You don't need a referral to see an osteopath, remedial massage therapist, or acupuncturist. However, if you are seeing us under a "Chronic Disease Management Plan or Enhanced Primary Care Plan" through Medicare, your GP practice must provide an appropriate referral.

Information for referrers can be found here.

Medicare rebates are only available when referred through the "Chronic Disease Management Plan or Enhanced Primary Care Plan," which your GP practice arranges. The current Medicare rebate for these services is $61.80 and is only available when seeing an osteopath. 

Appointments are not Bulk Billed at our practice. All osteopathic appointments involve an out-of-pocket expense.

Our practitioners are registered with most major health funds. If your private health insurance level allows, you can claim your rebate at the time of your appointment through our HICAPS terminal. Alternatively, we can provide paid invoices, which you may use to claim manually through your health insurer's website patient portal.

Every patient's case is different. For the most part practitioners will only need to see you a handful of times to get you back up and running (so to speak). Your practitioner will discuss timeframes and prognosis with you. 

Osteopathy is one of the longest standing manual therapy professions. Your University qualified practitioners are skilled at performing a thorough case history, examination, hands on treatment, as well as providing exercise and rehabilitation advice. In short, osteopathy is right for most people. We take into account every person's cultural background, religious beliefs, personal preferences as treating practitioners. However, hands on examination and treatment techniques are necessary to address most presenting complaints.

We treat people across the lifespan. From babies to the elderly, everyone can benefit from osteopathy. 

Techniques will vary depending on age and the physical presentation. 

Generally, it is a good idea to wear loose-fitting clothing to osteopathic appointments. We will often require you to remove garments, down to your underwear, so we can examine and treat you appropriately. Gowns are provided for modesty purposes but are open at the back. Towels are also used for draping purposes when lying on the treatment tables.

Bring along all medical imaging results or reports, as well as any other medical reports from specialists that are relevant to your presenting complaint.

Osteopathy is grounded in biomedical science and focuses on the muscular and nervous systems — assessing how the structure of the body affects its function. If your pelvis is influencing the way you move, we're interested in that, not just the place that hurts. Treatment is shaped by the patient as much as the condition, drawing on hands-on techniques, exercise and postural advice, always informed by the best available research evidence.

Curious about how Osteopathy compares to other manual therapies? This article from The Conversation is a good place to start.