Speech therapy cost and Medicare rebates

With a GP Chronic Condition Management Plan, Medicare pays back $63.40 for a session with a speech pathologist. The session must last at least 20 minutes.

The limit is 5 services in a calendar year, and it also counts services under the other items in the same group of allied health services. You need a GP Chronic Condition Management Plan that was prepared or reviewed in the last 18 months, and a referral.

M10 items cover allied health services for patients under 25 with a suspected or diagnosed complex neurodevelopmental disorder, such as autism, or an eligible disability. Since 1 March 2026, M10 also covers stuttering, speech sound disorders, and cleft lip and/or palate for children and young people under 25.

For an eligible disability, the referral for M10 treatment sessions comes from a GP using item 139 or from a specialist or consultant physician using item 137. For a complex neurodevelopmental condition, treatment sessions need an M10 treatment plan from a paediatrician (item 135) or a psychiatrist (item 289).

With an M10 treatment plan, Medicare pays back $89.50 for a treatment session with a speech pathologist. M10 allows a maximum of 8 assessment services and 20 treatment services per patient per lifetime.

NDIS providers can’t charge more than the maximum price limits. The maximum prices only apply to NDIA-managed and plan-managed participants.

The national NDIS price limit for a speech pathologist is $193.99 an hour.

If you self-manage, you can negotiate costs of your NDIS supports above or below the NDIS pricing arrangements and price limits.

The NDIS early childhood approach helps children younger than 6 with developmental delay or children younger than 9 with disability and their families, and your child doesn’t need a diagnosis for an early childhood partner to help.

One public child development service says that wait times for its services can vary. That service says it will advise the expected wait time once your child’s referral has been accepted.

Ask the service how long the wait is for your child.

If your child loses skills they had, or you become more worried, don’t wait: see your GP or child health nurse.