Our Cancellation Policy

Why do we have a cancellation policy?

Psychology appointments are different from many other healthcare appointments.

Each appointment is reserved exclusively for one child. Your psychologist prepares before the session by reviewing previous notes, planning activities or interventions, and considering your child's current goals. After the appointment, additional time is spent documenting the session, communicating with parents or schools where appropriate, and planning ongoing care.

When an appointment is cancelled at short notice, it is usually not possible to offer that time to another family, even though many children are waiting for appointments.

For this reason, our cancellation policy is based not on why an appointment is cancelled, but on whether the appointment time can realistically be offered to another family.

Why don't you waive the fee if my child is sick?

We completely understand that children become unwell and that illness is never anyone's fault.

However, if we waived cancellation fees whenever a child was sick, we would also need to waive them for many other unavoidable circumstances, including:

• Family emergencies
• Accidents
• Work commitments
• School events
• Transport issues
• Caring responsibilities
• Unexpected life events

Each of these situations is understandable and none are anyone's fault.

Applying different rules depending on the reason for the cancellation would quickly become inconsistent and unfair. By applying the same policy to all families, everyone is treated equally and transparently.

This consistency also allows us to maintain clinician availability and continue providing high-quality care to all families.

Please let us know as early as possible

If you think you may not be able to attend your appointment, please let us know as soon as possible.

The more notice we receive, the greater the opportunity we have to offer that appointment to another child who may be waiting for support. Depending on the amount of notice provided and whether we are able to fill the appointment, a cancellation fee may not apply.

Early communication gives us the best chance of helping another family while also reducing the likelihood of cancellation fees.

What happens if your psychologist needs to cancel?

We believe fairness works both ways.

On the rare occasion that your psychologist needs to cancel an appointment due to illness, an emergency or unforeseen circumstances:

• You will never be charged a cancellation fee.
• We will contact you as soon as possible.
• We will make every effort to offer the earliest available alternative appointment.
• If appropriate and clinically suitable, we may offer a telehealth appointment instead.

We also recognise that a cancelled appointment may inconvenience your family. Unlike many services, psychology relies on a strong therapeutic relationship, and we value your time and commitment to attending appointments.

Fortunately, psychologist cancellations are uncommon, but when they do occur, we work hard to minimise disruption and ensure your child continues to receive timely support.

Thank you for your understanding

We know that cancellations can be frustrating, particularly when they are outside your control.

Our cancellation policy has been developed to balance compassion with fairness. It helps ensure that appointment times are used as effectively as possible, supports the sustainability of our clinicians' work and allows us to continue providing care to the many children and families who need our services.

We genuinely appreciate your understanding and your partnership in helping us provide timely, high-quality care for every family.