These products offer a balance between low pricing and more features.
7+
Great
Competitive products within their group.
5+
Standard
Usually these products would either have fewer treatments covered or higher pricing.
0+
Basic
Offering basic cover with limited features or higher pricing.
Key takeaways
Psychiatric services can include treatment for conditions including depression, addiction and other behavioural disorders.
In Australia, private health funds are legally obligated to offer cover for in-hospital treatment.
You can also get cover with Medicare, though certain rules and restrictions apply.
How does health insurance cover mental health?
Hospital (psychiatric services)
All health funds will cover psychiatric care costs in their hospital policies. This is generally referred to as a restricted benefit which means that no matter what level of hospital cover you have, it will pay a benefit towards the cost of being treated as a private patient in a public hospital. If you want psychiatric care with no restrictions, gold tier hospital cover is the only tier that must offer full cover. Private health insurance won't cover you for out of hospital psychiatric services though.
Extras (psychology and counselling)
Top extras policies can give you access to therapy or counselling sessions with a psychologist without the need for a referral. It can also cover you for other out-of-hospital services including dental, optical and physio.
No waiting periods on psychology consultations
Some health funds, such as Medibank, let you skip waiting periods for psychology and counselling consultations if you're a new member or you've upgraded your cover to include mental health support. There's typically a 2-month waiting period for this.
What psychiatric services does health insurance cover?
Hospital insurance covers inpatient care. This means you're covered when you check into a mental health facility to be in the direct care of medical professionals. A policy can pay for your hospital accommodation and a portion of your medical fees. It can cover the treatment of the following:
Psychiatric disorders e.g. schizophrenia
Substance abuse disorders e.g. drug, alcohol and gambling addictions
Personality disorders e.g. paranoia
Eating disorders e.g anorexia
Personality disorders, e.g. paranoia
Mood disorders e.g. bipolar, depression and postpartum depression
Anxiety illnesses e.g. obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD)
Trauma e.g. post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
How mental health is covered by Medicare
Medicare offers cover for some mental health services but there there are limits:
You get up to 20 sessions with a mental health professional each year. Your doctor or psychiatrist will refer you for up to 6 sessions at a time.
You will need to be referred to specialist care by your GP and get a mental health treatment plan from your GP.
If the doctor bulk bills, Medicare can cover the cost of the appointment. Otherwise, you'll need to the full cost or the difference between what they charge and what Medicate covers.
Each month we analyse over 10,000 hospital insurance products and rate each one on price and features. What we end up with is a nice round number out of 10 that helps you compare hospital cover a bit faster.
Before we start scoring, we need to make sure we're comparing like-for-like. Just as it doesn't make sense to compare a bicycle with a Ferrari, it doesn't make sense to compare basic hospital policies to top-tier Gold policies. Each policy is given a price score and feature score. These are then combined to determine each policies's Finder Score.
Depending on your age, you may be eligible for an
aged-based discount. This is used to estimate your
rebate.
Under 65
65 - 69
70 or older
What's your household's taxable income?
This is the combined income you and your spouse earn before tax. It's needed to calculate the correct Australian government rebate.
$93,000 and under
$93,001 to $108,000
$108,001 to $144,000
$144,001 and over
What kind of health insurance do you need?
Combined (Extras + Hospitals)
Extras
Hospital
What level of hospital coverage would you like?
You can change this at any time later.
Legend
Covered
Restricted cover, You may be partially covered for
this category.
Not covered. Optional for insurer to include.
*Prices updated March 2024, in line with Finder's
database of health insurance policies. Prices are based
on a single individual with less than $93,000 income and
living in Sydney with a $750 excess.
What extras cover do you need? (Optional)
Select as many as you want or move to the next step
Preventative & general dental
Major dental & implants
Optical
Physiotherapy
Podiatry
Non-PBS pharmaceuticals
Chiropractic
Emergency ambulance
Remedial massage
Email me my results (optional)
To get a copy of your results for later, add your email below
Waiting periods. You'll usually have to serve a 2-month waiting period for psychiatric services and rehabilitation, even if your condition is pre-existing.
