Service Agreement

This Service Agreement contains important information about the professional services and business policies relevant to Head Start Counselling. It is important you read, understand and agree with this Service Agreement before seeing Head Start Counselling. 

The Head Start Counselling service adheres to the following consultation structure:

• Initial consultation: Establish client concerns and background, and determine clients counselling expectations.
• Consultations 2 to 4: Work towards overcoming client concerns. Apply counselling strategies to identify and challenge personal difficulties. 
• Consultation 5 and beyond: Continued monitoring and adjustment of counselling approach. Discuss continuation or termination of counselling dependent on client progress.

For clients who are new to Head Start Counselling, a fee of $150 applies to the first consultation. Subsequent sessions are charged at the standard or after-hours rate. The standard face-to-face or online consultation fee is $125 per 50-minutes, while after-hours consultations (5:00pm - 7:00pm weekdays, and Saturdays) are charged at $150 per 50-minutes. Head Start Counselling is not a psychology practise and does not offer bulk billing and clients will not be eligible for partial Medicare rebates. 

Couple counselling consultations are charged at $250 per 60-minutes when attending as a couple. The standard ($125) or after-hours ($150) consultation rate applies when attending individually. Please visit the Couples Counselling page for the full couples specific Service Agreement. 

Face-to-face consultations can be paid for in advance using a major credit card or online debit card when making a booking at headstartcounselling.com.au, or alternatively at the end of each session in person using EFTPOS, EFT (Electronic Funds Transfer) or cash.

All online consultations (telehealth) must be paid for in advance using the headstartcounselling.com.au booking system – this is the only option available for online consultations.  

The duration of all consultations is 50-minutes. Time is required at the end of each session to prepare for the next client. If you arrive late, the consultation will still end at the scheduled time to ensure other clients receive their allotted time allowance. The frequency of consultations is something you can negotiate with Head Start Counselling, however weekly consultations are generally recommended at the outset.

Online Sessions: When a session ends prematurely due to technical difficulty, or you are unable to connect to a session due to technical difficulty, please call or email Head Start Counselling. If the difficulty is unable to be resolved at the scheduled time, your consultation will be rescheduled. If you are unable to connect at all, then telephone or face-to-face counselling are other options.

We require a minimum 48 hours’ notice of any need to change or cancel a consultation. A fee of $125 will be charged for non-attendance or cancellation with less than 48 hours’ notice. By engaging the services of Head Start Counselling you agree to the strict terms of this cancellation policy. If you do not show for your scheduled consultation, or if you are over 25 minutes late, you will be charged the $125 fee for non-attendance.

In situations of genuine hardship, please arrange to discuss your situation. If consultations are missed on a consistent basis the reasons for this will be discussed and a decision made regarding your options. 

Head Start Counselling reserves the right to reschedule consultations at any time without compensation if it is deemed necessary due to illness or other unforeseen circumstances. 

Head Start Counselling offers support for common life challenges many adults face including anxiety, personal growth and wellbeing, stress and burnout, relationship issues and career difficulties, for example. Head Start Counselling is not a psychology practice and it's counsellors are not psychologists. Head Start Counselling does not assess, diagnose and treat mental health disorders such as attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorder (ASD), schizophrenia, personality disorders or bipolar disorder.

You do not need a Mental Health Care Plan approved by a general practitioner (your doctor) prior to seeing Head Start Counselling.

In the event you are determined to be a risk of harm to yourself or others, have committed or intend to commit a serious crime, or where required by law, the client-counsellor confidentiality and terms of the privacy policy may be breached. This is in order to ensure the safety of you, and others around you, and to comply with any legal requirements (such as court orders). Otherwise your Information is confidential and can only be shared with your permission.