Fees, Initial Session Deposits, and Late-Cancellation Fees

Session Fees

‍The Australian Association of Psychologists Incorporation (AAPi) sets the recommended fee for psychologists at $315 per 50 minute session. Rather than provide a sliding scale, we set the lowest fee we can for all clients. Setting our fee any lower would result in our clinicians being paid below market rate. This fee is the same for clients using NDIS funding.

Initial Session Deposits

‍Initial deposits are non-refundable and cannot be allocated to another time. This is due to the high number of late-cancellation and non-attended initial sessions in the field of psychology and dietetics. Requiring a non-refundable full session deposit provides a commitment device to ensure that the appointment is attended, which is particularly important given that we are a specialty service and generally have an extensive waitlist.

Late Cancellation Fees

‍In order to prevent our clinicians overbooking to compensate for cancelled appointments (and therefore risking burnout), we have our clinicians book the recommended number of clients each day only, and have a firm late-cancellation policy. 48 business hours provides us the time needed to find another client to fill the spot.We waive the late-cancellation fee in cases of major incident (eg. significant car accident) or physical illness (where the person is so ill that telehealth is not appropriate). These are the only cases in which the fee is waived. We do not waive late-cancellation fees where the client cancelled due to mental ill health or hospitalisation for an issue relating to mental health, as this is a frequent occurrence with our clientele and is therefore unsustainable for us to waive without raising our fees considerably. We apply the same rules for all, and so do not make exceptions other than the reasons listed.

How Are Such Strict Policies Affirming? 

‍Occasionally we are asked “How is having to pay a cancellation fee neuroaffirming or trauma-informed?" No one likes paying cancellation fees or losing deposits, but we have these policies in place because they are important.
They are important because:

‍1. Cancellation fees mean we can stay in business. Like all businesses, we have costs to cover that do not disappear because someone has not attended an appointment. It is not sustainable for our consultants (many of whom are neurodivergent) to overbook clients so they are not without income in cases of late cancellations. The only revenue our consultants receive is for their time and labour earned via appointment fees - which - by necessity, has to include cancellation fees. While it may seem that voiding one cancellation fee isn't a big deal, if everyone felt entitled to not attend their appointment and not pay a cancellation fee, it would risk our ability to stay in business. We want to stay in business and continue serving the community we work with, and to do this we need to have reliable appointment fees (or cancellation fees) to stay in business to continue helping you.

​2. Cancellation fees mean more appointments attended. Enforcing our cancellation policy means that clients are more likely to attend their appointments, and appointments are less likely to go to waste. A late cancellation affects three people - your clinician, who has spent time preparing for your session; other clients on the waitlist who need an appointment; and you from missing out on the chance to connect with your clinician. Appointments​ cancelled at late notice mean it is harder for our admin team to fill those appointments that our equally deserving clients on the waitlist else could have booked if there had been more notice.   

‍3. A no-exceptions cancellation fee policy makes it fair for all our clients. By charging cancellation fees for all late-cancelled or no-show appointments, our admin team is not put in an unfair position of having to be the judge of who has a more valid, less valid, or valid enough reason for not attending an appointment. Charging cancellation fees to all clients regardless of the reason means that it is fair for all clients. We especially think it is fairer for our clients who have less ability to argue their way out of paying cancellation fees, whether by disability, literacy, education, or anxiety.
(*Interesting fact - did you know that the clients most likely to get upset about having to pay cancellation fees are other health professionals?).

​4. Clients are well-informed and consent to paying a cancellation fee when they use our services. In our view, it is not affirming to have hidden cancellation fees, which is why we are very upfront about them. We have them on our website, clearly outlined in our service agreement, and included in appointment reminders emails.
We don't want to have to charge people cancellation fees, and so we give our clients three reminders for each appointment, including one as far as 7 days in advance. If you have signed our consent form, you have consented to us charging you a cancellation fee if you cancel with less than 48 hours' notice. Our services are voluntary, and people only attend our appointments if they consent to our business terms and conditions. However, you don't need to consent to our business terms and conditions if you don't wish to do so; you are welcome to choose a business whose terms and conditions align with your values.

_{Full credit to veryhelpfulchats.com.au for their valuable information around being neuroaffirming and having firm cancellation policies}