New South Wales · by video · children, teens and adults
Autism and ADHD assessment, Sydney
We assess children, teenagers and adults across Sydney and New South Wales by video. $1,650 for autism or ADHD, $1,950 for both, including the report. Below is how the NSW system works around an assessment: public services, Medicare, school support and who can prescribe.
Not a Sydney clinic. Neurodivergent Clinic is a service of Telehealth Australia Group, which is based in Brisbane and operates Australia-wide. Assessments happen over video, so there is no Sydney waiting room to walk into. If you specifically want to sit in a room with someone, we are the wrong choice, and we would rather say so here than after you have paid.
Autism assessment in Sydney
We assess autism against DSM-5-TR criteria, with a written report that shows its working.
Adults
$1,650 including the report. Healthdirect notes that adults are diagnosed by a psychiatrist or psychologist. We could not find a public adult autism assessment pathway in NSW, so most adults who are assessed pay privately.
Children and teens
$1,650 from age 12, including the report. Children under 12 are quoted on enquiry, because the approach depends on age. The public route below is worth knowing about before you decide.
What matters most is what the report has to do. An NDIS access request, a school access request and a university disability service want different things, and a report written for one is not automatically fit for another. We ask which it is before we start rather than after.
If both autism and ADHD are plausible, assess them together: $1,950 rather than $3,300, and one developmental history instead of two.
Adult autism assessment · Child autism assessment · Autism and ADHD together
The public route for children in Sydney
Public assessment for children in NSW runs through local health districts and the children’s hospitals, and the first step is usually the same: the Sydney Children’s Hospitals Network suggests talking to your local doctor or child and family health nurse.
- Child Development Unit, The Children’s Hospital at Westmead. A tertiary service offering comprehensive multidisciplinary diagnostic assessment. You need a referral from your paediatrician or specialist.
- Local child development services. These vary by district. Northern Sydney’s service, for example, sees children who have not yet started school and live in the district, and says families often wait up to several months. Sydney Local Health District’s community paediatrics covers birth to 16 and needs a referral from your local doctor.
- Medicare, under 25. After a paediatrician or psychiatrist has seen your child and referred, Medicare rebates up to eight allied health assessment services across their lifetime, with a review after the first four. There are still out-of-pocket costs.
We could not find an official statewide wait time. Ask your GP what the wait is in your district, because it varies.
Thriving Kids in NSW
The NSW Department of Communities and Justice is delivering Thriving Kids in NSW, for children aged 8 and under with developmental delay and/or autism who have low to moderate support needs. It says some new services will start across NSW from October 2026, and that details of how, when and where are still to be published.
Free and Medicare-funded autism assessment · How Thriving Kids works · Autism and the NDIS
Autism, ADHD and NSW schools
Under the Disability Standards for Education 2005, NSW principals and teachers have legal obligations to make reasonable adjustments for students with disability. A diagnosis matters more for some of the extra supports:
- Integration Funding Support helps a school support a student with higher support needs in a mainstream class. It covers disabilities including autism, and the school makes the access request.
- Support classes for autistic students need a confirmed diagnosis and an access request, which goes to a panel.
If the report is going to the school, tell us at the start so it describes needs and adjustments in terms the school can use.
ADHD in NSW: who can diagnose and prescribe
A psychologist can diagnose ADHD but cannot prescribe. The NSW Agency for Clinical Innovation says ADHD is currently diagnosed by a paediatrician, psychiatrist or psychologist. Who can then start medication is set by NSW law, and it is changing.
| Step | Who, in NSW |
|---|---|
| Start medication | Generally limited to paediatricians, psychiatrists, neurologists or other NSW authorised prescribers. A first group of about 300 GPs trained to diagnose ADHD and start medication, for people aged 6 and over, finishes training from late September 2026, with priority for rural and regional GPs and Aboriginal community-controlled health services. |
| Continue a stable script | Since 1 September 2025, GPs with authority to continue treatment can take over for people aged 6 and over who are already diagnosed and stable on medication. |
| The script itself | Until 5 November 2026, a stimulant script needs an NSW Health approval number. New NSW medicines laws start that day: the number no longer has to be on the script, and dose limits that applied to psychiatrists, paediatricians and neurologists are removed. |
Current as at 25 September 2026. We confirm what applies to you at intake rather than relying on this table.
What this means after a psychologist’s diagnosis: to start medication, you see a paediatrician, psychiatrist or neurologist, or one of the newly trained GPs once they are practising. A prescriber has to be satisfied in their own right, which usually means one further appointment. Once you are stable, a GP with continuation authority can usually take over. One catch for people moving from interstate: NSW does not accept an ADHD diagnosis made by a GP in another state as a prior diagnosis for its GP program.
