What therapy actually costs in Australia

Figures checked September 2026

There are several ways to get mental health support in Australia, and each has its own fees and ways of paying. Psychologist Someone trained to assess mental health problems and treat them with therapy. It takes at least six years of study and supervised practice, and they're registered with Ahpra, the national regulator. Psychologists can't prescribe medication. More in the jargon decoder and other therapists set their own fees, so what you pay is the fee minus any Medicare Australia's public health insurance scheme. For mental health, it gives rebates on sessions with psychologists and some other professionals, usually through a Mental Health Treatment Plan. More in the jargon decoder Rebate The amount Medicare pays back towards a session. It comes back to you after you've paid, so what you pay yourself is the fee minus the rebate. More in the jargon decoder . A Mental Health Treatment Plan A document your GP writes with you. It makes you eligible for a Medicare rebate on up to ten individual sessions a calendar year: six, then a review with your GP, then the remaining four. The plan itself isn't therapy. More in the jargon decoder lowers the cost for many people, but for most sessions people still pay something on top. There are free and cheaper routes too, and they’re covered below.

How the rebate works

With a Mental Health Treatment Plan, Medicare gives a rebate of $149.05 a session with a Clinical psychologist A psychologist with an extra endorsement, which usually means two more years of training aimed at more complex problems. More in the jargon decoder and $101.55 with a general psychologist (Medicare calls them Registered For psychologists, psychiatrists and occupational therapists, registration with Ahpra is required, and using the title without it is an offence. Counsellors and psychotherapists can register with their national associations, which is voluntary. More in the jargon decoder psychologists). The plan gives a rebate on up to ten individual sessions a calendar year: six, then a review with your GP (general practitioner) For most people, where getting help starts. A GP can write a Mental Health Treatment Plan, prescribe medication and refer you on, and some are trained to deliver a small number of structured therapy sessions themselves. More in the jargon decoder , then the remaining four. Group sessions are a separate ten a year, and group therapy explains how they work. Once your rebated sessions for the year are used, you pay the full fee for any more (healthdirect). How long therapy takes covers how many sessions therapy usually takes.

Medicare also gives a rebate for Mental health social worker A social worker with an extra mental health accreditation. They're trained in therapy, and in the practical things around it, such as housing, money, family services and the systems people get stuck in. More in the jargon decoder and mental health occupational therapists, but not for Counsellor Someone trained to help people talk through and work on difficulties. The title isn't protected in Australia, so it's worth checking a counsellor's training and registration. Medicare doesn't give a rebate for counsellors. More in the jargon decoder or Psychotherapist Someone trained in therapy, often for longer-standing patterns. Like counsellor, the title isn't protected in Australia, and Medicare doesn't give a rebate for psychotherapists. More in the jargon decoder . You can see any practitioner Medicare gives a rebate for without a plan, too. You just pay the full fee yourself, because the plan is only there for the rebate. Your GP assesses whether a plan suits you, and how to get a Mental Health Treatment Plan explains the steps. Ten sessions a calendar year is a funding limit, not a judgement about how much therapy anyone needs.

What practitioners charge

Psychologists set their own fees. The Australian Psychological Society (APS) The professional association for psychologists. Its Find a Psychologist directory lists psychologists who are registered with Ahpra and belong to the society. More in the jargon decoder , a professional body for psychologists, suggests $330 for a standard 46 to 60 minute session in 2026–27 (Australian Psychological Society). That’s only a suggestion, and in our review of published fees (below), almost all psychologists charged less.

In September 2026 we looked at the fees published by about 160 practitioners across Australia. The typical fee for a standard session (the middle one, with half charging more and half less) was:

Counsellors and psychotherapists: about $150, ranging from $70 to $250.
General psychologists: about $240, ranging from about $180 to $300.
Clinical psychologists: about $260, ranging from $195 to about $335.
Mental health social workers and occupational therapists: about $195, ranging from $90 to about $240.

At those typical fees, you’d pay about $138 a session after the rebate with a general psychologist, or about $111 with a clinical psychologist. A counsellor’s typical fee of about $150 is what you’d pay, since there’s no rebate. How we got these figures is at the end of this page.

To see what you’d pay across a year, session by session, using the fee your own practice charges, try the cost and rebate estimator.

What people actually paid

The difference between the fee and the rebate is often called the gap, and almost all psychologists and Psychiatrist A medical doctor who has specialised in mental health. Psychiatrists can diagnose, prescribe and do therapy, though many spend most of their time on medication and diagnosis rather than weekly sessions. More in the jargon decoder charge one (healthdirect).

