> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.opentherapy.app/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Rebates and funding

> Claiming Medicare, private health and NDIS for sessions booked through Open Therapy.

<Info>
  Today, every session booked through Open Therapy is paid privately in full and you claim your rebate
  yourself. We issue an itemised receipt for each session with everything a claim needs. Direct
  claiming is being built.
</Info>

## What this means in practice

<Steps>
  <Step title="Pay in full at booking">
    Your card is charged the therapist's published price.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Collect your receipt">
    An itemised receipt appears under **Billing** in your account after each session. See
    [Invoices and receipts](/clients/invoices-and-receipts).
  </Step>

  <Step title="Claim it yourself">
    Lodge it with Medicare, your private health fund, or your NDIS plan manager.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Medicare

To claim a Medicare rebate for psychological services you generally need a **Mental Health Treatment Plan** from your GP before your first session, and the therapist must be eligible to provide services under it.

<Steps>
  <Step title="See your GP">
    Ask about a Mental Health Treatment Plan. The appointment usually involves a short assessment.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Check the therapist accepts Medicare">
    Their profile lists funding types with a tick or a dash under **Rebates and funding**. You can also
    filter the directory by **Medicare rebate**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Give them your plan and referral">
    Upload it to **Documents** in your account, or bring it to your first session.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Claim after each session">
    Lodge the receipt through the Medicare app, myGov, or at a Medicare office.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Note>
  A Mental Health Treatment Plan covers a set number of subsidised sessions per calendar year. Your GP
  reviews it part-way through. Rebates cannot be claimed on a session you didn't attend.
</Note>

## Private health extras

If your policy includes extras cover for psychology, counselling, speech pathology or dietetics, you can usually claim part of the fee. Annual limits apply, and you can't claim both Medicare and private health for the same session.

Check the therapist's profile for whether they're recognised by your fund, and check your policy for your remaining limit.

## NDIS

Whether you can use NDIS funding depends on how your plan is managed:

| Plan management    | Booking through Open Therapy                            |
| ------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Self-managed**   | Pay in full and claim through the myplace portal        |
| **Plan-managed**   | Pay in full and submit the receipt to your plan manager |
| **Agency-managed** | Not currently supported for online booking              |

Disability support workers are engaged differently — by roster and service agreement, invoiced after each shift, with plan managers billed direct. See [Therapist profiles](/clients/therapist-profiles#support-workers-are-different).

## Not currently available

To be plain about it, so you don't plan around something that isn't there:

* Bulk billing
* Direct Medicare claiming at the point of payment
* Direct NDIS agency invoicing
* DVA and WorkCover bookings

If you need one of these, arrange the session with the practitioner outside Open Therapy, or write to [support@opentherapy.app](mailto:support@opentherapy.app).

## Finding therapists by funding

Filter the directory by **Funding** — Medicare rebate, NDIS, or Private health. See [Browse the directory](/clients/browse-the-directory#filters).