Australia-wide · adults and teens 12+
Online ADHD assessment, done properly
A full diagnostic assessment by video with a registered psychologist, $1,650 including the report. The question nobody answers straight: whether an online diagnosis is actually legitimate, and where video genuinely falls short.
Is an online ADHD diagnosis legitimate in Australia?
Yes, with a caveat worth understanding rather than glossing over.
A diagnosis is legitimate because of who made it and how, not because of the medium. A registered psychologist who takes a full developmental history, administers standardised rating scales and conducts a structured interview against the diagnostic criteria has done the same assessment whether you were in a room or on a screen. Their registration, their obligations and the diagnostic criteria do not change.
The caveat is that "online ADHD assessment" is used to describe two very different things. One is the above. The other is a short questionnaire and a brief call, sold at speed. Both get advertised with the same words. The difference shows up later, when the report has to convince a prescriber, an employer, a university or the NDIA.
What to check, in one sentence. Ask how many hours of clinical contact the fee buys and who will be conducting it — then look that person up on the AHPRA register, which is public and takes about thirty seconds.
What translates to video, and what does not
We are a telehealth service, so treat this as an interested party being specific rather than an impartial ruling.
| Part of the assessment | Over video |
|---|---|
| Developmental and life history | Works fully. It is a long structured conversation about childhood, school, work and relationships. Nothing is lost. |
| Standardised rating scales | Works fully. Completed in your own time beforehand, which is better than doing them cold in a waiting room. |
| Informant / collateral account | Works fully, and is often easier — a parent or partner in another city can contribute without anyone travelling. |
| Structured diagnostic interview | Works well. Video carries tone, hesitation and the things people do while they are thinking. |
| Differential diagnosis | Works, and is most of the job. Separating ADHD from depression, anxiety, chronic sleep debt and trauma is clinical reasoning, not observation. |
| Formal cognitive / IQ testing | Does not fully work. The test publishers require a trained person physically present for some subtests. Without that there is no valid full-scale score. This is the real limit. |
| Prescribing medication | Not something we do at all. A psychologist cannot prescribe anywhere in Australia, online or in person. |
So: for adult ADHD and autism, video is a fair medium for the whole assessment. For cognitive and intellectual disability assessment it is not, and we say so on that page rather than taking the booking and improvising.
Where we hold ourselves tighter than we have to
Two things, because assessing at distance means the ordinary safeguards matter more, not less.
- A second clinician reviews every report before it is released. It slows us down. It is the difference between a report that holds up under scrutiny and one that does not.
- If the picture is genuinely unclear, we say so. Where video is not giving us enough to stand behind a confident conclusion, we will tell you and offer an in-person component rather than writing a report we would not defend. That is our position, not a regulatory minimum.
We would rather lose the booking than release a report that gets rejected by the body you needed it for.
Online diagnosis does not get you a prescription
This is the single most expensive misunderstanding in this market, so it is worth being blunt about.
A psychologist can assess and diagnose ADHD. A psychologist cannot prescribe stimulant medication — not online, not in person, not anywhere in Australia. Healthdirect, the government-funded national health service, puts the next part plainly: each state and territory has its own laws about which doctors can prescribe ADHD medicines.
What that means for you depends entirely on your postcode, and four states changed their rules between late 2025 and now:
- Queensland and Western Australia have gone furthest. Appropriately trained GPs can now handle far more of the pathway, which in the best case removes a psychiatrist appointment from your path entirely.
- Victoria and South Australia are more gated. For most adults a psychiatrist is realistically still involved, and you should budget for that appointment.
- New South Wales sits in between and is moving.
Any online service implying that one appointment gets you a script is not describing the current rules in most of the country.
Red flags in online ADHD services
None of these are illegal and some are just marketing. All of them are worth a question before you pay.
A total assessment time measured in minutes. An assessment meeting the national guideline involves a developmental history, standardised scales and a structured interview. If the whole thing is a twenty-minute call, ask what was left out.
