MBS Psychology Item Numbers: Session Selection Guide
Outline
Reception pings you at 5:12pm. Priya’s last client has just left a consulting room in Adelaide. The booking said 50 minutes. The note clock says 10:02 to 10:48. Someone still has to pick one Medicare item before the claim file goes out.
That is the actual job of MBS psychology item numbers: match provider class, service type, location, and duration to one live descriptor. The booking label does not pick the item. The clock and the setting do.
This page is a selection map for Australian psychologists who already have a Better Access episode running. For referral batches, calendar-year limits, reviews, and GP reports, use the Medicare Better Access plan guide. Stay here when the question is which number to put on this session.
Educational resource for registered psychologists and clinical psychologists practicing in Australia. Medicare Better Access rules and MBS descriptors change. Verify current item numbers, fees, and eligibility on official sources before you claim.
How to select MBS psychology item numbers
Walk four questions in order. If any answer is missing, pause the claim.
| Question | What you must already know | What it decides |
|---|---|---|
| Provider class | Clinical psychologist or registered psychologist eligibility | 80000 family or 80100 family |
| Service type | Individual patient, family or carer, or group of 4 to 10 | Individual, family/carer, or group item set |
| Location or modality | Consulting rooms, other location, video, or phone | Face-to-face item versus video or phone item |
| Duration | Minutes of the psychological service actually delivered | Shorter band versus 50 minutes or more (or group length) |
Do not start at duration. A 50-minute video session billed as a rooms item is the wrong item even when the clock is right. Keep MBS psychology item numbers attached to the session that actually happened.
Services Australia publishes the allied mental health item map by profession, face-to-face, video, and phone. MBS Online holds the live descriptors. Re-check both when the schedule updates.
Clinical psychologist individual items
Eligible clinical psychologists claim psychological therapy, not the registered-psychologist Focussed Psychological Strategies family.
| Item | Duration | Location or modality | Use when | Do not use when |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 80000 | At least 30 min, less than 50 min | Consulting rooms, in person | Standard shorter rooms session | Session is under 30 min, 50 min or more, or not in rooms |
| 80005 | At least 30 min, less than 50 min | Place other than consulting rooms, in person | Home, school, hospital, or other necessary location | The service was in your rooms |
| 80010 | 50 min or more | Consulting rooms, in person | Initial assessment or longer rooms therapy | Session is under 50 min |
| 80015 | 50 min or more | Place other than consulting rooms, in person | Longer therapy away from rooms | The service was in your rooms |
| 91166 | At least 30 min, less than 50 min | Video | Shorter individual video session | Phone contact, or in-person work |
| 91167 | 50 min or more | Video | Longer individual video session | Phone contact, or in-person work |
| 91181 | At least 30 min, less than 50 min | Phone | Shorter individual phone session | Video or in-person work |
| 91182 | 50 min or more | Phone | Longer individual phone session | Video or in-person work |
A 25-minute clinical contact has no Better Access individual item. Do not round it up to 80000.
Registered psychologist individual items
Eligible registered psychologists claim Focussed Psychological Strategies items. The shorter band starts at 20 minutes, not 30.
| Item | Duration | Location or modality | Use when | Do not use when |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 80100 | At least 20 min, less than 50 min | Consulting rooms, in person | Standard shorter rooms session | Session is under 20 min, 50 min or more, or not in rooms |
| 80105 | At least 20 min, less than 50 min | Place other than consulting rooms, in person | Necessary therapy away from rooms | The service was in your rooms |
| 80110 | 50 min or more | Consulting rooms, in person | Longer rooms therapy | Session is under 50 min |
| 80115 | 50 min or more | Place other than consulting rooms, in person | Longer therapy away from rooms | The service was in your rooms |
| 91169 | At least 20 min, less than 50 min | Video | Shorter individual video session | Phone contact, or in-person work |
| 91170 | 50 min or more | Video | Longer individual video session | Phone contact, or in-person work |
| 91183 | At least 20 min, less than 50 min | Phone | Shorter individual phone session | Video or in-person work |
| 91184 | 50 min or more | Phone | Longer individual phone session | Video or in-person work |
Same clock, different item. Priya (clinical) at 48 minutes in rooms claims 80000. James (registered) at 48 minutes in rooms claims 80100. Neither claims the other’s family.
Family and carer items
Better Access allows a small number of services to a person other than the patient, such as a parent or carer, when consent and clinical recommendation are in place. Services Australia and MBS note MN.7.5 treat those contacts as counting toward the patient’s individual allocation, with a maximum of two such services per calendar year.
| Provider class | Rooms, shorter | Rooms, 50 min+ | Other location pair | Video pair | Phone pair |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clinical psychologist | 80002 | 80012 | 80006 / 80016 | 91168 / 91171 | 91198 / 91199 |
| Registered psychologist | 80102 | 80112 | 80106 / 80116 | 91174 / 91177 | 91200 / 91201 |
Use these when the service is delivered to the other person. If the patient is in the room for their own therapy, that is an individual item, not a family item. If only the carer attends, do not bill 80010 or 80110.
