Mental Health Treatment Plans: how to get one

What the Mental Health Treatment Plan does

The Mental Health Treatment Plan (MHTP) is part of the Australian Department of Health, Disability and Ageing's Better Access initiative, delivered through Medicare. It is prepared by a GP after a mental health assessment and sets out goals, treatment approaches, and referrals. Once completed, it gives you access to up to 10 Medicare-rebated sessions per calendar year with an allied mental health provider such as a psychologist, mental health social worker, or eligible occupational therapist.

Additional group sessions may also be accessed. A review with the GP who manages your plan is typically recommended after the initial 6 individual sessions to assess progress and plan next steps.

Why NewDoc does not prepare them

From 1 November 2025, Medicare requires Mental Health Treatment Plan preparation, plan reviews, and the referral for psychological therapy to be provided at the practice you are registered with under MyMedicare, or by your usual medical practitioner. The requirement applies patient by patient, and no telehealth exemption changes it.

NewDoc is a telehealth-only service without consulting rooms, so it cannot be your MyMedicare-registered practice, and the department's AskMBS enquiry service advised us in writing in August 2026 that telehealth services alone would not normally make a practice your usual medical practitioner. NewDoc therefore does not prepare, review, or refer under Mental Health Treatment Plans. We would rather say that plainly than route you into a consultation that cannot deliver what you came for.

How to get a plan from your usual GP

Book a mental health consultation with the practice you normally attend, and mention when booking that it is about a Mental Health Treatment Plan, since many practices set aside a longer appointment for it. The GP takes a mental health history, completes an assessment where appropriate, and prepares the plan with you if it is clinically suitable. The psychologist referral comes from the same practice.

If you are not yet registered with MyMedicare, you can register with your regular practice online through Medicare or at the front desk. If you do not have a regular practice, any general practice you attend in person can become that home; plans and their reviews then stay with it. Some practices offer their own telehealth appointments for existing patients, so the plan consultation itself may still happen by video through them; Medicare has no phone item for preparing a plan, so it is video or in person.

What a NewDoc GP can still help with

Mental health care is bigger than the plan document. A NewDoc GP can see you the same day for a bulk billed telehealth consultation if you're Medicare eligible: talking through what you are experiencing, discussing treatment options, medication questions and repeat prescriptions where clinically appropriate, and referrals to a psychiatrist, which are standard GP referrals not tied to the plan rules. See our anxiety and depression pages for how those consultations work.

If you are in crisis or thinking about suicide, call 000 in an emergency, or Lifeline on 13 11 14, any time.

After your plan: choosing a psychologist

Once a plan is in place, you choose your own registered psychologist or eligible allied mental health provider (mental health social worker, eligible occupational therapist). Psychology itself can be done by telehealth, and many Australian psychologists offer video sessions.

Each Medicare-rebated session is partially subsidised; the gap fee, if any, varies between providers. Some psychologists bulk bill, others charge a gap. Ask when booking. After the first 6 sessions, a review with the GP who manages your plan is required to access the remaining 4 sessions in the calendar year.