How every state compares · NSW Health: find a GP prescriber · ADHD in adults
Outside Sydney
We assess from anywhere in NSW, including Newcastle, Wollongong, the Central Coast and regional and rural NSW, on the same terms and at the same fee. For ADHD, the newly trained GP places prioritise rural and regional GPs, which may shorten the path to a prescriber outside the city. Availability still varies, and we would rather check it at intake than have you find out afterwards.
NSW questions
Can I get an autism assessment in Sydney by video?
Yes. That is how we do all of our assessments, for children, teenagers and adults, from anywhere in NSW.
Is there a free autism assessment in Sydney?
For children, public assessment is available through local child development services and The Children’s Hospital at Westmead, usually starting with a GP referral, and waits can be long. Under 25s can also get Medicare rebates on assessment services after a paediatrician or psychiatrist refers. We could not find a public adult pathway. Free and Medicare-funded options explained.
How much does an autism assessment cost in Sydney?
$1,650 with us, including the written report, from age 12. Children under 12 are quoted on enquiry. Autism and ADHD together is $1,950 rather than $3,300. See pricing.
Who can prescribe ADHD medication in NSW?
Starting medication is generally limited to paediatricians, psychiatrists and neurologists, plus a first group of about 300 GPs finishing training from late September 2026. Since 1 September 2025, GPs with continuation authority can take over stable scripts for people aged 6 and over. New NSW medicines laws start on 5 November 2026.
Do I need a GP referral?
Not for the psychologist-led assessment. For an adult, you need one only if you want the Medicare rebate attached to the psychiatrist-led option. For under 25s, Medicare rebates on assessment services need a referral from a paediatrician or psychiatrist.
Are you in Sydney?
No. Neurodivergent Clinic is a service of Telehealth Australia Group, based in Brisbane and operating Australia-wide. We assess people across NSW by video.
Where this information comes from
We would rather you checked us than took our word for it. Every link below is the original source, not a summary of one.
- NSW Health: prescribing psychostimulantsThe approval requirement for Schedule 8 stimulants, and the authority psychiatrists, paediatricians and neurologists hold.
- NSW Health: criteria for GP ADHD managementWho can start medication, and the rules for GPs continuing treatment for people aged 6 and over.
- Agency for Clinical Innovation: ADHD in general practiceThe GP continuation and endorsed prescriber programs, including ages covered and priority groups.
- Agency for Clinical Innovation: information for patientsWho currently diagnoses ADHD in NSW.
- ADHD reforms update, 31 August 2026Training timeline for the first GPs endorsed to diagnose and start medication.
- Agency for Clinical Innovation: GP program FAQsIncluding that an interstate GP’s ADHD diagnosis is not accepted as a prior diagnosis.
- NSW Health: new medicines legislationThe Medicines, Poisons and Therapeutic Goods Act 2022 and Regulation, commencing 5 November 2026.
- NSW Health: new medicine laws, fact sheet for medical practitionersApproval numbers no longer needed on stimulant scripts, and specialist dose limits removed.
- Sydney Children’s Hospitals Network: Child Development Unit, WestmeadWhat the service offers and the referral it needs.
- Sydney Children’s Hospitals Network: autism fact sheetWhere families are advised to start.
- Northern Sydney Local Health District: Child Development ServiceEligibility and the note on waiting times.
- Sydney Local Health District: child health and developmentCommunity paediatrics from birth to 16, with a referral from your local doctor.
- NSW Department of Communities and Justice: Thriving Kids fact sheetWho Thriving Kids in NSW is for, and when services start.
- NSW Department of Education: adjustmentsSchools’ obligations under the Disability Standards for Education 2005.
- NSW Department of Education: Integration Funding SupportFunding for students in mainstream classes, and who applies.
- NSW Department of Education: support classesSupport classes for autistic students and how access requests work.
- Medicare item 82000The psychologist assessment item for under 25s: who can refer, the fee and benefit, and the lifetime limit on assessment services.
- Healthdirect: autismIncluding who diagnoses autism in adults.
- National Guideline for the Assessment and Diagnosis of Autism in AustraliaAutism CRC. The recommendations were approved by the CEO of the NHMRC on 8 December 2023.
Links to external sites are provided for reference. We do not control them and they may change. Last checked 25 September 2026.
Three minutes before $1,650.
The free screener tells you which assessment fits — for you or for your child — or whether an assessment would be an overreaction. It is willing to say overreaction.