Opening in stages
Where New South Wales sits on GP diagnosis and prescribing, as at 8 August 2026.
$467.45
Medicare rebate on item 92435, psychiatrist assessment by video. Same rebate in person. Once per 12 months.
~$1,400
What a private psychiatrist assessment commonly costs before the rebate.
Part 1 of 4
Can a GP diagnose ADHD in New South Wales?
Not yet, for starting treatment. Right now a GP can only continue a prescription a specialist (a psychiatrist or, for children, often a paediatrician) already started. About 300 GPs began additional training in March 2026 and are expected to be able to diagnose and start treatment from around September or October 2026.
If you can wait a few months, the GP path gets much cheaper. If you cannot, a psychiatrist assessment by video attracts the same Medicare rebate as an in person one, and video means you can see a psychiatrist anywhere in Australia.
New South Wales is the biggest prize and the slowest mover: continuation through GPs already works, and initiation is the piece arriving in stages through late 2026.
The national picture, including every other state and what changes next, lives in the GP diagnosis guide.
Part 2 of 4
The psychiatrist route, and why video changed it
A GP referral to a psychiatrist remains the standard route wherever the GP path is closed, and video assessment attracts the same Medicare rebate as in person: $467.45 on item 92435, claimable once every 12 months. Video means the psychiatrist does not have to be in your state at all.
The number that matters is not the clinic's headline fee but your gap after the rebate, and it swings by more than a thousand dollars between clinics billing the same item. Ask for the gap in writing before you book, ask the wait for the medication appointment rather than the first call, and check the assessing practitioner on the Ahpra register, all covered in the assessment section of our resources page.
A typical wait to see a psychiatrist is around twelve months, and clinics with short waits often charge accordingly. The cost guide walks the whole bill, including what happens after diagnosis.
Part 3 of 4
The official pages for New South Wales
Stimulants are Schedule 8 medicines, so the rules on who can prescribe them are state law, administered by the health department. These are the official pages, plus the organisations worth knowing here.
NSW Health: ADHD medicines and who can prescribe them
The official page tracking who may prescribe ADHD medicines in New South Wales, including the staged GP changes.
- Free
- Government run
University of Sydney Psychology Clinic
The university clinic route: about $300 standard or $150 reduced for an assessment, well under private fees, with the trade offs listed on our resources page. Its ADHD assessment waitlist was closed when last checked, so confirm before you plan around it.
- Reduced fee
- University clinic
Part 4 of 4
If you are starting from zero today
Work out whether the traits fit, take that to a GP, choose the route this page describes, and budget from the gap, not the headline. None of it needs to happen in one week.
Start with the recognition tool if you are still working out whether to start at all; it sorts thirty-two experiences into ADHD flavoured, autistic flavoured and shared, and it is not a test. Then the resources directory holds the checked links for everything this page mentions: money help, medicine rules, work and study rights, and who to call in a bad week.
If both autism and ADHD are in question, read the AuDHD explainer before booking, and ask any assessor whether they cover both in one process.
The short version
Quick answers
Can a GP diagnose ADHD in New South Wales?
Not yet, for starting treatment. Right now a GP can only continue a prescription a specialist (a psychiatrist or, for children, often a paediatrician) already started. About 300 GPs began additional training in March 2026 and are expected to be able to diagnose and start treatment from around September or October 2026. If you can wait a few months, the GP path gets much cheaper. If you cannot, a psychiatrist assessment by video attracts the same Medicare rebate as an in person one, and video means you can see a psychiatrist anywhere in Australia.
How much does an ADHD assessment cost in New South Wales?
Until the GP route opens, the psychiatrist route applies: commonly about $1,400 before Medicare, $467.45 back on item 92435, and the gap varies enormously between clinics. From around September or October 2026, trained GPs are expected to change that arithmetic.
Who sets the prescribing rules in New South Wales?
Stimulants are Schedule 8 medicines, so the state or territory health department controls who may prescribe them and under what authority. The official page is linked on this guide, and it is the authority when anything here has aged.