Does the NDIS cover psychology for children?

Yes, the NDIS can fund psychology for children, but only for one kind of work. It funds psychology that builds your child's ability to manage everyday life, linked to their disability and plan goals. It does not fund clinical mental health care, meaning assessment, diagnosis, monitoring or treatment of a mental health condition. That belongs to the health system, often with help from Medicare.^[]

What matters is what the sessions are for, not who delivers them.

Where the NDIA draws the line

The NDIA gives the example of a 9-year-old autistic girl who wanted to make friends and join a youth group. Her speech pathologist recommended a psychologist for social skills, and the psychologist proposed a 3-month program, tracking progress and coordinating with the speech pathologist. The planner funded it because it related to her disability, supported her goals and focused on building capacity. The NDIA notes it would have been a health system matter if the sessions had focused on reducing symptoms.^[]

How psychology shows up in a child's plan

Under 9. Children in the early childhood approach get early childhood intervention supports. The NDIA expects these to come from a team of professionals working with your family, with one main contact, and delivered in everyday settings.^[]

From 9. Psychology is funded as a therapy support. It sits in the Improved Daily Living Skills category as a stated support, so you can only spend that money on therapy.^[] Some plans don't name a therapy type, which lets you choose the provider and therapy. Others name a specific therapy, and then you must use the funding as described.^[]

To be funded under the NDIS, a psychologist must have current AHPRA registration.^[] When you ask for psychology to be added to a plan, the NDIA needs a report or letter that recommends the support, how often and why.^[] Ask the psychologist to:

• link each recommendation to a plan goal
• describe the functional skill being built, not the symptoms being treated
• say how progress will be measured and over what time
• explain how they'll work with any other therapists so you're not paying twice for the same goal^[]

The NDIA won't fund two therapists working on the same therapy goal, but it can fund a team working together.^[]

Behaviour support is a separate category

If your child has behaviours of concern, they may need behaviour support instead of, or as well as, therapy.^[] NDIS behaviour support has stricter rules. It must come from a provider registered with the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission and a behaviour support practitioner the Commission has approved.^[] That applies even if your child's plan is self-managed or plan-managed, so check registration before you book.

Medicare, the NDIS and your child

For clinical mental health care, Medicare's Better Access initiative gives rebates for up to 10 individual and 10 group sessions per calendar year. Your child needs a diagnosed mental disorder with at least moderate care needs, and a mental health treatment plan from a GP, or a direct referral from a paediatrician or psychiatrist.^[]

Many children use both systems. The rule is that one session can only be paid for once:^[]

• A session claimed under a Medicare mental health plan can't also be claimed from the NDIS plan.
• NDIS funding can't pay the gap between a psychologist's fee and the Medicare rebate.

Keep the two kinds of sessions separate, with different goals, and keep your invoices.

Plan-managed, self-managed and NDIA-managed

How your child's plan is managed decides which psychologists you can use. Our page on which part of an NDIS plan pays for therapy explains the budgets.

Plan-managed and self-managed families still need to check that each session fits the plan and the NDIS rules, since the responsibility for spending in line with the plan stays with you.^[][]

Getting started

For the Medicare route, see Medicare rebates and GP referrals.

Look at your child's plan for therapy funding in Improved Daily Living Skills, then talk to a psychologist about goals before booking a block of sessions. Our child psychology page explains what sessions can look like. If your child is in distress or you're worried about their safety, call 000. Kids Helpline (1800 55 1800) and Lifeline (13 11 14) can also help. If you'd like to talk through psychology under a plan-managed or self-managed plan, you can send Hey Sprout an enquiry.