Assessment Process and Fees

Updated December 2025

We are able to undertake assessments with children and young people up to 18 years of age. We are able to see pre-schoolers however in some instances we may recommend that a Paediatrician would be more suitable to see your child.

An assessment might be requested when you have noticed differences, or have had ongoing concerns about your child's general development or progress at school or home. There might have been little things happening over the years with their social interactions, behaviour, learning, or other areas of development.

Sometimes other family members or school teachers may have also raised concerns with you.

Parents often request an assessment when their usual parenting tricks aren't working any more - they simply don't know what to try next. An assessment can help to untangle what is happening with your child's development, and to identify ways to support them at school or home.

Our assessments are designed to explore development broadly. We gather information to understand your child’s experiences, particularly to explore whether Autism or ADHD, or other developmental differences might help to understand their support needs.

How do we make a referral?

Our website will remain updated with information on the wait time for an appointment.

The referral form will be available on the website - this can be completed by a parent, guardian, teacher, or another professional. A GP referral is not needed.

Once the referral is received you will receive a confirmation email from us within a few days, advising whether we are able to see your child, or if we feel another organisation would be more suitable. If we are able to see your child we will advise of the estimated timeframe for an appointment. The actual wait time will vary and depends on when the referral is submitted (we work on a first in, first served basis). The exception to this is if there are circumstances that means a priority assessment is required.

What is involved in an assessment?

This depends on your main referral questions. Your child will be booked for one of three options:

Developmental Assessment (Autism/ADHD)

Learning Assessment (eg, Dyslexia)

Comprehensive Assessment (Autism/ADHD AND learning needs).

Information on each option is outlined below:

Developmental Assessment

What is involved in a Developmental Assessment for Autism or ADHD?

• Developmental assessments are completed with at least two members of our team. This provides a multi-disciplinary perspective to explore your child’s general development, language, social interactions and emotional development.

• The first step is to arrange an initial consultation with one of our team to discuss your questions and concerns. We will discuss your child's developmental history. Copies of previous reports will be requested (if available) - these help to provide additional background information and context of past developmental or behavioural needs.

• You and your child’s teacher will be given some questionnaires to complete. These will ask questions about your child's skills at home, and about characteristics that might be related to Autism and ADHD. Questionnaires may include one or all of:

  • Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS-2)

  • Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS-2)

  • Conners-4

  • MASC-2

• Sometimes a cognitive and / or academic assessment will be completed to explore your child's problem solving or language skills. This is particularly helpful if there are also learning differences at school.

• Your child's teacher will be asked for their views, and your child may be visited at school for a discrete in-class observation.

• In some instances you and your child will be visited at home.

• Your child will be invited to take part in a child interview. For young children this is a play-based session, and for teens this an informal interview style session. We use a range of assessment frameworks including the Monteiro Interview Guidelines for Assessment of the Autism Spectrum (MIGDAS), and the Childhood Autism Rating Scales (CARS-2). We also complete a child interview when exploring ADHD as it gives us a great chance to spend time with your child in a low-key play-based session.

What times are available for appointments?

When your child reaches the top of the waitlist you will be contacted to book in two appointments – an initial parent meeting, and a child session.  We have set times during the week when these appointments are available.  The set times provide consistency for families to work with the same clinicians throughout the assessment process.  The child session will usually be booked 2 weeks after the parents meeting.  During the 2 weeks gap we will be completing the school visit or teacher interview.  You will be offered the following set options (note that these times cannot be mix and matched):

Parent Meeting / Child Session

Option 1 Monday 1.30pm / Monday 10am

Option 2 Tuesday 10am / Thursday 10am

Option 3 Wednesday 10am / Tuesday 10am

Option 4 Wednesday 10am / Tuesday 10am

Option 5 Thursday 12.30pm / Thursday 10am

Option 6 Monday 10am / Monday 12.30pm

Option 7 Wednesday 1pm / Thursday 10am

What happens after the assessment?

After all information has been collected, a comprehensive report will be written. A meeting will be arranged with you to discuss the assessment and any outcomes. You will receive two a comprehensive report which can be shared with school or other practitioners if you choose to do so.

You will receive the report 2-3 weeks after the feedback meeting (we will usually meet to discuss the assessment outcomes before the report has been completed).

There are a number of possible outcomes from the assessment:

• Confirmation of a current diagnosis, with updated information

• Provision of a new diagnosis, for example Autism, ADHD, Specific Learning Disability (Dyslexia / Dysgraphia); Intellectual Disability; Giftedness.

• A diagnosis is not always made - sometimes further information is required, or the assessment shows that a diagnosis is not appropriate.

• Recommendations for further assessment (often with a different professional such as a Speech Language Therapist or Occupational Therapist) may be made if a separate issue is identified during the assessment. This may include challenges with language or motor skills that cannot be assessed by a Psychologist.

• Further recommendations will also be made in the report. This may include options to access individualised support for your child or you, recommendations for school.

• A referral can also be made to a Paediatrician or Psychiatrist if a diagnosis of ADHD is confirmed, and parents wish to explore medication.

How much does it cost?

The cost for the assessment is inclusive of:

• Initial discussions (either in person or phone)

• Administration of the assessments

• School/home visits or a Teacher interview

• Provision of the reports

• Feedback and explanation of the reports

A developmental assessment including all components outlined is $2400 incl GST. Full payment is required 7 days prior to the initial appointment.

Any further assessment which may be required will be discussed with you and quoted separately.

Attendance at any follow up meetings, for example with school, is charged separately at a rate of $200 (incl GST) / meeting.

Learning Assessment

What is involved in a Learning Assessment?

Learning assessments are completed over two sessions - these can be booked on the same day, or on different days. The first session is to complete a cognitive assessment using the WISC-V. The second session is an academic assessment using the WIAT-III.

How old should my child be for a learning assessment?

Some learning difficulties can be identified in the first year or two at school, but a conclusive diagnosis is not always possible if under 8-years old. An assessment can still be completed as this can help to identify appropriate steps to support your child. The age to assess a child often depends more on the child’s ability to engage in formal, adult-led activities.

What times are available for appointments?

When your child reaches the top of the waitlist you will be contacted to book in these two appointments on two of the following times:

Monday 12pm

Tuesday 10am

Tuesday 12pm

Wednesday 10am

Wednesday 12pm

What happens after the assessment?

After all information has been collected, a comprehensive report will be written. A meeting will be arranged with you to discuss the assessment and any outcomes. You will receive two a comprehensive report which can be shared with school or other practitioners if you choose to do so.

You will receive the report 2-3 weeks after the assessment (we will often meet to discuss the assessment before the report has been completed).

How much does it cost?

A learning assessment is inclusive of

• Two assessment sessions

• Feedback meeting

• Provision of the report

The cost is $1600 incl GST. Full payment is required 7 days prior to the initial appointment.

Comprehensive Assessment

This option covers assessment for all of the above - Autism, ADHD and learning needs and is our most cost effective option. The total cost is $3200 incl GST.