An analysis of Medicare records for sessions under a Mental Health Treatment Plan found that people paid something on top of the rebate for about two-thirds of sessions in 2021, up from about half in 2018 (Tapp and colleagues, 2026). Where people did pay something, the typical amount was $74 a session from 2018 to 2021, rising to $90 in the first half of 2022. By 2021, people’s own payments made up about 30% of all the fees charged for these sessions, up from about a quarter in 2018. Those are the most recent figures published, and the trend was upwards, so the gap is likely to be higher now.

Some psychologists bulk bill, which means Medicare pays the whole fee and you pay nothing for that session. In 2021, about a third of sessions had no gap.

Seeing a psychiatrist

Psychiatrists are medical doctors, so their rebates come from a different part of Medicare and don’t use a Mental Health Treatment Plan. You need a Referral A letter from a GP, psychiatrist or paediatrician that you need for the Medicare rebate. You can see a psychologist without one if you pay the full fee. More in the jargon decoder , usually from your GP, to get the rebate (Your Health in Mind).

With a referral, Medicare gives a rebate of $268.90 for a first appointment of more than 45 minutes (MBS Online, item 296), and $189.70 for a later appointment of 45 to 75 minutes (MBS Online, item 306). The rebate applies to up to 50 appointments a calendar year. If your psychiatrist decides that intensive psychotherapy is right for you, the rebate can apply to up to 160 (MBS Online, item 319).

Those rebates are higher than for psychologists, and they apply to far more appointments a year. In practice, few people can use them for regular therapy. Psychiatrists are in short supply, especially outside cities: in 2023, 85% of the psychiatry workforce was in metropolitan areas and less than 2% in rural and remote areas (Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists, 2025). Many psychiatrists spend most of their time on medication and diagnosis rather than on weekly sessions, and a first appointment can take a long time to get.

Psychiatrists set their own fees, and you may pay a gap on top of the rebate. Some bulk bill. Private health insurance doesn’t pay towards appointments outside a hospital stay. Seeing a psychiatrist through a public hospital or community mental health service is generally free. Ask the clinic about fees before your first appointment. Our review of published fees didn’t include psychiatrists, so there’s no typical fee here.

Other ways to pay

Paying the full fee. You don’t need a referral or a plan, and there’s no session limit. It’s the only way to see a counsellor or psychotherapist. Counsellors and psychotherapists set their own fees too, and they generally charge less than psychologists. Medicare doesn’t give a rebate for them, so what they charge is what you pay unless your health fund pays something.
Private health insurance. Some extras policies pay something towards psychology and counselling. The fund pays a set amount or a percentage, and you pay the rest. Your therapist has to be registered with your fund, and waiting periods and limits vary between funds, so check with yours first (Commonwealth Ombudsman). If you’re also using a Medicare rebate for the session, ask your fund whether you can claim both.
Workplace programs. Many employers pay for a few sessions for their staff.
Veterans, victims of crime and workplace injury. You may be able to see a psychologist for little or nothing if you’re a veteran, a victim of crime, or have a workplace injury (Australian Psychological Society).
Community services. Community mental health services and many community organisations are usually free (healthdirect).
headspace A national youth mental health service for anyone aged 12 to 25, with centres around Australia and support online and by phone. It's free or close to it, you don't need a referral or a parent, and you can book it yourself. More in the jargon decoder . headspace offers free or low-cost support for people aged 12 to 25.
Groups. Group sessions usually cost less per session. A Mental Health Treatment Plan also gives a rebate on up to ten group sessions a year, on top of the ten individual ones.

Free and low-cost options has the full list.

Before you book

It’s worth asking about costs before you start (healthdirect). You could ask:

What’s your fee for a standard session?
What will I pay after the Medicare rebate?
Do you bulk bill anyone?
Is there a cancellation fee?

What to say when you book has words you can use on the phone or in a message. Compare what you’d actually pay after any rebate, rather than the fee. The fee tells you nothing about how well you and your therapist will work together.

If you’re under 18, headspace and your GP are good places to start, and headspace is free or close to it.

How we got these figures

We looked at the standard fee for one adult session published by 163 practitioners on a large therapist directory and on practice websites, in every state and territory, in cities and regional areas. We left out online-only services, from prices and packages. We’ll repeat the review each July. These are fees practitioners chose to publish in September 2026. Practices that don’t publish their fees may charge differently, and fees change, so ask each practice what it charges.

Where next

Who does what sets out which professions Medicare gives a rebate for, and what a psychiatrist does.