Nurse Practitioner Clinic

How it works?

Everything you need to know about the nurse practitioner (NP) clinic.

Appointments
Fees

An assessment includes a psychiatric interview, relevant medical tests, psychometric tools, and collateral history (e.g. speaking to somebody who knew you as a child). Treatment is based on individual needs with typically monthly follow up until symptoms improve.

1. Initial NP appointment

The assessment process begins with an initial consultation with our nurse practitioner to explore your experience and determine if further investigations are needed.

An initial consultation involves a clinical interview to explore your developmental history, current psychiatric symptoms, and medical background. This session helps determine whether further assessments are needed. Additional investigations may include blood tests and standardised rating scales. School reports are essential to provide insight into early functioning, and an observer interview will also be discussed to gain a fuller picture of your behaviour across settings.

2. Collateral consultation

As ADHD is a developmental condition, gathering information about how you were as a child is required. This includes school reports and an interview with a childhood informant.

In line with the Australian Evidence-Based Clinical Guideline for ADHD v1.0 (Recommendation 2.1.2), observer reports are required to assess how your symptoms present across different settings and time periods. Accordingly, we will organise a collateral interview to talk to someone who knew you during your early development—such as a parent or somebody else. In addition, school reports provide evidence of symptoms and functioning during childhood and adolescence.

3. Psychiatrist Review

An assessment and feedback session with our psychiatrist follows to discuss diagnostic impressions, treatment recommendations, and next steps.

The feedback consultation provides an opportunity to discuss the results of the assessment, including diagnostic impressions and any identified strengths or challenges. A comprehensive biopsychosocial approach is used to guide treatment recommendations—this means considering biological, psychological, and social factors that may be influencing your symptoms and functioning.

4. Follow Up NP Appointments

Follow up sessions with our nurse practitioner follows to ensure treatment optimisation and symptom improvement. A psychiatrist review is advised every 6 months.

The follow-up period is tailored to individual needs, but are typically monthly 30 minute appointments until treatment stabilisation. A combination of biological, psychological, and social treatments will be used to support your recovery.

Below is a summary of fees for nurse practitioner consultations. These rates are based on service duration and no medicare rebate is available.

1. Initial appointment

Initial appointments are usually 60 minutes.

Explore your symptoms
Investigations may be ordered
Discuss plan and treatment

$350 out-of-pocket

2. Collateral Consultation

Collateral consultations are usually 15 minutes.

Observer report of symptoms
Retrospective assessment of symptoms
Additional psychometric testing

$100 out-of-pocket

3. Ongoing care

Follow up consultations are usually 15 to 30 minutes.

Personalised treatment
Biopsychosocial approach
Checkups as required

$100-175 out-of-pocket

Have questions about our Nurse Practitioner clinic?

A mental health nurse practitioner (MH NP) is a highly trained registered nurse with advanced qualifications who specialises in the assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of mental health conditions. They provide evidence based care that may include therapy, care planning, medication management, and coordination with other health professionals. Mental health nurse practitioners work collaboratively with patients, taking a holistic and person centred approach to support emotional wellbeing and recovery.

A mental health nurse practitioner (MH NP) has advanced, specialised training in mental health that combines clinical assessment, therapeutic care, and medication management. MH NPs are qualified to diagnose mental health conditions, prescribe medications, and provide ongoing, holistic care. Their training is specifically focused on mental health across the lifespan, allowing them to integrate medical and psychological approaches and often provide more continuous and specialised support than a GP, while offering a broader scope of care than a psychologist alone.

A general practitioner (GP) is a medical doctor who provides broad, first point of contact care for a wide range of health concerns, including mental health. GPs can diagnose conditions, prescribe medication, and refer to other specialists, but their training is general rather than focused solely on mental health.

A psychologist specialises in assessment and therapy for mental health conditions. Psychologists do not prescribe medication and focus on psychological treatments such as counselling and behavioural therapies.

No, you do not need a referral to book an appointment with the nurse practitioner clinic. You can contact the clinic directly to arrange an appointment. If you already have a referral from a GP or another health professional, it can still be helpful, but it is not required.

For telehealth appointments, there is often no Medicare rebate for nurse practitioner services because Medicare telehealth item numbers are limited and do not cover nurse practitioner consultations in telehealth settings. While some in person services may attract restricted Medicare rebates, telehealth rebates are largely designed for psychiatrists.

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