Group items
Group psychological therapy is a separate set. Face-to-face groups are 4 to 10 patients. Duration is 60, 90, or 120 minutes. Video group items exist. There is no phone group item; a phone-delivered group cannot be claimed under Better Access. Group telehealth still has tighter geographic limits than individual telehealth, so confirm Modified Monash Model rules before you schedule a metro video group.
| Provider class | 60 min+ in person | 60 min+ video | 90 min+ in person | 90 min+ video | 120 min+ in person | 120 min+ video |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clinical psychologist | 80020 | 80021 | 80022 | 80023 | 80024 | 80025 |
| Registered psychologist | 80120 | 80121 | 80122 | 80123 | 80127 | 80128 |
Each group member is claimed against that person’s group allocation, not the individual 10. Do not claim an individual item for a group hour.
Worked clocks
These clocks are educational examples, not fee quotes. Each one shows why one number wins.
Clock 1: 46 minutes in rooms, clinical
Priya sees an adult in consulting rooms from 10:02 to 10:48. Psychological therapy is 46 minutes.
- Item: 80000
- Why: Clinical psychologist, individual, rooms, at least 30 minutes and less than 50
- Trap avoided: Billing 80010 from a “50-minute” booking
- Note line: “Psychological therapy 10:02 to 10:48 in consulting rooms, 46 minutes, item 80000”
Clock 2: 52 minutes in rooms, clinical
Same room, 10:00 to 10:52. Therapy is 52 minutes.
- Item: 80010
- Why: 50 minutes or more in consulting rooms
- Note line: “Psychological therapy 10:00 to 10:52 in consulting rooms, 52 minutes, item 80010”
Those extra minutes move the claim. If the chart cannot prove the 50th minute, 80010 is hard to defend.
Clock 3: 48 minutes in rooms, registered
James, a registered psychologist, delivers 48 minutes in rooms.
- Item: 80100
- Why: Registered psychologist shorter band is 20 to less than 50 minutes
- Trap avoided: Copying a clinical colleague’s 80000
Clock 4: 50 minutes on video, clinical
Priya delivers 50 minutes of individual video therapy. Identity and location privacy are confirmed at the start.
- Item: 91167
- Why: Clinical, individual, video, 50 minutes or more
- Trap avoided: Claiming 80010 for a session that never entered the rooms
Clock 5: 40 minutes on the phone, registered
James delivers 40 minutes of individual phone therapy.
- Item: 91183
- Why: Registered, individual, phone, 20 to less than 50 minutes
- Trap avoided: Using the video item 91169 for a phone call
Clock 6: 55 minutes at the client’s home, clinical
Priya attends at home because the client cannot travel. Therapy is 55 minutes.
- Item: 80015
- Why: Clinical, individual, other than consulting rooms, 50 minutes or more
- Trap avoided: Claiming the rooms item 80010 for a home visit
Clock 7: parent-only hour, clinical
With consent on file, Priya sees a parent alone for 50 minutes in rooms about supporting the referred child.
- Item: 80012
- Why: Service to a person other than the patient, clinical, rooms, 50 minutes or more
- Trap avoided: Billing 80010 as if the patient attended
- Count: This contact uses one of the two family/carer services for the year and counts toward the child’s individual allocation
Clock 8: 90-minute group, clinical, in person
Six referred clients, 90 minutes, consulting rooms.
- Item: 80022 for each eligible member
- Why: Clinical group of 4 to 10, in person, at least 90 minutes
- Trap avoided: Claiming 80010 six times
- Count: Each member uses that person’s group allocation of 10, not the individual 10
Common selection traps
Treat MBS psychology item numbers as a four-question map, not a memory test.
- Billing the booking, not the clock. A 50-minute template that ends at 48 minutes is still the shorter item.
- Crossing families. Clinical psychologists do not claim 80100. Registered psychologists do not claim 80000.
- Ignoring the 30-minute clinical floor. A 25-minute clinical contact is not 80000.
- Rooms item for video or phone. Modality has its own numbers.
- Video item for a phone session. 91166 is not 91181.
- Family item when the patient attended, or individual item when only the carer attended.
- Group hour claimed as individual therapy. Group services have their own calendar-year 10. They do not share the individual 10.
- Accurate item on a broken referral. Fix plan and referral first. Item selection cannot repair an invalid episode.
- Using a chronic-condition psychology item such as 10968 for Better Access work. Different pathway, different rules, different annual cap.
- Memorizing last year’s list. Descriptors in this guide follow MBS Online wording checked for the 1 July 2026 fee update. Confirm the live page before you claim.
Write duration, modality, and location in the session note so the item is reconstructable later. For a note spine you can adapt without importing another country’s coding language, see the mental health progress note templates.
Australian practices still need claiming software that can hold the referral and the item. If you are choosing that stack, start with the best therapy software for Australia shortlist.
Closing
Pick the item last, after provider class, service type, location, and the worked clock are on the page. That is how MBS psychology item numbers stay defensible: one descriptor, one session, evidence in the note.
If you want structured session notes with clinician review before anything is filed, start a free trial of Emosapien. Australian practices still own MBS claiming, referral validity, and clinical sign-off. No software removes that work.
References
- Services Australia. MBS billing rules for mental health services (page updated 30 June 2026).
- Australian Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing. Better Access initiative.
- MBS Online. Item 80000 and item 80100 (descriptors; schedule fee updated 1 July 2026).
- MBS Online. Note MN.6.2, Provision of Psychological Therapy.
- MBS Online. Note MN.7.5, family and carer services.