Australian Psychology Fees and Affordability Evidence Review 2026
This targeted national review examines exact publicly advertised standard psychology fees identified across all Australian states and territories. It maps provider charges to verified Medicare benefits and calculates illustrative consumer gaps, course-of-care costs and household financial burdens.
The study was not a probability sample of all Australian psychology providers. Its findings describe the selected public-source records and should not be interpreted as market-wide estimates or official jurisdiction rankings.
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⚠ FINAL PUBLICATION FOR A TARGETED PUBLIC-SOURCE REVIEW
This publication is not the completed probability-sample Australian Mental Health Affordability Index 2026–27. It does not provide official state or territory rankings or nationally representative fee estimates.
FINAL PUBLICATION FOR A TARGETED PUBLIC-SOURCE REVIEW
This publication is not the completed probability-sample Australian Mental Health Affordability Index 2026–27. It does not provide official state or territory rankings or nationally representative fee estimates.
Key Findings
65
clinic-locations in the targeted source frame
63
clinic-locations with an exact publicly displayed fee
108
raw location-level exact fee observations
48
globally unique exact-fee pricing policies
$260
median advertised standard fee across 79 local in-person policy-level variants
$130.95
median calculated consumer gap across 79 local variants
$1,309.50
ten sessions at the median calculated gap
4.95 hours
gross National Minimum Wage work required for one median gap
Results describe a targeted public-source dataset and are not market-wide estimates.
Methodology Summary
The review included exact publicly displayed prices for routine subsequent psychology consultations lasting 50–60 minutes. Initial appointments, assessments, provisional or student services, undefined “from” prices and ambiguous price ranges were excluded from the primary exact-fee analysis. Shared clinic schedules were identified through pricing-policy IDs so that the primary national descriptive results retained one copy of each exact fee variant per globally unique pricing policy.
National descriptive table
| Category | n | Median fee | Mean fee | IQR | P10–P90 | Observed range |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clinical psychologist | 41 | $275 | $276.83 | $260–$290 | $250–$311 | $230–$360 |
| Registered psychologist | 38 | $239 | $241.84 | $223.25–$260 | $214.40–$276.50 | $190–$290 |
| All local in-person | 79 | $260 | $260.00 | $235–$275 | $220–$296 | $190–$360 |
| National telehealth-only | 2 | $215 | $215.00 | $202.50–$227.50 | $195–$235 | $190–$240 |
AUD per standard subsequent 50–60-minute service; one copy per globally unique exact fee variant. National telehealth-only results are retained separately and must not be described as a market average
Jurisdiction descriptive results from the targeted public-source dataset
Scope Warning: The data below reflects a targeted public-source dataset and represents specific fee variants collected. It must not be interpreted as comprehensive market averages or state rankings.
| Jur. | Frame | Exact | Disclosure | Policies | Variants | Median fee | Median gap | Gap / income | Wage hours | Concession |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NSW | 16 | 16 | 100.0% | 10 | 17 | $275.00 | $148.45 | 6.95% | 5.61 | 20.0% |
| VIC | 12 | 12 | 100.0% | 12 | 20 | $252.50 | $125.95 | 6.13% | 4.76 | 16.7% |
| QLD | 15 | 15 | 100.0% | 12 | 21 | $250.00 | $125.95 | 6.44% | 4.76 | 25.0% |
| WA | 6 | 6 | 100.0% | 3 | 5 | $260.00 | $125.95 | 5.94% | 4.76 | 0.0% |
| SA | 4 | 4 | 100.0% | 4 | 8 | $249.00 | $128.45 | 7.56% | 4.86 | 0.0% |
| TAS | 3 | 3 | 100.0% | 2 | 3 | $250.00 | $108.45 | 6.84% | 4.10 | 0.0% |
| ACT | 4 | 4 | 100.0% | 4 | 5 | $270.00 | $163.45 | 5.90% | 6.18 | 0.0% |
| NT | 4 | 2 | 50.0% | 2 | 3 | $275.00 | $173.45 | 7.21% | 6.56 | 0.0% |
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Cite or link to this research
Researchers, journalists, educators and policy organisations may cite the report using the formats below. Please link to the permanent report page rather than a temporary file URL so readers can access the current report, dataset, methods, corrections and version history.
Therapy Near Me Research Team. (2026). Australian Psychology Fees and Affordability Evidence Review 2026: A national public-source scan of advertised fees, Medicare gaps and household financial burden (Version 1.0). Therapy Near Me. https://therapynearme.com.au/australian-psychology-fees-affordability-evidence-review-2026/
Therapy Near Me Research Team 2026, Australian Psychology Fees and Affordability Evidence Review 2026: A national public-source scan of advertised fees, Medicare gaps and household financial burden, version 1.0, Therapy Near Me, viewed 20 July 2026, https://therapynearme.com.au/australian-psychology-fees-affordability-evidence-review-2026/
Use this research
Basic report backlink
Publisher and report
Therapy Near Me’s Australian Psychology Fees and Affordability Evidence Review 2026 presents a targeted public-source scan of advertised psychology fees and Medicare gaps.
Median fee finding
A targeted 2026 public-source review found a median advertised standard fee of $260 across 79 local in-person policy-level fee variants. See the Australian Psychology Fees and Affordability Evidence Review 2026.
Medicare gap finding
Within a targeted public-source dataset, the median calculated Medicare consumer gap was $130.95 across 79 local fee variants. Source: Australian Psychology Fees and Affordability Evidence Review 2026.
Ten-session finding
At the median calculated gap in a targeted public-source review, ten eligible psychology sessions totalled $1,309.50. See Therapy Near Me’s 2026 psychology fee and affordability review.
Minimum-wage finding
One median psychology gap in the targeted dataset equated to 4.95 hours of work at the gross National Minimum Wage. Source: Australian Psychology Fees and Affordability Evidence Review 2026.
Practitioner-category finding
The targeted review observed a median advertised fee of $275 for clinical psychologist variants and $239 for registered psychologist variants; these are descriptive results from selected public records. Read the report and methodology.
Plain-text footnote
Therapy Near Me Research Team, Australian Psychology Fees and Affordability Evidence Review 2026, version 1.0, https://therapynearme.com.au/australian-psychology-fees-affordability-evidence-review-2026/.
Chart attribution line
Full chart attribution
Source: Therapy Near Me Research Team (2026), Australian Psychology Fees and Affordability Evidence Review 2026, version 1.0, https://therapynearme.com.au/australian-psychology-fees-affordability-evidence-review-2026/
Short chart attribution
Source: Australian Psychology Fees and Affordability Evidence Review 2026, Therapy Near Me.
About the publisher
Therapy Near Me publishes Australian mental-health research and consumer resources and also provides psychology and counselling services. Its service operations are separate from the analysis presented in this report. Therapy Near Me and affiliated services were excluded from the public-fee dataset.