No named clinician before you pay. You should be given a full name and registration number in advance so you can check the AHPRA register yourself. If a service will not tell you who you are seeing, that is the answer.
A diagnosis implied before assessment. Language like "get your ADHD diagnosis" sells an outcome. An assessment that can only end one way is not an assessment.
The report priced separately, discovered late. Ask whether the written report is in the quoted fee. This is the most common surprise charge in the sector.
Medication implied as part of the package. See above. If a psychologist-led service suggests a script follows automatically, they are describing something they cannot deliver.
No plan for what happens next. A report with nowhere to take it is not a result. Ask who prescribes in your state and whether they will make the introduction.
How ours works
You tell us what you need it for. Understanding yourself, workplace adjustments, university accommodations, medication, an NDIS request. This changes what the report has to contain, so we ask first rather than last.
Questionnaires at your own pace, before we meet, plus a short informant section if someone who knew you as a child is willing.
Two to three hours over video with a registered psychologist, split across two sittings if that suits you better. Cameras can be off for parts of it.
A second clinician reviews the report, then you receive it in plain English with the reasoning shown rather than a bare conclusion.
$1,650 including the report. Assessing autism at the same time is $1,950 rather than $3,300, because the developmental history only has to be taken once.
Common questions
Can you get an ADHD diagnosis online in Australia?
Yes. A registered psychologist can assess and diagnose ADHD by video, and the diagnosis is as valid as one made in a room provided the assessment itself was done properly — developmental history, standardised scales, structured interview against the criteria, and differential diagnosis. The medium is not what makes a diagnosis legitimate; the clinician and the method are.
Is an online ADHD diagnosis accepted by employers and universities?
In our experience yes, because what they are assessing is the report and the registration of the person who signed it, not whether the appointment was in person. Universities and employers want a diagnosis plus a clear statement of functional impact and what adjustments are needed. Tell us which one it is for before we start and the report will be written to that.
Will an online assessment get me ADHD medication?
Not on its own, anywhere in Australia. A psychologist cannot prescribe. You will need a doctor who can, and who that is depends on your state. We tell you which pathway applies to you at intake and make the introduction rather than handing you a report and wishing you luck.
How long does an online ADHD assessment take?
Questionnaires beforehand at your own pace, then two to three hours of clinical contact over video, usually split across two sittings. The report follows, and you get a confirmed report date in writing before you pay anything.
Do I need a GP referral for an online assessment?
Not for the psychologist-led assessment. You need one only if you want the Medicare rebate attached to the psychiatrist-led option.
Is telehealth assessment cheaper?
Ours is $1,650 including the report, which is at the lower end of what adult assessment costs in Australia — partly because there are no consulting rooms in the price. The bigger saving is usually travel and time off work, which for anyone outside a capital city can exceed the difference in fee.
What if I live outside a capital city?
That is the case where telehealth earns its keep most obviously. The specialist workforce for adult ADHD is concentrated in the capitals, so for a lot of regional and remote Australians the realistic alternative to video is not an in-person appointment — it is no appointment.
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.
- Australian Evidence-Based Clinical Practice Guideline for ADHDThe national ADHD guideline, approved by the NHMRC and endorsed by the RACGP, RANZCP and the Australian Psychological Society. This is the standard Australian clinicians are expected to work to.
- 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.
- Healthdirect: ADHDPlain-English overview from the government-funded national health service.
- AHPRA Register of PractitionersCheck any clinician's registration, including ours, before you book anything.
- Medicare Benefits Schedule item searchDepartment of Health and Aged Care. Look up any item number yourself, including 289 and 291, and see the current fee and benefit.
Links to external sites are provided for reference. We do not control them and they may change. Last checked 21 September 2026.
Not sure it is worth the money yet?
The free ADHD test takes three minutes, needs no email, and will tell you if an assessment looks like an overreaction.