You do not have to agree to this policy; however, we will be unable to provide you with our service without your agreement.
The act of booking any appointment with our service means that you agree to this policy in full.
Our practice is an ethically run practice that places client care and practitioner care above all else. Consequently, unlike many other practices, we do not fill cancellations, so as to ensure your time is ringfenced and protected and your practitioner is not overwhelmed with clients. We can only afford to provide you with this service if we have a stringent cancellation policy.
For all appointments at PsychologyCare, we require at least 7 days’ notice to avoid a cancellation fee.
– Notice of cancellation received between 7 days and two (2) full business days before your consultation will result in a 50% cancellation fee.
– Notice of cancellation received with less than two (2) full business days’ notice will result in a 100% cancellation fee, except in the case of illness or family emergency (see Section 6).
Business days include any normal weekday other than a public holiday or office closure period, between the hours of 8.00 am and 5.00 pm.
– 100% of the full consultation fee if notice is given with less than two (2) full business days
– 50% of the full consultation fee if notice is given between 7 days and 2 full business days
– No cancellation fee if more than 7 days’ notice is provided
If your practitioner cancels on you with short notice, we want to hold ourselves to the same standard. Therefore, we will not charge you for one late cancellation in the 3-month period following a practitioner cancellation. After that, all standard cancellation fees will apply unless it qualifies as an exception under this policy.
We understand that illnesses and family emergencies sometimes occur, and we will not charge a cancellation fee in such cases. A medical certificate may, at our discretion, be required to waive the cancellation fee.
Examples of “family emergencies” include:
– An illness, injury or death
– A car accident
– A robbery or assault
Examples not considered family emergencies under this policy:
– A meeting (work or school), sports, or extracurricular event
– A family activity or holiday
– The exhaustion of your current referral / Mental Health Care Plan
Although we accept that such events may be beyond your control, they do not exempt you from responsibility, and the cancellation fee will still apply.
We understand that financial difficulties can occur. However, a lack of funds is not considered a valid reason for a late cancellation and does not exempt you from cancellation fees. That said, we are happy to support you.
If you are experiencing financial hardship, please contact our admin team as soon as possible. We may be able to assist you with a payment plan or delay your invoice payment. We are here to help—communication is key.
At PsychologyCare, we understand that illness can arise unexpectedly. However, frequent short-notice cancellations due to illness—especially without documentation—can significantly disrupt clinical care and availability for other clients.
To manage this fairly and maintain service quality, PsychologyCare reserves the right to take the following actions in cases where illness-related cancellations occur repeatedly:
• Request medical documentation to support any cancellation due to illness. A medical certificate must be provided within 48 hours of the missed appointment if requested.
• Transition clients to ad hoc scheduling. Clients who cancel late due to illness more than twice in a rolling 3-month period may be moved from regular weekly/fortnightly bookings to ad hoc appointments.
• Require prepayment. Clients with a pattern of unverified illness-related late cancellations may be required to pay in advance for future appointments.
• Temporarily suspend recurring bookings until a discussion has taken place with our Practice Manager.
We remain committed to being flexible and compassionate, and we encourage you to speak with us early if you’re experiencing health challenges.
Cancellation fees are payable over the phone at the time of cancellation or will be directly charged to the encrypted credit or debit card we have securely stored on file.
If the card on file fails or no card details are stored, an invoice will be issued. This invoice must be paid within 48 hours of issue to avoid disruption to future appointments.
We appreciate your prompt attention to these payments, which help us manage the clinic’s operations fairly for all clients and practitioners.
If a cancellation fee is charged under this policy and not paid promptly:
– We will be unable to continue providing you with the service.
– We reserve the right to take any reasonable action to recover unpaid fees, including billing you for any additional costs incurred in debt recovery.
If any two (2) invoices remain unpaid on your account, PsychologyCare reserves the right to cancel all future appointments until the account is brought up to date. Pre-payment will then be required at the time of booking for all future appointments.
To cancel or reschedule an appointment, please contact us by calling:
03 9088 1122 (9.00 am – 5.00 pm).
If unattended, please leave a clear voicemail with the name and date of the appointment.
Or email: [email protected]
A “No Show” includes:
– Failing to attend a scheduled appointment without notifying us
– Arriving more than 10 minutes late to your appointment
Why is this policy in place?
– Quality of Care: A shortened session compromises therapeutic effectiveness.
– Impact on Other Clients: Late starts disrupt the schedule for others.
– Ethical Standards: Sessions must be conducted with adequate time and attention.
If a client arrives more than 10 minutes late, they will need to reschedule, and a no-show fee will apply unless emergency circumstances exist.
We hope you find this to be a fair and reasonable policy and we thank you for your understanding and cooperation.
Our intent is to provide all participants/clients and their families with every opportunity to reduce the likelihood of cancellations/no-shows which may attract a fee. All participants/clients will be given a hard copy or emailed copy of all scheduled appointments and will always be sent a text reminder at least TWO DAYS and a WEEK prior to their appointment so as to reduce the likelihood of a fee being charged for cancellation / no show.
Please note that while we endeavour to remind you of your appointments through email & SMS reminders, these should not be relied upon and it is your responsibility to remember appointments you have made.
PsychologyCare (Vic) Pty Ltd uses a variety of communication modes to ensure that participants/clients are aware of the cancellation policy, and that communication of this policy is clear and comprehensible through the company website, verbally informed by clinicians, noted in Service Agreements, and linked in the footer of all emails forwarded to participants/clients. Participants / clients are encouraged to take note of the Cancellation Policy prior to commencing treatment with PsychologyCare (Vic) Pty Ltd.
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