South Australia · by video · adults and teens
ADHD and autism assessment, Adelaide
Assessed from home by a registered psychologist, anywhere in South Australia. $1,650 including the report. South Australia has one of the more gated medication pathways in the country, and it is better to know that before you book than after.
We are a telehealth service, not an Adelaide clinic. No rooms on Greenhill Road. You are assessed over video by a registered psychologist. If you want to sit across a desk from someone, we are not it, and we would rather put that here than let you discover it later.
South Australia's authority system, and why it slows things down
Most states control stimulant prescribing somehow. South Australia does it through a written authority, and the mechanics matter because they decide how long it takes you to get to a settled prescription.
| Stage | What South Australia requires |
|---|---|
| First two months | A doctor may prescribe a Schedule 8 stimulant without a separate authority. |
| Beyond two months | The prescriber must hold a Section 18A authority issued by the Drugs of Dependence Unit. This is a real approval with an application behind it. |
| What the application needs | A written report from the relevant specialist supporting that prescriber's authority to prescribe for you. |
| How it is lodged | Through ScriptCheckSA. Since January 2026 the paper form route has been retired. |
| Ongoing | ScriptCheckSA must be checked before prescribing or dispensing. |
Read together, that is a system designed around a specialist opinion sitting behind the prescription. A GP can absolutely end up as your long-term prescriber under a Section 18A authority — South Australia runs a formal shared-care arrangement for exactly that — but the specialist report comes first.
A note for anyone moving across from a childhood diagnosis: paediatric authorities in South Australia are typically written until the patient turns 19, at which point the adult pathway takes over. If that is you, say so at intake; it changes what your report needs to establish.
So is the assessment worth doing?
It depends entirely on what you want out of it, and the answer differs more in South Australia than elsewhere.
If you want the explanation, or adjustments at work or university: yes, and a psychologist-led assessment is the whole of it. $1,650, report included, nothing further required.
If medication is the point: the assessment is step one of a longer path here, and you should go in knowing that. You will need a psychiatrist in the picture for the authority to work. We will tell you that plainly at intake and point you at the right next appointment rather than handing you a report and wishing you luck.
Autism assessment in Adelaide
Autism is the cleaner path in South Australia, because none of the above applies. There is no medication for autism, so there is no authority, no Section 18A, no specialist sign-off required for a diagnosis to stand.
What matters instead is what the report has to achieve. NDIS access needs autism at level 2 or 3 with documented functional impact, and the NDIA names clinical psychologists, psychiatrists, paediatricians and multidisciplinary teams as acceptable assessors — we staff to that. A report written for self-understanding and a report written for an NDIS access request are not the same document, which is why we ask before we start rather than after.
What the assessment involves
Questionnaires at your own pace beforehand, then two to three hours over video with a registered psychologist, splittable across two sittings. A developmental history, a structured interview against the diagnostic criteria, and the differential work that separates ADHD from depression, anxiety, chronic sleep debt and trauma. A second clinician reviews the report before it goes out.
The fee is $1,650 including the report, or $1,950 to assess autism and ADHD together rather than paying for two developmental histories.
South Australian questions
Who can diagnose ADHD in South Australia?
For adults, a psychiatrist. A registered psychologist can assess and diagnose ADHD, and that diagnosis is accepted for workplace adjustments and university accommodations — but South Australia's authority system is built around a specialist report, so if medication is the goal a psychiatrist has to be in the picture.
What is the two-month rule?
In South Australia a doctor can prescribe a Schedule 8 stimulant for up to two months without a separate authority. Past two months, the prescriber must hold a Section 18A authority from the Drugs of Dependence Unit. That is the mechanism that makes SA's pathway slower to settle than some other states — it is a real approval, not a formality.
Can my Adelaide GP prescribe my ADHD medication?
A GP can hold the Section 18A authority and be your ongoing prescriber, but the application needs a written report from the relevant specialist supporting it. So the GP is realistically the destination rather than the starting point. From January 2026 those applications go through ScriptCheckSA rather than paper forms.
Is autism assessment easier to access in Adelaide?
Different, rather than easier. There is no medication and therefore no authority system, so an autism diagnosis does not run into any of the above. The constraint is different: what the report has to contain for whatever you need it to do — NDIS access, university, or an employer.
How much does an ADHD assessment cost in Adelaide?
$1,650 with us, including the written report. Both conditions together is $1,950. That is the full cost of the assessment — the psychiatrist appointment that South Australia's authority system points you towards afterwards is billed by that doctor, usually with a Medicare rebate.
Do I have to travel to Adelaide?
No. That is rather the point. We assess by video, so it works the same whether you are in the CBD, at Mount Gambier or in the Riverland — which matters more in South Australia than in most states, because the specialist workforce is concentrated in Adelaide.
Start with three minutes instead of $1,650
The free test asks ten questions and tells you whether an assessment is a reasonable next step. If it is not, it says so.