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PSY302: What This Billing Code Means for Workers Comp Psychology in NSW

If you have received a statement from your psychologist or insurer referencing PSY302, or if you are trying to understand how your workers compensation psychology sessions are billed, this page explains what the code means and what it costs under the NSW SIRA scheme.

What Are PSY301 and PSY302?

SIRA (the State Insurance Regulatory Authority, which regulates NSW workers compensation) sets a schedule of billing codes and fees that SIRA-registered psychologists use to charge insurers for psychology sessions. The two main codes for individual psychology sessions are:

Note: SIRA updates its Health Practitioners Fees Order periodically. The rates above are effective from 1 February 2026. Current rates are always published at sira.nsw.gov.au.

How These Codes Work in Practice

When you attend psychology sessions under an approved NSW workers compensation claim, your psychologist bills the insurer (typically icare) using these codes:

• Your first session is billed at the PSY301 rate (initial consultation).
• Every subsequent session is billed at the PSY302 rate (follow-up consultation).
• For approved claims, you pay nothing — the insurer pays the gazetted rate directly to the psychologist.
• Both in-person and telehealth sessions are billed at these same rates under the SIRA scheme.

PSY302 and Telehealth

PSY302 covers telehealth psychology sessions as well as in-person sessions. When a SIRA-registered psychologist conducts a follow-up session via video call, they bill it using PSY302 at the same gazetted rate. There is no reduction in the billing rate for telehealth under the SIRA scheme.

Telehealth psychology under workers compensation has been available in NSW since 2020 and is commonly used. If you prefer telehealth sessions, you are entitled to ask your psychologist whether they offer this — and for approved claims, the billing works exactly the same way.

When You Might See PSY302 on Documentation

You may encounter the PSY302 code on:

• Invoices or statements from your psychologist's practice showing session billing to the insurer
• Treatment approval correspondence from icare or your case manager referencing approved billing codes
• Allied Health Treatment Request (AHTR) documents that specify which billing codes are approved for your treatment
• Explanation of benefits statements from the insurer

If you are unsure what any document means, your case manager at icare (13 77 22) or your psychologist's practice can explain it.

If You Are Paying Out of Pocket

If your claim has not been approved, is under dispute, or you are paying for sessions through a separate pathway (such as Medicare), PSY302 may not apply. In that situation:

• Under Medicare: the relevant MBS item numbers for psychology are different (e.g. MBS items 80000–80020 for focused psychological strategies). Ask your psychologist which MBS items apply and what the Medicare rebate covers.
• Under a disputed workers comp claim: sessions may be billed privately at the psychologist's own fee. The SIRA gazetted rate is only mandatory for approved claims.

See the workers comp psychology cost guide for a full breakdown of when costs arise and how Medicare works as a parallel pathway during a disputed claim.