pay each session only if you feel it was of value
PRIVATE HEALTH REBATES
Quick Rebates Available
You may get a rebate of about $35 per session if you have particular extras cover with some health funds. I am registered with the following, and the list is growing. You can check with your health fund:
AHM, AIA, ARHG, Bupa, CUA, Doctors' Health Fund, Emergency Services Health, GMHBA, HCF, Medibank, Mildura Health Fund, Nurses & Midwives Health, Phoenix Health Fund, Police Health, see-u by HBF, St. Lukes Health, Teachers Health, TUH Health Fund, UniHealth, Westfund, and growing.
CLAIM ON YOUR TAX RETURN
Claiming may be possible:
Based on my conversation with the ATO, it may be possible to claim counselling services as a tax deduction provided there is reasonable justification for doing so. In my professional opinion, it is claimable in almost every case, though I encourage each person and their accountant to consider whether this applies to them. The basis for the claim could be as follows:
Through provision of these personalised counselling services and inclusion of evidence-based practice, the service provided is intended to assist clients enhance their own wellness in the short and long-term. The increasingly understood biopsychosocial model (Engel, 1977) has encouraged research which demonstrates a connection between mental and physical wellness; the mechanism is explained in part by Oakley (2004). Because of this connection, working on mental wellness through couselling services generally enhances work productivity, reduces sick days, and reduces work absences (Nunes, Richmond, Pampel, Wood, 2017); it also enhances the likelihood that the client will be able to contribute to society in general, and reduces the client’s likelihood of requiring government assisted healthcare (both physical and mental health-related).
Hence, these costs to the client are a viable tax deduction depending on accounting and tax regulations in any given year. You can cite this professional opinion and reference the articles noted above.
