FAQ’s

To ensure your child receives the most appropriate care, our paediatricians will review your referral before scheduling an appointment.

1. Please obtain a referral letter from your GP. This can be sent directly from your GP’s clinic or emailed to: reception@bhckids.com.au
2. Once we receive the referral, it will be reviewed by one of our paediatricians
3. We will inform you within 10 business days of receiving your referral whether we can accept your child as a new patient
4. If your referral is accepted, we will ask you to complete an online registration form and place you on our waitlist for the next available appointment.

Please note that there may be occasions when we cannot accept your referral due to our paediatricians being at capacity.

To schedule a standard therapy session (50 minutes), please call our client care team at (03) 9108 7809. For psychological assessments, kindly email your request to reception@bhckids.com.au, and we will reach out to guide you through the booking process.

To book an appointment with our speech pathology team at Ladybug House, please complete the speech pathology registration e-Form: https://bhckids.com.au/speech-pathology-registration-e-form/ or contact our client care team on (03) 9108 7809

To schedule an appointment with our dietician and lactation consultant, please call our client care team on (03) 9108 7809.

It is a Medicare requirement that the child must be present during the consult (including for Telehealth) for the parent to claim a Medicare rebate for their attendance. If you need to speak with your paediatrician without your child in the room, please arrange for a relative or trusted friend to supervise your child in the reception area during the appointment.

We aim to provide clear information about fees and out-of-pocket costs related to our services, helping you plan for your child’s healthcare.

You can find this information under the fees tab or in the ‘Privacy Information and Consent’ section of the relevant registration form.

As a private clinic, Brighton Health Clinic for Kids requires full payment on the day of your consultation. For telehealth appointments, the credit card you provided during booking will be automatically charged following your consultation.

A valid referral is required to claim a Medicare rebate. GP referrals are generally valid for 12 months,and referrals from other specialists are generally valid for 3 months.

To ensure your child receives the most appropriate care, a GP referral is required to be reviewed by one of our paediatricians before an initial appointment can be booked.

GP referrals for allied health practitioners are not required for booking an appointment. However, you may be eligible for a Mental Health Care Plan or GP Management Plan, which allows you to claim a Medicare rebate for part of the cost.

Whilst some services at Brighton Health Clinic for Kids may be eligible for Private Health Insurance claims, we cannot process this on your behalf. A receipt will be provided after your consultation for you to submit to your health fund.

Brighton Health Clinic for Kids welcomes NDIS patients; however NDIS funding will not cover appointments to see our doctors.

You may be able to use your funding for our allied health therapists if specified in your plan. Since we are not a NDIS registered provider, you can claim costs through NDIS if you are self-managed or plan-managed, but not if you are NDIA-managed.

Appointments must be paid for in full and claimed back through the NDIS. Please contact your NDIS plan coordinator for further information if you are unsure.

If you need to cancel an appointment, please let us know as soon as possible so we can offer the slot to another patient on our waiting list. We require 48 hours’ notice for cancellations, otherwise cancellation fees may apply.

If your doctor has referred your child for testing (such as blood tests or imaging), they will likely recommend a follow-up appointment (in-person or via telehealth) to discuss the results. This ensures your child receives the necessary follow-up care.

If you have had tests requested elsewhere and would like to discuss them with your paediatrician, please call (03) 9108 7809 to schedule an appointment.

If you require a repeat prescription for a medication, please complete the ‘Prescription Request Form’ under the ‘Forms’ tab on our website.

We will forward the prescription request to your doctor, who will advise if they are able to provide a prescription or if an appointment is needed beforehand.

Please complete the form at least 2 weeks before your prescription runs out to allow enough time to process your request. A prescription fee will apply.

In urgent cases when your doctor is unavailable and a prescription is required, we may advise for you to consult your GP.

We are located at 202-204 Bay Street, Brighton. While there is plenty of free parking available, it may be limited during busy times. Please allow sufficient time for parking and to reach the clinic.

Brighton Health Clinic for Kids is a 5-minute walk from North Brighton Railway Station.

At Brighton Health Clinic for Kids, we understand the challenges faced by separated parents when it comes to coordinating the care and treatment of their child.

Our primary focus is the child’s safety and well-being, while respecting both parents’ rights to participate in health decisions. To support effective collaboration with healthcare providers, we have established guidelines aimed at minimising the impact of conflict and communication challenges that may occur during relationship breakdown.

In families where parents have separated, our patient care team will request a copy of any court orders and parenting orders to facilitate your child’s appointment.

Paediatricians prefer to see both parents who are sharing the care and decision making for their child. However our patient care team will seek advice and permission from the parent making the appointment, as to the appropriateness of having a shared appointment, or separate appointments for each parent. In cases where both parents are unable to be in the room together, we can offer one parent to link in via Telehealth.

If separate appointments are needed, please inform our patient care team. Standard consultation fees will apply and there is a fee for each appointment if separate appointments are required.

It is a Medicare requirement that the child must be present during the consult (including for Telehealth) for the parent to claim a Medicare rebate for their attendance. If you need to speak with your paediatrician without your child in the room, please arrange for a relative or trusted friend to supervise your child in the reception area during the appointment.

When one parent schedules an appointment, it is their responsibility to inform the other parent and invite them if appropriate. We do not automatically offer the other parent the appointment details and the right to attend the appointment.

If the appointment is made by one parent, it is the responsibility of this parent to inform the other parent, invite them to attend, and provide feedback to them.

Our practice management software designates a ‘default primary parent’ for each child, to whom all communications about that child are automatically directed. This includes reminder emails (sent to the default primary parent’s email) and text message reminders (sent to their mobile phone number).

Occasionally, this setup can lead to issues, such as when a non-default parent schedules an appointment, but reminders are still sent to the default parent. We operate under the assumption that separated parents maintain a framework of joint parental responsibility, which legally requires them to coordinate and share information.

While we do our best to support individual family circumstances as much as possible, we cannot accommodate complex personalised arrangements for communication.

If this policy presents any issues, please feel free to discuss your concerns with our patient care team.

Clinic correspondence and letters will be sent to the parent who attends the appointment and it is the responsibility of that parent to forward information and reports to other parent. The doctors do not have the capacity to provide separate feedback to each parent without separate appointment time being made to do this. They welcome both parents to attend appointments and will provide copies of correspondence to each parent, if specifically requested.

We expect separated parents to work together respectfully and cooperatively in making decisions about their child’s medical treatment, whenever possible. Both parents should be involved in deciding whether to commence medication or initiate intervention therapy.

Cooperation between parents is necessary for therapeutic interventions to be effective. Where conflict arises between parents regarding therapeutic decisions, the paediatrician’s role is to provide an opinion, rather than require or pursue a decision.

Where specific interventions are under consideration such as the prescription of non-essential medication, the doctors’ standard practice is to not proceed with the recommended treatment unless both parents are in agreement.

Payment is to be made on the day of the child’s appointment.  If there is legal agreement that requires the other parent to pay all or part of the treatment costs, it is the attending parent’s responsibility to settle account and collect reimbursement from the other parent.

Where there is significant conflict, the doctor reserves the right to review the court orders, obtain signed consent from both parents, or limit their services until dispute has been resolved.  If necessary, your doctor may discharge a family from their services if the conflict is disruptive to the clinic or impedes the care of the child.