We see clients across the lifespan.

We understand clients may be travelling far to attend the Clinic; however, you will be required to attend the clinic on at least one occasion during the administration of your assessment. Where feasible, we will fit as much of the assessment into one day as we can, to reduce travel. We are happy to facilitate the initial and feedback appointments via Telehealth, and any interview-based appointments via Telehealth.

On the day of the assessment, we recommend trying to keep to your regular routine as much as possible. That might mean going to bed and waking up at a regular time for you and eating a nutritious breakfast.

Once you arrive at our Clinic, you will wait in the waiting room until the time of your appointment. Our waiting room is a shared space, and you will find some colouring pages that you are welcome to do while you wait!

Your psychologist will come and meet you in the waiting room and walk you down to their office. For young people, parents and guardians might come to the office to settle the child into the appointment. Once settled, it will just be the psychologist and the person doing the assessment in the room.

There will be some breaks during the assessment. Parents are welcome to ‘head-off’ during the assessment, and we will send an SMS when we need you to return. Otherwise, you may hang out in our waiting room for the day. During the breaks, there are plenty of cafes, restaurants and parks nearby, to have a snack and stretch your legs.

We recommend bringing a water bottle, a snack, your glasses and hearing aids if you need them. Dress in comfortable clothes, and if you have any toys or items that will help you to feel better during the day, you can bring those too!

If you take medications, please take them as usual on the day of your assessment.

If there are any documents you have not yet provided (Mental Health Care Plan, previous reports, IEP, etc.) you may bring those to the appointment for us to scan. Where possible, we kindly request you provide any documents via email, in advance.

Generally, it is only the psychologist and the client in the room during the assessment.

The assessments are conducted one-on-one, and in most cases, having another person in the room can affect the child’s performance. We offer visitor Wi-Fi, and we suggest parents or caregivers bring something to occupy their time during the assessment.

If your child is especially panicked or uncomfortable with being left alone, we encourage you to try discussing this ahead of time with us so we can plan accordingly. If a parent or guardian does stay in the room, please sit outside the child’s view and bring something to occupy yourself. Even if you feel your child may need support, it’s important not to interact with them, as this helps maintain the standardized testing conditions

Address: Level 2, 138-146 Cardigan Street, Carlton

Parking: There are some 2-hour metered parking near the clinic. There are also some nearby paid parking garages, such as Cardigan House Parking (2/8 Dorrit St, Carlton VIC 3053) and Lygon Street Carpark (204-218 Lygon St, Carlton VIC 3053), which are each around one block away from the clinic.

Public Transport: Trams run along Swanston St., a short walk away, with the nearest stop (Lincoln St & Swanston St) a 4 min walk away.

Finding the Clinic: We are a big blue/black building on the corner of Cardigan St and Argyle Place. There are two entrances (ramp or stairs), both via Argyle Place. When you enter the building, please use the elevator located to the left of the entry way and click level ‘2.’ Alternatively, you may take the stairs to the far left of the entrance, to the top floor of the stairwell.

We will greet you upon your arrival at Level 2.

Please call us on 03 9035 5180 with as much notice as possible. If you are unable to attend close to your appointment start time, we may not be able to complete the full assessment and will need to reschedule.

Appointments not attended, cancelled or rescheduled within 24 hours, may be subject to cancellation fees. We are unable to guarantee that cancelled appointments will be rescheduled promptly, as our psychologists’ calendars are typically fully booked, well in advance.

Any previous psychology assessments, reports from other health practitioners, referral letters or school learning plans are welcome.

If you don’t have anything to share, that is okay! The psychologists might ask you for some specific documents after your first meeting or will ask you to complete questionnaires. You are not expected to have everything prepared ahead of the first appointment.

Our fees vary according to your individual needs and your assessment requirements. Please see our fees page for more information, or call us on 03 9035 5180 and we can provide you with a quote.

The assessment fee covers payment for:

• Your initial assessment appointment
• The assessment appointments
• Any questionnaires and/or resources used
• The training and experience of the qualified psychologist
• The time spent scoring the assessment, collecting data and reviewing the results,
• The report writing time
• The feedback appointment.

The cost of your assessment does not include a diagnosis. If diagnostic criteria are deemed to have been met, this will be included in the report and feedback for you; payment does not guarantee a diagnosis. Only Clinical Neuropsychology requires a referral. Other services do not require a referral.

Payment can be made by direct deposit, or by credit card (via phone or in person). We generally take payment in full on the day of your assessment.

If you wish to pay in installments, please discuss this with our administration team. We request that payment is made prior to the feedback session – the report will not be released until the full payment has been made.

Clients may be eligible for a rebate of $96.65, for the initial appointment, and final feedback sessions, with a valid Mental Health Treatment Plan. The plan must be in place prior to the commencement of any appointments for rebates to apply. If you currently utilise a MHTP elsewhere, you can use the same Plan with our clinic, but it would ‘use’ two of your allocated sessions for the calendar year.

MHTP’s cannot be used to claim a rebate on the assessment appointments.

If you are attending the Clinic for an autism spectrum disorder (or comprehensive developmental) assessment, and are under 25 years of age, you may be eligible to access a Complex Neurodevelopmental Referral. Speak to your GP or pediatrician about accessing this.

IOnly one treatment and management plan item is payable per eligible patient’s lifetime. If you do arrange a CND referral, you will be eligible to claim a rebate of $96.65 for up to four assessment services in your lifetime.

The report details the clients background information, assessment results, interpretation of the data (which may or may not include a diagnosis), and recommendations. The report can be used for many different functions. Most times, the report is shared with other allied health professionals such as speech pathologists, paediatricians, psychiatrists and anyone who is involved in the clients’ care. Additionally, the report can be shared with a child’s school to help inform recommendations to support the child further at school. Finally, the report may be used to apply for funding to support the child. This might be through the Department of Education, NDIS, or Services Australia.

If you do not receive a diagnosis, the person being assessed did not meet the diagnostic criteria required for diagnosis. The report will detail this decision. Despite not having a diagnosis, the report will still outline recommendations that can be shared with allied health professionals and schools. Please note that when diagnostic criteria is not met, funding options are limited.

NDIS funding is applicable for certain diagnoses. These are:

• Autism Spectrum Disorder – Level 2 and above.
• Intellectual Disability

If you do not have these diagnoses, then you will not be eligible to apply for NDIS funding. There may be other avenues for funding depending on your diagnosis, personal context and severity of symptoms. Some funding can be applied through your child’s school to allow for accommodations at school (not at home or privately).