CANCELLATION POLICY

While we understand that things can happen that result in needing to unexpectedly cancel an appointment at the last minute, we have a cancellation policy in place for several reasons.

As a small business that operates on a fee-for-service model, late cancellations can cause significant hardship. Your cancellation may only be one appointment, but when you consider that multiple people may be cancelling in a single day or week, this quickly adds up.

But it can also cause disadvantages to other clients. Someone may be in desperate need of a session, and sufficient time is needed to offer an appointment to them.

When an appointment booking is made, Mat commits this time to be available to provide a consultation to you and/or your young person.

For this reason, 24 business hours notice is required for any cancellation or change to appointments. If less than 24 business hours notice is given, you will still need to pay for the appointment.

If you needed to cancel your session taking place at 9am on Friday, you would need to cancel prior to 9am on Thursday to avoid the cancellation fee.

You should receive a reminder of your appointment via text/SMS two to three days prior to your appointment. Please note this is a courtesy service only and can be impacted by technological difficulties and staff absences. As such, it remains your responsibility to attend appointments and the absence of a text/SMS reminder will not lead to fees being waived if you do not attend your appointment or cancel with less than 48 hours notice.

The courtesy text/SMS is intended as a reminder of your upcoming appointment, not a reminder to reschedule your appointment.

Mathew Pierce Clinical Psychology reserves the right to reschedule appointments at any time, without compensation, if it is deemed necessary due to staff illness or other unforeseen circumstances. If Mat is unwell but still well enough to work, he will ask to shift to telehealth, Given this would be a last minute change to your booking, you would have the right to cancel without being charged the full fee.

If you do not attend your appointment, or if you cancel or change your appointment with less than 24 business hours’ notice, a cancellation fee of $260 (I.e. the full session fee) will apply. The cancellation fee will be processed via the payment card details you have provided. The cancellation fee must be paid before any future sessions can proceed. Please note that you cannot claim a medicare rebate or private health insurance for cancellation fees.

If you repeatedly cancel appointments, with or without 24 hours' notice, your psychologist will discuss this with you. It may be that right now isn't the right time to be engaging in therapy, or the psychologist doesn't feel like the right fit for you. We can discuss this and work with you to find a solution.

Please make every effort to notify the practice if you are unable to attend an appointment - there are often other clients waiting for appointments, and it would be appreciated if other clients could be given the opportunity to attend.

You can cancel or reschedule an appointment via your Halaxy account, which you will be invited to create at the time you make your first booking.

If you are cancelling/rescheduling an appointment with less than 48hours notice, you must do so by either:

Replying to the courtesy reminder text, or
emailing mat@mathewpiercepsychology.com.au