Payments

Payments at Chris Gilbert Psychology primarily occur online and are processed outside of your session.

  • New Clients’ First Session: Payment is required at within 3 days of booking to secure.

  • Regular / Returning Clients: Payment occurs after your session.

  • Assessment Sessions (i.e., ADHD, Autism, Cognitive): Payment is required at the time of booking the appointment.

The online platform used to manage payments (and client data) is called Halaxy, a secure and encrypted web-based healthcare software (Halaxy’s privacy policy). It automatically sends invoices, processes payments, sends receipts and processes Medicare rebates. There are 3 payment methods available:

  • Manual Bank Transfer. Following the session you will receive an invoice email (automatically generated) which includes bank details. You can then manually transfer payment (within 3 days is appreciated). You will be sent the receipt within a few days

  • Manual Online Payment by Halaxy (via Credit/Debit Card or PayPal). Following the session you will receive an invoice email (automatically generated) which will include a link to pay for the session, either via entering your credit/debit card details or via PayPal. Your Medicare rebate (if relevant) will be automatically processed approximately 2 hours following your session & your receipt will be automatically emailed to you soon after. Medicare rebates typically take 1-2 days to arrive in your bank account. Payments are powered by Braintree, a subsidiary of PayPal.

  • Automatic Payment Halaxy (via Credit/Debit Card). Credit/debit card details are securely stored on the client management system funds are automatically debited during the session. Your Medicare rebate (if relevant) will be automatically processed approximately 2 hours following your session & your receipt will be automatically emailed to you soon after. Medicare rebates typically take 1-2 days to arrive in your bank account. Payments are powered by Braintree, a subsidiary of PayPal.

    • Additionally, for added peace of mind and control you can request that an SMS confirmation be sent to you requesting authorisation of payment (i.e., YES) before any payment can be processed.

    • Credit/debit card details are tokenised for added security, i.e. XXXX XXXX, so that once entered details cannot be viewed by anyone else again & will need to be re-entered if changes need to be made. For more information see Data Security in Halaxy)

If you have issues with payments please contact us here: chrisgilbertpsychology/contact

Payment Policies

Initial Session & Report Pre-Payments: Initial sessions and reports may require pre-payment for the service to be rendered. Unpaid prior sessions or reports can result in the cancellation of future appointments.

Payment Services: Face-to-face/telehealth/telephone sessions are payable following the consultation, with an online invoice sent to each client and a variety of payment methods being offered.

Cancellation Policy: Due to the nature of psychological services, sessions are set aside for each client, meaning that if a cancellation is to occur other vulnerable clients are not able to access the support required and income is lost. In line with the Australian Psychological Society (APS), any cancellation, rescheduling or non- attendance of an appointment will result in a cancellation fee for the following notice times:

  • Less than 48 hours in advance will result in a cancellation fee of 50% of the session fee.

  • Less than 24 hours in advance will result in a cancellation fee of 100% of the session fee.

The fee becomes effective immediately upon cancellation, rescheduling or non-attendance, regardless of reason and a Medicare rebate cannot be claimed. If an appointment can be filled a cancellation fee will not be charged. Any cancellations or changes to appointment times must be made to reception (email, SMS, recorded phone message, phone call or appointment software).

Receiving a cancellation fee may be frustrating, however disrespect, aggression or mistreatment of a staff member due to this policy is not acceptable and may result in the loss of all future appointments.

Courtesy Reminder System: Please note that the reminder service offered (SMS & email reminders) is a courtesy service. It remains the client’s responsibility to attend sessions and failure to receive a message/email does not constitute an acceptable reason for non-attendance.

Late Payment Fees: For every 7 days an invoice remains unpaid (beyond it's due date & time) an additional $10 late fee will be charged (to cover the time and administration requirements for the management and chasing up of unpaid invoices). Automatic online payment options are available if managing payment consistency is a challenge. Ongoing inconsistency of payment may result in the cancellation of future sessions.

Medicare Rebates: The Australian Government offers access to 10 rebated psychological sessions per calendar year (resets from January 1) for those with an eligible 'mental disorder' (for more details about Medicare & Psychology). It is the client’s responsibility to keep track of how many rebated sessions they have remaining on a referral, remaining for the year and the need for a new referral. Failure to do so may result in being required to pay the full fee for a session. The reminder service that reception offers is a courtesy service but may be inaccurate if a client has claiming history outside of the psychologist’s knowledge. More information about Medicare rebates can be found later in this document in a page entitled “Fees & Medicare Rebates”.

Payment/Rebates via External Agencies: Outside of a client paying the full price of a service, Chris Gilbert Psychology can only offer payment/rebates via Medicare rebates, self-managed/plan managed NDIS (provided the plan manager agrees to fees) and Private Health Insurance (dependent upon your coverage on your Private Health insurer). Chris Gilbert Psychology cannot provide funding via any other means and all other requests will require full payment from the client. It remains the client’s responsibility to organise payment methods and liaise with any relevant organisation to setup an appropriate payment arrangement.