Fee schedule
WorkCover QLD psychology table of costs 2026-27
From 1 July 2026 WorkCover Queensland pays psychologists $277 an hour (GST not included) for initial and subsequent consultations (items 400088, 400095), from its Mental Health Services Table of Costs. Counsellors and psychotherapists bill the same table at $204 an hour. There is no separate report item: report writing is billed within the hourly consultation fee.
Last checked 25 Sep 2026 against the sources listed at the end of this page.
- Payer
- WorkCover Queensland
- Effective from
- 1 Jul 2026
- Official schedule
- Source document
What changed this year
- The Mental Health Services Table of Costs effective 1 July 2026 pays psychologists $277 an hour for both the initial consultation (400088) and subsequent consultations (400095), a higher rate than the $204 an hour counsellors and psychotherapists bill under the same table.
- Registration determines the rate. A full or provisionally registered psychologist bills the psychology items at $277 an hour; a counsellor or psychotherapist who is a full clinical member of PACFA or a level 3 or 4 member of the Australian Counsellors Association bills the counselling and psychotherapy items at $204 an hour.
- Neuropsychological assessment (400091), typically 4 to 5 hours of direct contact and test scoring time, is billed at the same $277 hourly rate as a standard psychology consultation, not a separate specialist rate.
- There is no standalone report item in this table. Communication with the referrer and insurer, and the writing up of clinical records, are treated as part of the hourly consultation, not billed separately as they are for some other payers.
All 9 psychology items
| Item | Description | Fee |
|---|---|---|
| 400088 | Initial consultation, psychology, no prior approval required | $277 per hour, pro-rata |
| 400095 | Subsequent consultation, psychology, insurer approval required | $277 per hour, pro-rata |
| 400184 | Critical incident debriefing session, approval required after the first 2 sessions | $277 per hour, pro-rata |
| 400091 | Neuropsychological assessment, requested by the insurer | $277 per hour, pro-rata |
| 400226 | Independent case review, requested by the insurer only | $288 per hour, pro-rata |
| 400101 | Initial consultation, counselling, no prior approval required | $204 per hour, pro-rata |
| 400102 | Subsequent consultation, counselling, no prior approval required | $204 per hour, pro-rata |
| 1000243 | Initial consultation, psychotherapy, no prior approval required | $204 per hour, pro-rata |
| 1000244 | Subsequent consultation, psychotherapy, insurer approval required | $204 per hour, pro-rata |
Two rates in the same table, set by registration
WorkCover Queensland's Mental Health Services Table of Costs, effective 1 July 2026, does not pay a flat rate for talking therapy. A registered psychologist bills the psychology items (400088 initial, 400095 subsequent) at $277 an hour, GST not included, charged pro-rata for the time spent. A counsellor or psychotherapist bills the counselling and psychotherapy items (400101, 400102, 1000243, 1000244) at $204 an hour under the same table. The clinical content of the two consultation types looks similar on paper, both cover history taking, assessment, diagnostic formulation and treatment planning, but the fee is set by the provider's registration, not the service delivered.
A neuropsychological assessment (400091), typically 4 to 5 hours of direct contact and test scoring for suspected brain dysfunction after a work injury, is billed at the standard $277 psychology rate rather than a separate specialist figure, and is only billed when the insurer requests it.
No separate report item
Several of WorkCover Queensland's other allied health tables of costs do not list a standalone report fee either, and psychology follows the same pattern. There is no item number in the Mental Health Services table for writing a report to the referring GP or the insurer. Communication with the referrer and insurer about the worker's rehabilitation is one of the listed elements of both the initial and subsequent consultation, so it is billed within the hourly consultation fee rather than as an add on.
This matters for billing accuracy: a practice that tries to invoice a separate line item for report writing on a WorkCover Queensland psychology claim will not find a code for it in this table.
