ADHD Assessment in Sydney: Cost, Wait Times and What's Involved

What an ADHD assessment costs in Sydney, how long the process takes from enquiry to report, what is actually included, and why Medicare does not rebate it.

ADHD assessment is one of the most common enquiries we get, and the two questions that come first are almost always the same. How much does it cost, and how long will it take. Both are fair questions, and both are harder to answer from a website than they should be, because practices structure assessments differently and often do not publish a price.

Here is what it costs with us, how long it takes, and what you are paying for. Where the answer depends on your situation, we have said so.

What it costs

Our ADHD assessment fees are fixed, published, and cover the whole process rather than being billed session by session.

• Adult ADHD assessment: $2,000
• Child and adolescent ADHD assessment: $3,000
• Combined autism and ADHD assessment: $2,850 for adults, $4,000 for children
• Combined autism, ADHD and cognitive assessment: $4,000

The child fee is higher because the process is longer. It includes a parent interview, direct sessions with the child, teacher input, and cognitive or academic screening where relevant, which is more clinical time than a single adult assessment requires.

A combined assessment costs less than running two separate assessments, and it is often the more accurate option. ADHD and autism co-occur frequently, and assessing one in isolation is how people end up feeling that something was missed.

Medicare, private health, and why assessment is not rebated

Medicare's Better Access initiative covers therapy sessions, not diagnostic assessment. That means a Mental Health Treatment Plan from your GP will not reduce the cost of an ADHD assessment, and there is no Medicare item number that applies to it.

Some private health funds pay a partial rebate on psychological assessment under extras cover. The amount varies a great deal between funds and policies, so it is worth checking before you book. We can give you the item codes to quote to your fund.

How long it takes

Most adult and child ADHD assessments run four to eight weeks from your first appointment to the report landing in your inbox. That breaks down roughly as follows.

• A pre-assessment intake conversation of 30 to 60 minutes, to confirm ADHD assessment is the right thing for your question
• Two to three appointments, usually completed within two to four weeks depending on availability
• The written report delivered within four to six weeks of your final session, often sooner

The part people underestimate is the report. A comprehensive assessment report takes many hours of work after the last appointment, including scoring, integrating the testing data, weighing the alternative explanations, and writing recommendations specific enough for a school or workplace to act on. That time is included in the fee.

If medication is likely to be part of the picture, factor in a second timeline. We do not prescribe, and ADHD medication requires a psychiatrist. Wait times for adult ADHD psychiatrists in Sydney are often several months, so it is worth starting that referral early rather than after the report arrives.

What is actually included

This is where practices differ most, and it is worth comparing on substance rather than price alone. An adult assessment with us includes:

• A diagnostic clinical interview of around 90 minutes, structured around the DSM-5 criteria and your developmental, educational and occupational history
• Validated rating scales completed by you and, where possible, by someone who knew you as a child or knows you well now
• One to two hours of objective attention and executive function testing
• Screening for co-occurring conditions, because most adults with ADHD have at least one
• A feedback session of 60 to 90 minutes walking you through the findings
• A comprehensive written report you can use with your GP, a psychiatrist, your workplace or your university

For children, the process adds a parent interview, direct sessions with the child across one or two appointments, teacher input by questionnaire or phone, and cognitive and academic screening where relevant.

What we do not do

• We do not run rapid online screenings followed by a letter
• We do not prescribe medication, though we provide the documentation a psychiatrist needs
• We do not diagnose children on parent and teacher report alone; we assess the child directly
• We do not assess ADHD in isolation from the other things that can look like it, including anxiety, sleep problems, learning difficulties and autism

If the answer is no

Sometimes an assessment concludes that ADHD is not the best explanation. You still receive the full report and feedback session, with the reasoning set out and an alternative formulation where we have one. People often tell us afterwards that the alternative explanation was more useful than the label would have been.

Related reading

• ADHD Assessments in Children: What's Involved and Why Psychologists Often Wait Until School
• Adult ADHD Assessment: What the Process Actually Looks Like
• The Medicare Safety Net: How Your Sessions Get Cheaper Later in the Year

In summary

An adult ADHD assessment with us is $2,000 and a child assessment is $3,000, with combined options priced above that. Expect four to eight weeks end to end, and no Medicare rebate. If you are comparing practices, ask what is included, whether the child is assessed directly, and how long the report takes, because those are where the real differences sit.