Client Agreement: Terms & Informed Consent
This covers your engagement with us for psychological therapy and assessment, and it doubles as your informed consent to treatment. We've put the things you'll reach for most often first. We'll always take time in your first session to walk through anything that's unclear, and you can ask questions any time.
Our separate Website Terms cover use of the website and any digital products or Membership. Our Privacy Policy explains in full how we look after your information.
1. About this agreement
This applies to anyone who engages our psychologists for therapy or assessment. By booking a session with us, and/or through signing your acknowledgement in our practice system (Zanda), you're confirming you've read and agreed to this document. We update these Terms from time to time; the version you acknowledge on the day you book is the one that applies to that particular consult (date at the end). You will be notified of changes to fees or most impactful changes prior to any shifts.
2. Who we are
Conscious Shift is a private psychology practice based in South Australia, offering in-person sessions across our clinic locations and telehealth Australia-wide (and internationally where local rules allow). Our psychologists are registered with AHPRA and work to the APS Code of Ethics. Because we work across locations, your provider number can vary by session, and your invoice always shows the correct one for Medicare and health-fund claims.
3. In a crisis
We are not a crisis service and can't guarantee a reply between sessions. If you're in immediate danger, or having thoughts of suicide or self-harm, please call 000, go to your nearest emergency department, or call Lifeline on 13 11 14. For international clients, please go to your most appropriate emergency department or general practitioner (doctor).
4. Booking and appointment communications
You can book yourself online through our booking portal, or contact us if you'd prefer. Want an earlier time? Email us to go on our cancellation list, and we'll be in touch if something opens up.
We handle appointment communication by email, not text. This is deliberate: therapy can be very private, and we'd rather your appointment details didn't appear as SMS previews on your phone. Please check the location and details on every email, and reply to any of them if something's unclear. We'll ask you to reply 'Y' or 'YES' to confirm you'll be there. For now, we won't cancel an appointment if you haven't confirmed, though this is under review.
By using our practice, you agree to receive the following from us by email. Because they're essential to your care, these can't be unsubscribed from:
an initial confirmation of your appointment;
any intake and consent forms our practice requires;
ongoing correspondence about your bookings, including replies to your emails;
a reminder before your appointment; and
your invoice and receipt after each session.
A note on receipts: you may receive two, one from Stripe (your card payment) and one from our own system. To claim a Medicare or private rebate, upload the invoiced receipt from our system, as it carries the details your claim needs.
5. Fees and payment
Session fees vary by practitioner and appointment time, and all sit below the current APS recommended rate. You'll find an indicative fee schedule on our Fees page, and your exact fee is confirmed when you book. If anything's unclear, just contact us. After-hours appointments, couples sessions, reports, letters and assessments are charged at adjusted rates, and fees may change with reasonable notice. Not all fees are listed on the page, as some helping hand fees and altered fees are coordinated separate to this list.
Payment is due on the day your invoice is issued, unless we've agreed otherwise. Where your card is securely stored, it's charged automatically. A couple of things worth knowing:
We can't go ahead with a future session while an earlier one is unpaid.
You're welcome to book ahead. But if an invoice sits unpaid for more than 5 days without a conversation with us, upcoming appointments may be released. You can rebook once it's settled, though we can't promise your original time.
Payment processors such as Stripe may add their own transaction fee, separate from ours.
6. Cancellations and non-attendance
Life happens, and we ask for as much notice as you can give. Notice is counted in business hours (so evenings and weekends don't count). For a Monday morning session, that means hearing from you by the previous Thursday morning.
48 hours or more: no charge, and we'll help you find another time.
24 to 48 hours: 40% of the session fee.
2 to 24 hours: 50% of the session fee.
Under 2 hours, or a no-show: the full session fee.
Why this matters. We keep our books deliberately unhurried rather than overbooking, so that each session gets our full presence and attention. That does mean your booked time is genuinely held for you, and a late cancellation usually can't be filled. Honouring your booked hours keeps the practice sustainable, reflects your own commitment to the work, and helps us prioritise sessions for clients who are ready and available.