Approval rules that differ by service
The initial consultations for psychology, counselling and psychotherapy all need no prior approval, and the first six hours of treatment, including that initial consultation, are pre-approved provided the condition has not been treated by an allied health provider before. Beyond six hours, a Provider Management Plan covering expected functional gains, transition to self-management and treatment timeframes goes to the insurer.
Critical incident debriefing (400184) works differently again: the employer initiates it after a critical incident, the first two sessions are pre-approved, and anything beyond that needs the insurer's approval before the psychologist runs a further session.
Claiming notes
- Prior approval: the psychology initial consultation (400088), counselling initial consultation (400101) and psychotherapy initial consultation (1000243) need no prior approval. Subsequent consultations for psychology and psychotherapy need insurer approval; the counselling subsequent consultation (400102) does not.
- First six hours pre-approved: for psychology, counselling and psychotherapy consultations, the first six hours including the initial consultation are pre-approved provided the condition has not previously been treated by an allied health provider. Beyond that, submit a Provider Management Plan.
- One hour per day cap: subsequent consultations across psychology, counselling and psychotherapy are capped at one hour on any one day, and a provider cannot bill multiple initial or multiple subsequent consultations for the same worker on the same day.
- Critical incident debriefing (400184) is initiated by the employer after a critical incident and needs insurer approval once the first two sessions are used. It is a group or individual debriefing, not ongoing therapy.
- Neuropsychological assessment (400091) is only billed at the insurer's request and generally takes 4 to 5 hours of direct contact plus test scoring, separate from the report itself.
- All fees in the table exclude GST. Check with the Australian Taxation Office or your accountant on whether GST applies to a particular item.
Load these fees into your practice software
- Cliniko's Data import tool (Settings, then Data imports) can create billable items in bulk from a CSV. Choose Billable items and click Import rather than adding each item type by hand.
- Build a CSV with columns for the item code, a name that flags the provider type (for example "WorkCover QLD 400088 Psychology initial" versus "WorkCover QLD 400101 Counselling initial"), the hourly price excluding tax, whether tax applies, and the item type (service).
- Because the psychology items (400088, 400095) and the counselling and psychotherapy items (400101, 400102, 1000243, 1000244) pay different hourly rates for what looks like the same consultation type, name each item clearly so reception does not bill the wrong code for a psychologist versus a counsellor on staff.
- WorkCover Queensland states its fees exclude GST but does not mark individual mental health items as GST-free or taxable, so confirm the correct GST treatment with your accountant before setting the Taxable field.
- Every item in this table is an hourly, pro-rata rate rather than a set fee, so import the full hourly figure and adjust the price on each invoice to reflect the actual minutes billed.
- When WorkCover Queensland republishes the table each 1 July, export your existing billable items from Data exports, edit only the price column against the matching item codes, keep the original export as a backup, then re-import and enable just the price field.
Sources
- From 1 July 2026 WorkCover Queensland pays $277 an hour for a psychology initial consultation (item 400088) and a subsequent consultation (item 400095), GST not included. WorkCover Queensland, checked 25 Sep 2026.
- Counselling and psychotherapy initial and subsequent consultations (items 400101, 400102, 1000243, 1000244) are billed at $204 an hour under the same Mental Health Services Table of Costs. WorkCover Queensland, checked 25 Sep 2026.
- A neuropsychological assessment (item 400091) is billed at the standard $277 psychology hourly rate and is only provided at the insurer's request, generally taking 4 to 5 hours of direct contact and test scoring time. WorkCover Queensland, checked 25 Sep 2026.
- The first six hours of psychology, counselling or psychotherapy treatment, including the initial consultation, are pre-approved provided this condition has not previously been treated by an allied health provider. WorkCover Queensland, checked 25 Sep 2026.
- Cliniko's data import tool can create billable items in bulk from a CSV with columns for item code, name, price, tax and item type, matched during the import. Cliniko, checked 25 Sep 2026.
- Cliniko can update billable item prices in bulk each year by exporting billable items, editing only the price column against the item ID, and re-importing with only the price field enabled. Cliniko, checked 25 Sep 2026.