How Much Does Therapy Cost in Australia in 2026?

With a Medicare rebate, a session with a psychologist typically leaves you $180.95 or $228.45 out of pocket, depending on which kind of psychologist you see. Without one, expect to pay the full fee, which the profession's own body suggests at $330.

These are guiding estimates. Therapists set their own fees.

Australia is unusual in that you can work the numbers out exactly, because both halves are published. Here they are.

The arithmetic, done properly

Medicare pays a fixed benefit per session under the Better Access initiative. The Australian Psychological Society publishes a suggested fee. Your gap is the difference.

	Clinical psychologist	Registered psychologist
MBS item	80010	80110
Schedule fee	$175.30	$119.45
Medicare benefit (85%)	$149.05	$101.55
APS suggested fee	$330	$330
Your gap	$180.95	$228.45

Both schedule fees were last updated on 1 July 2026, so these are current figures rather than last year's.

The $47.50 that most people miss

Look at the benefit row again. A clinical psychologist attracts $149.05; a registered psychologist attracts $101.55. That is $47.50 more per session, for the same 50 minutes of therapy, and it depends entirely on whether the practitioner holds a clinical endorsement.

Across the ten sessions Medicare allows in a calendar year, that difference is $475.

This is worth asking about before you book, and it is not a question about quality; a registered psychologist may be exactly the right person for you. It is a question about what you will be charged, and the answer is knowable in advance.

What the schedule fee is not

The schedule fee is what Medicare uses to calculate its benefit. It is not a cap on what a psychologist may charge, and most charge well above it. The APS is explicit that its own figure is "a suggestion only" and that "the fee at which a service is set is at the discretion of the individual psychologist". Some charge less than $330. Some charge more. Ask.

How to get the rebate at all

• You need a referral from a referring practitioner, in practice a GP, who prepares a Mental Health Treatment Plan.
• Medicare covers up to 10 individual and 10 group sessions per calendar year.
• The session must run at least 50 minutes and be provided individually and in person for these item numbers.
• At the end of a course of treatment your GP reviews whether more is needed, and the psychologist sends them a written report.

There is also an Extended Medicare Safety Net, which caps the benefit for item 80110 at $358.35 once your out-of-pocket costs for the year pass the threshold.

If you cannot pay the gap

The gap is the barrier for most people, not the rebate. Three routes cost far less or nothing at all.

Medicare Mental Health Centres: free, walk in

These are Australian Government centres, and their own description is unambiguous: "The service is free and no referral or appointment is needed. Walk in and talk with us today." They are staffed by "qualified professionals and people with lived experience of mental ill health" and offer "free, short-to-medium term care".

Two things about them are worth stating plainly:

• "You don't need to be an Australian citizen to access support." If you are here on a student, work or temporary visa and assumed you were excluded, you are not.
• They are not a crisis service. For urgent help the centres themselves direct you to call 000.

University psychology clinics: the cheapest real therapy in the country

Most Australian universities with a psychology programme run a training clinic, and unlike almost every other kind of provider, they publish their fees. Sessions run from about $20 to $50, with concession rates lower again.

Therapy is delivered by postgraduate students working under close supervision. That is not a lesser service, and trainees are often more attentive than a fully booked practitioner, but you should know before you go. Two other things to check: waiting lists are common, and several of these clinics state that their fees attract no Medicare rebate: which does not matter much when the fee is $20, but does if you were counting on claiming.

Some also exclude higher-risk presentations, so if you are in crisis or managing psychosis or substance dependence, this route may not be open to you. Our city pages name the clinic for each capital and give its published fees.

headspace: if you are 12 to 25

headspace supports young people aged 12 to 25 experiencing or at risk of mild to moderate mental ill health, across four areas: mental health and wellbeing, physical and sexual health, alcohol and other drug services, and work and study support. It is government funded, with 172 services nationally and more opening.

Costs vary by centre and generally there is no charge with a Medicare card, but check with your local centre rather than assuming.

Who is who, and why it changes the price

Psychologists are registered through the Psychology Board of Australia under AHPRA. The distinction that matters financially is endorsement: a clinical endorsement is what qualifies a practitioner for the higher Medicare item, and therefore the extra $47.50 a session.

Counsellors and psychotherapists are not registered under that scheme and their sessions generally attract no Medicare rebate at all, which is why their headline fees are often lower while the out-of-pocket cost may not be.

A note on what we are not telling you

You will find pages online giving therapy prices by suburb and region: a figure for Sydney's eastern suburbs, another for regional towns, another for remote areas. We have no evidence any of that is real, and nobody collects it. Psychologists set their own fees, and two practitioners in the same building may charge differently. What is genuinely regional is availability, not price: in thinner markets, telehealth is often the practical answer, and bulk-billing is more common where fewer practitioners compete.

If you need someone now

• Lifeline: 13 11 14
• Suicide Call Back Service: 1300 659 467
• Beyond Blue: 1300 22 4636
• Kids Helpline: 1800 55 1800
• MensLine Australia: 1300 78 99 78
• 1800RESPECT: 1800 737 732

Sources

• Medicare Benefits Schedule, Item 80010 and Item 80110: schedule fees, benefits, the 50-minute and referral requirements, and the safety net cap. Schedule fees updated 1 July 2026.
• Australian Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing, Better Access initiative: the ten-session annual limit.
• Australian Psychological Society, what it costs: the National Schedule of Suggested Fees 2026–2027 and the statement that it is a suggestion only.
• Medicare Mental Health, Medicare Mental Health Centres: free access, no referral, and the citizenship statement quoted above.
• Australian Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing: headspace scope, age range and service numbers.

Reviewed July 2026. Medicare figures are from the MBS item pages themselves and were current at 1 July 2026. The suggested fee is the APS's own published figure. Gap amounts are the subtraction of one from the other, shown so you can redo it.