If you're unwell. A cold, flu or other bug is never a reason to lose your session. We can move any appointment to telehealth at any notice, so you can still take part from the comfort of home while you rest.
Genuine emergencies. In a true emergency, such as a hospitalisation or a car accident, the fee can be waived where you're able to provide evidence dated to the time of your appointment. Outside of that, switching to telehealth at any stage avoids a cancellation, and rebates never apply to missed sessions.
7. Telehealth
Sessions are delivered by secure, encrypted video (audio-only on request). There's nothing to download; you just click the secure link we send beforehand and it opens in your browser.
Before your first telehealth session we'll confirm a contact number in case the connection drops or there's an emergency. Please join from a private, quiet, safe spot, and feel free to bring a tea and get cosy. Home, a parked car, or a sunny step outdoors all work, as long as it's private and you feel safe, and it helps to know your local emergency services just in case. A stable connection and a suitable space are your responsibility.
If tech plays up, please try to reconnect; we can continue by phone if needed, and your therapist will try the number on file if they lose you. Technology issues outside the therapist's control don't automatically mean a refund or reschedule, though we always sort these out fairly. Telehealth isn't right for every situation, and we'll suggest in-person or a more local provider if that's in your interests. Babies and pets are always welcome to join.
8. Medicare, NDIS and private health
Medicare (MHCP). Medicare rebates up to 10 individual sessions per calendar year under Better Access. Most people start with 6, then need a GP review before sessions 7 to 10. We don't have access to your Medicare history, so you look after tracking your sessions, arranging your GP review (we provide the review letter free of charge), and submitting your own claims via MyGov or the Medicare Express Plus app. MHCPs don't cover couples or family sessions.
Honesty on claims. Because you submit your own claims, we rely on you to keep track of, and be upfront about, how many MHCP sessions you've used.
Private health. You can use private health extras instead of Medicare, but it isn't lawful to claim both a Medicare and a private rebate for the same session. You can switch between them across different sessions (private for some, MHCP for others). Rebates apply to attended sessions only and depend on your cover, so check with your insurer.
NDIS. We welcome self- and plan-managed NDIS participants where therapy fits your plan goals. NDIS sessions are charged at the current NDIS rate; if our fee happens to sit above that rate, a small gap fee may apply, so please check with us if you're unsure.
9. How we work together
Therapy here is collaborative and shaped around you, and taking part is completely voluntary. You can be as open as feels comfortable, raise anything about the work as it comes up, and pause, change direction or stop at any time. Where it helps, we'll offer a referral so your care continues.
Therapy isn't a quick fix, and outcomes can't be guaranteed, so your psychologist will check in often about focus and pace. You stay in charge of your own decisions and wellbeing, and of staying connected with your GP, who looks after your broader medical care.
Your sessions. A standard session is 46-50 minutes face-to-face. On top of that, your psychologist sets aside at least another 10 minutes of clinical and admin time for your care, such as notes, planning and correspondence, which is part of your fee (hence the 1 hour timeslots). If you're running late, we'll make the most of the time we have, though the session still ends at its scheduled time.
10. Reports, letters and legal requests
Reports are charged at an additional rate for everyone, and aren't covered by your session fee or Medicare.
GP review letters for your Mental Health Care Plan are free of charge.
Other letters and documents may attract a fee, which we'll always confirm first.
Legal requests: if something legal is brewing, please talk to us before any deadline or proceeding. We can't always provide legal reports or court documentation. It's at your psychologist's discretion, charged at an additional rate, and may need extra sessions.
11. Assessment
Assessment or diagnosis can be part of therapy where it helps, though we're not an assessment-focused clinic and don't offer every type. Some assessments carry an additional fee (quoted first), all are done within sessions, and some take more than one. If you need a specialist or comprehensive assessment we don't provide, we'll point you to a trusted colleague or your GP so therapy can continue alongside.
