, not on the invoice. A defensible disclosure states the session fee, the expected rebate for the item you will bill and therefore the expected gap, the fee for any longer sessions, assessments or reports, when payment is due, and what happens if the client cancels late or does not attend. Fold it into your written consent form so it is signed once rather than negotiated awkwardly at the end of a first session. Our templates for an informed consent form for counselling and for a cancellation policy both assume the fee sits in that same document.
How should you set your own fee?
Work backwards from chargeable hours rather than forwards from the schedule.
Start with how many client hours you will genuinely deliver in a week, then subtract the ones you will not be paid for. Progress notes, treatment plans, reports and referral letters, supervision, professional development, and unfilled or late-cancelled appointments all consume clinical time at zero revenue. A practitioner who books 25 sessions is rarely billing 25 sessions. Then add the costs the fee has to cover: rooms, indemnity insurance, registration and association membership, software, any administrative support, superannuation and leave you fund yourself, and tax.
That calculation gives you a floor. The APS figure and what comparable practitioners in your area charge give you a sensible band around it. Between the two, adjust for your qualifications, specialisation, waiting list and the population you serve. What you should not do is coordinate the answer with other practices, for the competition reasons above.
The part most practices cannot see is the first half of that sum. PractaLuma is AI-native practice management software for Australian mental-health practices, which means the calendar and billing records that tell you what you actually delivered, what was cancelled and what was written off sit in the same system as the clinical notes, instead of in a spreadsheet reconstructed at tax time. You can review pricing here.
Should you bulk bill or offer a reduced fee?
Bulk billing means accepting the Medicare benefit as full payment, so the client pays nothing and the practice receives $149.05 or $101.55 for a session at least 50 minutes long. For most private practices that does not cover the cost of delivery, which is why full bulk billing is uncommon outside funded or salaried settings.
The more workable middle path is a reduced-fee allocation: a set number of places each week at a lower gap, offered on stated criteria such as concession card status or financial hardship. Two things make it defensible. Write down the basis on which places are offered and apply it consistently, and disclose the reduced fee in the same way as the standard one, so the client knows what the gap will be before the first session rather than after it. A discretionary discount granted informally in the room is the version that creates awkwardness later.
Frequently asked questions
Is the APS suggested fee compulsory? No. The APS states that the fee is a suggestion only and that setting it is at the discretion of the individual psychologist. You can charge above or below it. Neither the APS nor Ahpra sets a maximum fee.
Do I have to charge every client the same amount? No. You can operate a standard fee alongside concession or hardship rates. What matters is that the basis is consistent and that each client is told their fee, and their expected gap, before the service is provided.
Do the Medicare rebates change every July? The MBS schedule fees are indexed and both items 80010 and 80110 had their schedule fees updated on 1 July 2026. Session allocations, by contrast, run on the calendar year, so check the current MBS item before quoting a rebate to a client.
Can a client claim Medicare and private health insurance for the same session? No. The MBS explanatory note is explicit that ancillary cover cannot be used to top up a Medicare benefit. Extras cover is an alternative once the client's Better Access sessions for the calendar year are used up.
What should I do if a client cannot afford the gap? Options include a reduced-fee place, spacing sessions further apart within the referral, or referring to a funded service such as a Primary Health Network commissioned program or a community health service. Whichever you choose, document the discussion in the client's record.