Opening in stages
Where Victoria 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 Victoria?
Not yet. 150 GPs start training in September 2026 and are expected to begin prescribing from around late 2026.
If waiting is not realistic, a psychiatrist assessment by video attracts the full Medicare rebate, and Victoria has two university psychology clinics on our resources page that assess for much less than private fees.
Victoria is running a similar reform to New South Wales, but on a later timetable and at a smaller scale: New South Wales GPs, more than 800 of them, have been continuing ADHD prescriptions since September 2025 and began diagnosing from March 2026, while Victoria's first 150 GPs train across September and October 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 Victoria
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.
Victorian Department of Health: stimulant permit requirements
The permit system Victorian prescribers work under for ADHD stimulants.
- Free
- Government run
Victorian Department of Health: ADHD care in general practice
The official page tracking the GP reform as it lands.
- Free
- Government run
Victoria University Psychology Clinic
University training clinic; assessments listed at $300, or $100 with a health care card. One of two Melbourne university clinics on our resources page.
- 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 Victoria?
Not yet. 150 GPs start training in September 2026 and are expected to begin prescribing from around late 2026. If waiting is not realistic, a psychiatrist assessment by video attracts the full Medicare rebate, and Victoria has two university psychology clinics on our resources page that assess for much less than private fees.
How much does an ADHD assessment cost in Victoria?
Until the GP path opens in late 2026, the psychiatrist route: commonly about $1,400 before Medicare with $467.45 back on item 92435. Melbourne has two university psychology clinics, Victoria University and ACU, that assess for a fraction of that; both are linked from our resources page.
Who sets the prescribing rules in Victoria?
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.