12. Confidentiality and privacy
What you share stays private, with a few exceptions the law and our ethics require us to act on:
a serious and imminent risk of harm to you or someone else;
a reasonable suspicion of harm to a child, elder or dependent person;
records subpoenaed by a court or required by a regulator;
disclosure of unsafe firearm storage; or
where you give written consent (for example, to update your GP).
Where it's safe to, we'll talk any disclosure through with you first.
Supervision. To keep our work safe and ethical, de-identified aspects of cases may be discussed in professional supervision. Your identity is protected.
AI note-taking. To help with accurate notes, your psychologist may use a secure, privacy-compliant AI note-taking tool as part of standard care. These are purpose-built healthcare tools, not public AI such as ChatGPT, and they don't train on, share or sell your information. If you'd rather we didn't use AI note-taking, just tell us any time and we'll document your care another way. Otherwise, it may form part of your standard service.
Your records. We handle your information under the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles, and keep clinical records as the law requires (at least seven years, or until age 25 for clients who were minors at the time). Our Privacy Policy has the full detail.
13. Conduct, contact and social media
Respectful communication goes both ways and is expected at all times. Abusive, threatening or inappropriate behaviour toward staff may end a session (with the full fee applying) and can mean referral elsewhere or an end to services. Attending affected by drugs or alcohol may also end a session. To protect your privacy, your psychologist may not say hello in public, though you're always welcome to greet them.
Social media. We wholeheartedly welcome your engagement and love the community there. We don't offer therapy on social media, though, and we won't usually follow clients back, not for any cold reason, but out of respect for your privacy. It's a space to educate, inform and connect, not for bookings, clinical conversations or crisis support.
Email is for admin like scheduling and billing. Therapy happens in your sessions, and replies between them may not be immediate.
14. Pauses and discharge
If you haven't attended or been in touch to book for around 4 to 6 weeks, you'll be considered discharged. This isn't goodbye. You're welcome back any time, and your MHCP or original referral still stands. It simply means we can't hold or guarantee a spot in the meantime, as we keep welcoming new clients in. Booking ahead, or telling us about a planned pause, helps us keep your care continuous.
15. Working with young people
We can work with young people, with care around consent and confidentiality. In South Australia, a young person aged 16 or over can generally consent to their own treatment. For those under 16 (and for younger clients seen via telehealth elsewhere), we assess this individually and usually involve a parent or guardian. We'll talk all of this through at the start.
16. Digital resources and Membership
Any workbooks, recordings, courses or Membership content are for your personal use, and aren't a substitute for one-to-one care. Full terms for these sit in our Website Terms.
17. Refunds and your consumer rights
Session fees are generally non-refundable, including missed or late-cancelled sessions. None of this overrides your rights under the Australian Consumer Law.
18. Complaints and feedback
We hope you're happy with your care. If something's not right, please tell your psychologist via our contact form, and we'll take it seriously.
19. General
Keeping your details current. Please keep your contact and health information up to date, and let us know if anything changes, so we can care for you safely and reach you when needed.
Events outside our control. Occasionally something beyond our reasonable control (illness, an emergency, or a technology or infrastructure failure) may mean we have to delay, move or cancel a session. We'll let you know as soon as we can, and reschedule or refund the affected session. We won't be liable for delays or changes caused by events outside our control.
The rest. These Terms are the whole agreement between us about your care, and replace any earlier discussions. If part of them turns out not to apply, the rest still stands. If we don't enforce something straight away, we can still enforce it later. These Terms don't create rights for anyone who isn't a party to them, and they are governed by the laws of South Australia and the Commonwealth of Australia.
20. Acceptance
Booking, engaging our services, or signing your acknowledgement in Zanda means you accept these Terms and consent to treatment. The most current version always lives on this page.
Last reviewed: July 2026