Our Psychological Therapy Services (PTS), provide short-term support to patients who have mild to moderate mental health concerns. Under this service, individuals can be referred for up to 10 free sessions per calendar year unless otherwise noted below.
Is a Healthcare or Pension Card needed?
From 1 July 2025, a valid healthcare or pension card will be required for people to access Psychological Therapy Services, excluding:
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
- Patients eligible for the SOS stream.
- Patients already accessing this service before 1 June 2025 (sessions can continue as planned until 1 December 2025).
Therapeutic services available are for community members who identify within the following streams:
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander People
- Patients with Comorbid Alcohol and Other Drugs (AOD) issues: A person must have a co-existing substance use and mental health issue, both of which are clinically and/or socially significant.
- Carers: Patients who provide personal care, support and assistance to another individual due to disability, medical condition (including terminal or chronic illness), mental illness or are frail and aged. Please note: A person is not eligible if they provide care for payment, as a volunteer for an organisation, or as part of the requirements of a course of education or training.
- Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Queer Intersex (LGBTQI) people: Patients who identify as LGBTQI or have concerns in relation to their experience of sexuality or gender.
- Children: aged 0-11 years.
- Young people: aged 12-25 years.
- Women with perinatal mental health issues: Women who are pregnant or have a child 12 months or younger.
- People at low to moderate risk of suicide or self-harm (SOS): Are eligible to receive one referral of up to 10 sessions per calendar year. For more information, please see Seek out Support (SOS).
- People with complex needs: Patients aged 25 years and over who experience moderate to severe mental illness, with added complexity inclusive of trauma (physical, sexual, emotional), abuse, neglect or a current diagnosis of Borderline Personality Disorder can receive 49 support hours over a two year period. Please note: Patients accessing Victims of Crime or other equivalent services are not eligible.
- Disaster Recovery (this stream is now closed to new referrals.): This stream was available to patients who experienced high levels of distress resulting from the 2019/20 bushfires, 2021/2022/2023/2024 floods or Bondi Junction tragedy in 2024. Patients already receiving care before 30 May 2025 remain unaffected and can continue sessions as planned.
- General stream: For patients that do not fall into any of the streams above, patients can be referred for up to six free sessions under this stream. Patients must not have accessed any other PTS streams since 1 January 2023.
A person must be assessed and referred by a GP (or in some cases a psychiatrist or paediatrician) to receive Psychological Therapy Services. If a person has been affected by bushfire or flood they can call 1800 595 212 for support without a referral.
How do my patients access a PTS stream?
A referral must be made by a GP, Psychiatrist or Pediatrician (unless otherwise stated above). To refer to all PTS streams, GPs can call the PTS intake line on 1800 223 365.
Please note: No new referrals for the remainder of this financial year can be accepted to PTS from Friday 30 May 2025. Referrals will resume from Tuesday 1 July 2025, utilising funding for the new financial year. Patients currently receiving care under any stream will not be affected and may continue their sessions as planned until 1 December 2025.
