Common questions

These are the questions people actually ask on the phone, answered the way we would answer them on the phone. Where the honest answer is "it depends", we have said so and explained what it depends on.

Find your question

Five groups on this page. If your question is about one service in particular, the topic pages go further than we can here.

Getting started

What happens between deciding to ring someone and sitting in a first appointment.

How do I start with ANDI?

Ring us, email us, or send an enquiry through any form on this site. Someone from intake gets back to you within one business day, asks what is going on, and tells you what we would suggest, what it would cost and how long the wait is. You do not need to know which service you want before you make contact.

Do I need a referral or a diagnosis first?

Neither. Most people who contact us have no referral and no diagnosis, and nothing about the service they get is different because of it. A GP referral and care plan matter only for Medicare rebates on eligible services, and some funding pathways ask for one before they will pay. We will tell you whether that applies to you.

How long will we wait to be seen?

It depends on the service, the clinician and where you are, which is why we do not publish a number that would be wrong for half the people reading it. What we will give you is the real wait for your situation when we come back to you. If it is long, we will say so and tell you what else is available, including options that are not us.

What actually happens in the first appointment?

Mostly talking and listening. We go through what brought you here, what has already been tried, what a good outcome would look like for you, and any history that helps make sense of it. For children there is usually some play or informal observation alongside the conversation. You leave with a plan for what happens next, even if that plan is to wait and review.

What if ANDI is not the right service for us?

We will tell you, as early as we can work it out. Sometimes what someone needs is a service we do not provide, a public or community programme, or simply more time. Saying so costs us a client and saves you months, and we would rather be the people who told you the truth than the people you waited on for nothing.

Appointments and how we work

Where support happens, who delivers it, and how the parts of it fit together.

Where do appointments happen?

It depends on the service and on what would work best for the person. Some support is delivered in a clinic room, some at home, some at school or in an early learning service, some in the community, and some online. Home care is delivered at home by definition. Ask us what is available for the service you want and where you are, because it varies across Melbourne.

Can I choose my clinician, or change to someone else?

You can ask, and we will do what availability allows. If a clinician is not the right fit, say so and we will change it without making it awkward. The relationship does a lot of the work in this field, and a mismatch is a practical problem to solve rather than a complaint about anybody.

How many sessions will we need?

Nobody can answer that honestly at the first appointment, and be careful of anyone who does. What we do instead is work in blocks with a review at the end of each one: what has changed, what has not, and whether continuing is worth it. Plenty of people finish a block and stop. Coming back later is normal and does not mean starting again.

Will you talk to my child's school, or to our GP?

With your consent, yes, and it usually helps. A recommendation nobody in the classroom knows about does not change a school day, and a GP who knows what we are doing can make better decisions about everything else. You control what is shared and with whom, and you can change your mind later.

What if we need more than one service?

That is the ordinary case rather than the complicated one. Because assessment, therapy, counselling, disability support and home care sit inside one organisation, adding a second service is a conversation between colleagues rather than a new referral and a new waitlist, and the people involved are working from the same information.

Assessments and reports

The questions that come before booking an assessment, and the ones that come after the report arrives.

What is the difference between an assessment and therapy?

An assessment answers a question: what is going on, what are the strengths and difficulties, and what would help. Therapy is the work that follows. You do not always need the first to start the second, and sometimes a few sessions of therapy tell you more than a full assessment would have. We will say which we think you need, and why, before you pay for either.

How long until we get the report?

You will be given a timeframe in writing before the assessment starts, and it is part of the quote rather than an afterthought. You also get a feedback session where we talk you through the findings before anything is written up, so the report confirms a conversation rather than delivering a surprise weeks later.

We already have a report from somewhere else. Is it any use?

Usually, yes. Send it to us and we will tell you whether it still stands, whether only part of it needs updating, or whether the question you have now is different from the one it answered. Repeating testing too soon can distort the results, so there are clinical reasons not to reassess as well as financial ones.

Can you give a diagnosis?

Some diagnoses can be made by the clinicians who carry out the assessment, and some require a particular profession or a medical practitioner, occasionally more than one. Tell us at intake what you are hoping to have settled and we will tell you plainly whether we can settle it, who would need to be involved, and what it would cost.