Out-of-pocket expenses. Even with Medicare and health insurance, you might still have gap costs – that is, whatever is left after Medicare and your health insurer pays the benefit you're entitled to, if your doctor charges more than MBS fee.
Restricted benefits. This means the policy only pays the minimum benefits that are legally required. Because these minimum benefits are laid out by the government, it will be practically the same with every fund.
Exclusions. These are conditions or circumstances in which the fund will not pay a benefit. Common exclusions can include undergoing treatment outside of Australia, claims made for treatments carried out by unlicensed practitioners and medically unnecessary procedures. It is important to be aware of all exclusions that apply to your health insurance policy.
Annual benefit limits. These are the maximum amounts that can be claimed for certain treatments in a given year. For example, a policy may apply a benefit limit of up to $400 for psychological treatments. This means the maximum you can claim per year is $400 regardless of whether your benefits are paid as a set fee or as a percentage of costs covered.
Psychiatric support
There are several places and resources that can provide mental health services and psychiatric support in Australia. We've listed some below:
Lifeline. (13 11 14) A national charity providing 24-hour crisis support and suicide prevention services.
Australian Government: AIHW MHSA. The Australian Government website provides information on mental health services in Australia.
SANE Australia. A national charity that helps all Australians affected by mental illness lead a better life.
Headspace. Helps young people manage their mental health issues. It has over 100 centres across Australia.
Frequently asked questions
Yes, inpatient care comes under hospital cover and all gold tiered policies must offer inpatient psychiatric care.
Medicare, on the other hand, will cover you for treatment in a public hospital if you require hospitalisation for mental health care. This includes up to 10 individual and 10 group sessions of psychiatric treatment per year.
Private health insurance generally won't cover you for out-of-hospital psychiatric services. However, extras cover can pay for some therapy or counselling sessions outside of hospital with a psychologist. You also don't need a referral from your GP.
Yes, but only for in-hospital treatment. You can get cover on a restricted basis with basic, bronze and silver policies (meaning you will have out of pocket expenses) or you can get a gold policy with little or no additional expenses.
Additional out-of-pocket expenses you may incur can include:
Any private hospital or psychiatric facility fees above the equivalent public hospital costs.
Additional fees for treatments or pharmaceuticals.
Extra costs associated with particular treatment regimes or optional inclusions.
Yes, but it's only 2 months, even if you have a pre-existing condition. The Mental Health waiver also allows you to upgrade your policy without serving the usual 2-month waiting period to access in-hospital psychiatric services.
Gary Ross Hunter was an editor at Finder, specialising in insurance. He’s been writing about life, travel, home, car, pet and health insurance for over 6 years and regularly appears as an insurance expert in publications including The Sydney Morning Herald, The Guardian and news.com.au. Gary holds a Kaplan Tier 2 General Advice General Insurance certification which meets the requirements of ASIC Regulatory Guide 146 (RG146). See full bio
Gary Ross's expertise
Gary Ross has written 699 Finder guides across topics including:
Need health cover for gastroscopy? Find out how private health insurance and Medicare cover treatment and compare the costs for the most affordable option.
As a not-for-profit brand, HIF is able to offer low premiums across both hospital and extras policies.
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Depending on your age, you may be eligible for an
aged-based discount. This is used to estimate your
rebate.
Under 65
65 - 69
70 or older
What's your household's taxable income?
This is the combined income you and your spouse earn before tax. It's needed to calculate the correct Australian government rebate.
$93,000 and under
$93,001 to $108,000
$108,001 to $144,000
$144,001 and over
What kind of health insurance do you need?
Combined (Extras + Hospitals)
Extras
Hospital
What level of hospital coverage would you like?
You can change this at any time later.
Legend
Covered
Restricted cover, You may be partially covered for
this category.
Not covered. Optional for insurer to include.
*Prices updated March 2024, in line with Finder's
database of health insurance policies. Prices are based
on a single individual with less than $93,000 income and
living in Sydney with a $750 excess.
What extras cover do you need? (Optional)
Select as many as you want or move to the next step
Preventative & general dental
Major dental & implants
Optical
Physiotherapy
Podiatry
Non-PBS pharmaceuticals
Chiropractic
Emergency ambulance
Remedial massage
Email me my results (optional)
To get a copy of your results for later, add your email below
