Fees Explained

At first look, our fees may seem to be a bit on the high side. And we can understand why! See below an explanation into the factors that go into our fees. 

Each assessment takes a lot of time! For every hour we are spending with you, we are spending at least that much time reviewing the results, reviewing other relevant documents, consulting with collateral contacts or other professionals and writing the report. 

The Australian Psychology Society Schedule of Suggested fees for 2024-2025 suggests an hourly rate of $311 for private assessment services. Our fees are calculated on the lower hourly rate of $260. 

This hourly fee does not just cover the psychologists time, but also costs such as rent, administration support, electricity and internet (plus much more!). 

You may not be aware, but there are lots of different types of psychologists. All have done a minimum of six years of training, and are registered to practice as psychologists with the Psychology Board of Australia. For this context, it is important to understand the difference between a clinical psychologist, a general psychologist and a provisional psychologist:

• A provisional psychologist is someone who has done the undergraduate study component of their training, but are still doing their practicum components. They are still in training, and are not fully registered. 
• A general psychologist is someone who is fully registered and practicing as a psychologist. Their training has consisted of an undergraduate degree and on-the-job practicum training. 
• A clinical psychologist is someone who is fully registered, and has an endorsement in clinical psychology. Clinical psychologist have done an additional postgraduate Masters degree, as well as practicum training, and additional supervision after graduation. Clinical psychologists are the ‘most’ qualified of these three types.

For assessments for neurodivergence, the National Guidelines for assessing Autism and ADHD recommend certain professionals be involved with the assessment. Provisional and generally registered psychologists are recommended to do assessments as part of a consensus team. Clinical psychologists are able to do the assessments independently, or as part of a consensus team evaluation. 

It is important to note that certain funding bodies and organisations, including the NDIS, require assessments to be completed by a clinical psychologist (or other suitably qualified professionals), and may not accept reports and diagnoses completed by provisional or general psychologists. 

Many practices use provisional psychologist to do assessments to keep the cost low. None of our psychologists are provisional psychologists, and all of our assessments for neurodivergence are done by, or in collaboration with, a clinical psychologist.

Our assessments and reports are comprehensive, and we ensure we gather and report on all the information needed to come to the most accurate conclusions. Depending on the assessment, our reports are between 10-20 pages, and include a comprehensive background review, detailed explanation of the results, and an overall summary with diagnostic conclusions. 

We also provide a list of comprehensive recommendations that are tailored to your needs. Not all services provide this, and may just provide a letter of the diagnosis, with no explanation of the assessment undertaken or recommendations. In these cases, it can make applying for support services, such as the NDIS, difficult. 

Our reports can be used as evidence to access supports, such as from the NDIS. They also provide a detailed overview of your experiences as identified within the assessment, which can be beneficial for understanding your own experiences as well as for other professionals providing support. 

Our fees also include the cost of the psychometric assessment tools used as part of the assessment. All of the assessment tools we use are robust, evidence-based assessment tools that have been thoroughly tested during development. Psychometric test development is an expensive process, and costs (which can be in the $1000’s) are passed on to those who purchase them (psychologists).