Cancellation Policy
At SilverAura Psychology, we require at least 48 hours' notice for any rescheduled
appointment or cancellations. The following fees may apply:
- Cancellation under 48 hours prior to appointment: 50% fee per session.
- Cancellation under 24 hours prior to appointment: Full fee per session.
- Non Attendance: Full fee charged for clients who fail to attend an appointment.
Notifications can be made via:
Phone: 6184 4755 (9:00am – 5:00pm)
You are welcome to leave a message outside of business hours if it is before the
cancellation deadline.
Email: admin@silveraurapsychology.com.au
Please note that we cannot apply Medicare rebates to any of the late cancellation /non-attendance fees.
AIM
The aim of this policy is to minimise late cancellations, late rescheduled and missed appointments so that other clients do not miss out on the opportunity to access
therapy and the therapist can reduce the preparation time and income loss caused by late changes.
POLICY RATIONALE
Sometimes there are good reasons for cancelling or rescheduling appointments. However, unlike brief medical appointments, it is impracticable to fill a mental health appointment that runs for 50 minutes at short notice. If several clients are late in cancelling, or reschedule or miss their appointments in one day, the business will have a significant income loss. Imagine if a salaried employee was told they would only receive half of their salary for that day? If you consider the situation in these terms, as well as the overhead costs associated with private practice, then you can understand why we must charge a cancellation fee for late cancellations and late rescheduled appointments and missed appointments.
The appointment policy at SilverAura Psychology is based on the same rationale as many other industries, one example being the airline industry, where you pay for your seat whether you arrive at the airport or not. Given that the time has been set aside for you, if you do not use it, then it is unlikely at short notice it can be used by anyone else. We trust you will agree that this is a fair and reasonable policy and we thank you for your understanding.
A late cancellation, late rescheduled appointment or failure to attend your appointment is a loss to three people:
1. The client who is delaying their therapy progress
2. Another client who has been sitting on the waiting list to see a psychologist urgently but cannot organise other things at such late notice
3. The psychologist who spent time preparing for the session, set aside the time in their calendar and lost income. Please, therefore, ensure that you attend your appointments!
SICKNESS
We understand that you cannot know when you will get sick. Online or telephone sessions are offered so you can still attend the session from the comfort of your home if need be.
* SPECIFIC FUNDING DIFFERENCES AND FEES
Cancellation and no-show fees differ slightly for each funding stream as stipulated below.
Privately Funded: Clients will be charged 100% of their usual fee.
Medicare: Medicare is not applicable to cancellation fees. Therefore 100% of a
client's usual fee will be charged and will not be eligible for a rebate.
Workcover/Motor Vehicle Accident claimants: Most insurers do not cover the fee of a cancelled appointment, therefore clients will be privately charged a 100% fee if their insurer does not cover cancelled appointments.
Victims Services claimants: Victims services clients are eligible up to 2 no-shows. We will lodge this as a ‘no show’ with victims services. If these get used up then we reserve the right to conclude our business together as further fees are not covered by victims services.