Fees, funding and cancellations

The part people are most reluctant to ask about, and the part worth asking about first.

Does it cost anything to ask?

No. Enquiries, questions about funding and a written quote all cost nothing. The initial consultation is an appointment with a clinician and is charged like one, and you will be told the fee before you book it. Nothing is ever invoiced that you have not agreed to first.

Do you charge for reports, travel or phone calls?

Where they apply, they are named in your quote and your service agreement before anything starts, rather than appearing on an invoice later. Reports written for a school, a funding body or another provider take real time and are quoted before they are written. Travel applies where we come to you and is agreed in advance.

What happens if we cancel or miss an appointment?

Tell us as early as you can and we will try to move the appointment rather than cancel it. The notice period and any charge are set out in your service agreement and on our cancellation policy page, so you know them before they matter. Illness and emergencies happen to everyone and we take that into account.

Can I change how I am paying part way through?

Usually, yes. People start privately and later get a plan approved, or use a Medicare care plan until the sessions run out and then continue privately. Tell us when something changes and we will adjust the invoicing and, where it is needed, the service agreement. What we cannot do is claim retrospectively for sessions that happened before the funding existed.

Is everything you offer covered by the NDIS?

No. The NDIS is one of five funding pathways here, and what a plan pays for depends on the goals and budgets in it. Plenty of the people we work with have no plan at all. We will go through yours with you and be clear about which parts of what you are asking for it will actually cover.

Privacy, records and feedback

What happens to what you tell us, and what to do when something has gone wrong.

Who sees what I tell you?

Your clinician, and the colleagues directly involved in your care, so that the parts of your support are joined up. Sharing anything outside ANDI, with a school, a GP, a funding body or another provider, needs your consent, with the narrow exceptions the law requires, such as a serious risk to someone's safety. Our privacy policy sets out the detail.

Can I get a copy of my records?

Yes. You can ask for access to the health information we hold about you, and for anything inaccurate to be corrected. Ask us in writing and we will tell you how long it will take and whether any part of it cannot be released, which is rare and limited to the situations the law names.

Is what my teenager says to a counsellor kept from me?

Young people need to be able to speak freely for counselling to work, so the detail of a session generally stays in the room. What we do instead is agree the ground rules at the start, with the young person and the parent together: what will be shared, what will not, and the safety situations where we would always tell you. You will not be left in the dark about how it is going.

How do I complain, or tell you something is not working?

Tell your clinician if you are comfortable doing that, and if you are not, use our complaints and feedback page or ring the office and ask for a manager. You will not be penalised for raising something, and asking to change clinicians is not a complaint, it is a request. If we cannot resolve it, you can take it to the relevant external body, and we will tell you which one that is.

Still not answered

Three ways to get a specific answer about your situation, none of which commit you to anything.

Ring us

Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm. Most questions take one phone call, and you will speak to someone who can actually answer them.

Send your question

Use the form below and we will answer within one business day. Questions that come up more than once end up on this page.

Ask a question

Book a consultation

When the question is really "would this help us?", an initial consultation answers it better than anything written down.

Let's Take The

First Step Together

Whether you're seeking support for yourself, your child or a loved one, we're here to listen, understand and help you move forward with confidence.

From assessment and therapy to counselling, disability support and home care, our team is committed to providing personalised care that empowers individuals and strengthens families.

Compassionate

We care deeply about the people we support, and it shows in how we work.

Experienced

Qualified clinicians who supervise each other and keep learning.

Here for you

Support that stays with you as your needs change, not just at the start.

We honour the diverse communities such as the LGBTQ of which we are a part and we celebrate the extraordinary diversity of people that each represent.

We acknowledge the traditional owners of the lands. We pay respect to Elders, past and present and acknowledge the ongoing connection that Aboriginal people have to this land and recognise Aboriginal people as the original custodians of this land.

Aboriginal peoples of the Kulin Nations are the Traditional Custodians of the lands now named City of Greater Dandenong. Those who live, work and contribute to the municipality walk in the footsteps of the Bunurong/Boon Wurrung and Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung Peoples, and are enriched by Australia’s First Peoples experiences, cultures, histories and knowledge.