About Appointments and Cancellations

Appointment Bookings and Cancellations

Once the appointment is booked for you, it is confirmed, and the scheduled spot is yours. Please check your schedules before booking your appointment, as clinicians have limited availability and it is not always possible to reschedule. Attending appointments is essential for the success of the intervention. If the scheduled time or frequency works for you, please discuss this with your clinician.

If the client or a member of your family is unable to attend the appointment, you are able to contact us two (2) hours before the appointment and request the following:

• Face-to-face parent session*
• Telehealth appointment with the child (if medically appropriate)
• Telehealth parent session*
• Resource preparation*
• Report Writing

* Items cannot be billed with a Medicare or private health refund rebate.

If, for some reason, you are unable to attend your appointment, please contact us as soon as possible, as a 100% cancellation fee will be applied to appointments cancelled less than 2 business days before the scheduled appointment time.

Cancellations can be made by calling our main office (or leaving a voicemail) at 3819 0282, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

We understand that emergencies and situations occur which may be out of your control, therefore waiving the cancellation fee may be considered in this circumstance, however, this is at the sole discretion of Kids at Play Therapy Services Owners.

Our service sends a courtesy reminder SMS 72 hours before the appointment; this message will not require a response from you. Your appointment was confirmed when the initial appointment was made. SMS messages will only be sent as reminders for the appointment.

If you are an NDIS client, this cancellation policy applies in accordance with the scheme's guidelines.

Attendance

While we understand that cancellations or no-shows can happen from time to time, it is important to attend your appointment. We understand that clients' needs can make attending your child’s appointment difficult, and individual circumstances will be considered.

Attending your scheduled appointments enables:

• Consistency of intervention
  Improve goal outcomes
• Continuous development of rapport and therapeutic relationships
• Familiarity with routines

Kids at Play Therapy Services has specified that if clients are in the following situations, the following process will occur.

If a client and/or family makes late cancellations for three (3) appointments within a three (3)- month period for all clinicians, the client and family will be asked to attend their next appointment with the clinician to discuss barriers to attendance.

If a client and/or family make late cancellations for three (3) consecutive appointments, the client and family will be asked to attend their next appointment with the clinician to discuss barriers to attendance. We are aware that some families want a break from therapy during school holidays or other periods, but it is important that this is notified to us before appointments are booked.

If a client and/or family have two (2) no-shows within a twelve-month period for all clinicians, the client and family will be asked to attend their next appointment with the clinician to discuss barriers to attendance.

If this pattern of late cancellations or no-shows continues, Kids at Play Therapy Services may cancel your ongoing appointments.

Home Activities

Research shows that therapy alone will not significantly improve a client without the continued practice of skills and strategies across environments.  As home activities may be prescribed as part of your program, clients and families who aren’t actively engaged in home-based programs will be asked to attend a meeting with the clinician to discuss barriers to completing them.  If a pattern of non-engagement with home activities continues, Kids at Play Therapy Services may cancel your ongoing appointments.