Counselling and Medicare in Brisbane: What You Should Know

Counselling Journey

By Christina Feyes · ~8 min read · What Brisbane clients should know

What is a Mental Health Treatment Plan?

A Mental Health Treatment Plan, sometimes called a mental health care plan, is a document your GP prepares after assessing you. It sits inside a government scheme called the Better Access initiative. If your GP determines you have a clinically diagnosed mental health condition, the plan gives you access to a set number of Medicare-rebated therapy sessions per calendar year with an eligible provider, along with a referral to that provider. The plan is reviewed as you go. It is the standard doorway most Australians use to get subsidised talking therapy.

The key words there are “eligible provider”. The scheme is specific about who can deliver those rebated sessions, and that is where a lot of confusion starts.

Does Medicare cover counselling in Brisbane?

Generally, no. This is the part people are surprised by, so I want to be very clear. Under the Better Access initiative, Medicare rebates apply to registered psychologists and certain accredited mental health social workers and occupational therapists. Counsellors and psychotherapists are not included as Medicare-eligible providers, no matter how experienced they are or where in Brisbane they practise. So a session with a counsellor does not attract a Medicare rebate, and a Mental Health Treatment Plan cannot be used towards it.

That applies to me too. Soul Counselling works with people across Brisbane and all of Australia by video and phone, but I am a counsellor, not a registered psychologist. My work does not sit inside Medicare. If a rebate is essential for you, I would rather tell you that now than have you find out later.

Who is actually covered by Medicare?

To help you picture it, here is who can and cannot deliver Medicare-rebated therapy under the plan:

• Registered psychologists are eligible providers, so their sessions can attract a rebate with a valid plan and referral.
• Some accredited mental health social workers and occupational therapists are also eligible, though not all of them, so it is worth checking.
• GPs and psychiatrists have their own Medicare item numbers for the assessment, planning and some treatment they provide.
• Counsellors and psychotherapists are not eligible providers under the scheme, so their sessions are not rebated.

None of that is a comment on quality. It is about how the funding rules are drawn. Plenty of skilled, compassionate practitioners sit outside Medicare, and plenty of people choose them on purpose. It simply means you go in with clear eyes about the money side.

How do you get a plan through a Brisbane GP?

If you decide the rebated route is right for you, the first stop is your GP. You book a longer appointment and tell reception it is for a mental health treatment plan, because these take more time than a standard visit. Your GP will talk through what has been going on, assess you, and if appropriate, prepare the plan and refer you on to a psychologist. It helps to be honest and specific about what you have been feeling and for how long.

One Brisbane reality worth naming: getting a longer GP appointment can itself take a bit of planning, especially at busy inner-city and suburban practices in places like Chermside, Mount Gravatt or Indooroopilly. Book ahead, and ask whether your regular doctor does mental health plans, as not every GP in a clinic offers longer consultations at every session.

What are psychologist waitlists like in Brisbane?

This is the catch that catches most people. Even with a plan in hand, you still have to find a psychologist who is taking new clients, and demand across Brisbane is high. Australian Psychological Society surveys have reported that around half of psychologists had wait times longer than three months, and roughly one in three were unable to take on any new clients at all (SBS, The Feed). Some public and university clinics, including the University of Queensland Psychology Clinic, have at times closed sections of their waitlists entirely.

If you live in the outer ring, in Ipswich, Logan, Redlands, Caboolture or the Moreton Bay suburbs, the squeeze is often tighter and the drive to an available clinic is longer. So the practical timeline can be: wait for a GP appointment, then wait weeks or months for a psychologist with an opening. For some people that wait is completely fine. For others in real distress right now, it is a long time to hold on alone.

What if I cannot afford care or cannot wait?

First, the safety net. If you are in crisis or thinking about harming yourself, please contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636, and call 000 in an emergency. These are free, staffed around the clock, and you do not need a plan or a referral to use them.

Beyond that, cost and access are genuine barriers in Australia, not a personal failing. The scale of need is real: the ABS National Study of Mental Health and Wellbeing found that one in five Australians (21.5 per cent, around 4.3 million people) experienced a mental disorder in a single twelve-month period, with anxiety the most common, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Demand is enormous, which is exactly why waitlists stretch. If waiting is not safe or workable for you, options include your GP for immediate support and medication conversations, the crisis lines above, community and headspace services for younger people, and counsellors who can often see you sooner because they sit outside the Medicare bottleneck.

Is counselling worth it without a Medicare rebate?

This is the fair question, and I will not pretend the answer is always yes. If a rebate is essential to your budget, then the honest recommendation is to see your GP and go the psychologist route, even with the wait. I would genuinely rather you do that than stretch yourself thin.

But money is not the only thing people weigh. Some choose counselling because they can start soon rather than in three months, because they want longer sessions, or because they want a style of support that blends practical counselling with a more reflective, spiritual sensibility. My sessions run for around ninety minutes to just over an hour and a half, which is longer than a standard appointment, and that space matters to a lot of people. You can read more about how I work on the individual counselling page and about my background and training over on Christina’s story. There is no single right answer here. There is only the one that fits your situation.

How does the free 15-minute assessment work?

Because I know counselling is not rebated, I do not want anyone committing money to find out whether we are even a match. So the first step is a free fifteen-minute assessment. No card, no obligation, nothing to lose. We talk about what has brought you here, what you are hoping for, and whether I am the right fit. If I am not, or if you would be better served by the GP and psychologist route, I will say so plainly and point you in that direction.

Everything is online, by video or phone, so you can join from Paddington, Carindale, North Lakes or anywhere across Brisbane without a drive into the city or a parking search. Soul Counselling’s only physical base is in Southport on the Gold Coast, and there is no Brisbane office, but for online clients that makes no practical difference. Brisbane clients start with the same free assessment as everyone else. You can find times on the Brisbane counselling page or book directly through the bookings page. Sometimes fifteen honest minutes is enough to feel whether the next step is worth taking, and part of healing is simply being heard without pressure.