All Medicare-eligible consultations are bulk billed for patients with a valid Medicare card. Some items, including privately purchased vaccines and consumables, attract a fee.
School reports, teacher observations and the everyday detail matter more than you would think. What we ask for, why we ask for it, and what the first appointment is and is not.
Parents usually arrive at this appointment having already had a lot of conversations — with a teacher, with grandparents, with other parents at sport. Often someone has said “it is probably just their age” and someone else has said “you should get that looked at”, and you are left trying to work out which one is right.
The first appointment is where that gets sorted out properly. Here is how to make it count.
It is a conversation, a history, and a plan for what happens next. It is not a diagnosis on the day, and it is not a prescription on the day. A diagnosis or a prescription arrived at after one short appointment is moving faster than the evidence allows.
Book a long appointment and say what it is about, so there is enough time. Bring your child if the appointment is about them — but it is also reasonable to have a first conversation on your own if you would rather talk freely.
The diagnostic criteria require that the difficulties show up in more than one setting. A child who struggles only at home, or only in one class with one teacher, is telling us something different from a child who struggles everywhere.
That makes the school a genuinely important source. Useful things to gather:
Several ordinary things can look very much like inattention in a child, and they are worth excluding before going further.
None of this is a delaying tactic. Some of these are treatable in a way that changes everything, and all of them change what the right plan looks like.
Depending on what the first appointment turns up, the next step might be gathering more information from school, arranging hearing or vision testing, addressing sleep, a further appointment to complete the assessment, or referral to a paediatrician. Referral is a normal outcome, not a failure of the process, and your GP will send the relevant history so you are not starting from scratch — we have written about how referrals work when the specialist is out of town.
Standard GP consultations at Muswellbrook Doctors are bulk billed for everyone with a valid Medicare card. ADHD assessment is privately billed and is not bulk billed. Ask reception for the fee when you book so you know before you begin.
A child who can concentrate for hours on something they love can still have ADHD.
Being able to focus intensely on the interesting thing is part of the pattern, not evidence against it.General information only. This article is general health information for anyone who finds it useful. It is not advice about your own situation and it does not replace a consultation with a doctor who knows you. If you are worried about a symptom, book an appointment or call us on (02) 6530 7404. Last reviewed 12 August 2026.
Tell reception the appointment is about your child's concentration or behaviour so they can allow enough time. ADHD assessment is privately billed and not bulk billed — ask for the fee when you book.
Bulk billed with a valid Medicare card · Mon–Fri 8:00am–5:00pm · Muswellbrook Fair, Rutherford Road.
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