The Medicare Eating Disorder Plan, explained.

If you’ve been told to “ask your GP about an eating disorder plan”, you’re probably left with more questions than answers. Here’s how it actually works, and what to do if it turns out not to fit.

What the plan is

Its full name is an Eating Disorder Treatment and Management Plan. A GP, psychiatrist or paediatrician prepares it. Once it’s in place, it can give you Medicare rebates for:

• up to 40 sessions of eating disorder psychological treatment in 12 months
• up to 20 sessions with a dietitian in the same 12 months

Psychological treatment is with an eligible mental health professional, which includes an Accredited Mental Health Social Worker like me. Sessions can be by telehealth.

Who it’s for

This is the part most people aren’t told. The plan has eligibility rules, and your GP, psychiatrist or paediatrician is the one who decides whether you meet them.

Anorexia nervosa. A diagnosis of anorexia nervosa is enough on its own.

Other eating disorders, such as bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorder or other specified feeding or eating disorders, need all three of these:

1. a score of 3 or more on a standard eating disorder questionnaire called the EDE-Q
2. binge eating or compensating behaviours (such as vomiting or overexercising) happening 3 or more times a week, or rapid weight loss
3. at least two of these: being clinically underweight (below 85% of expected weight); a current or high risk of medical complications; other serious medical or mental health conditions that affect how you function day to day; a hospital admission for an eating disorder in the past 12 months; or not improving enough after six months of evidence based eating disorder treatment, despite taking part

Being underweight is only one of the five ways to meet the third point, and you need two. People in any size body can meet it.

If you don’t meet the criteria

That doesn’t mean your eating disorder isn’t serious, or that you don’t deserve care. It means a different Medicare pathway. With a Mental Health Treatment Plan from your GP you can be eligible for a rebate on up to 10 sessions a calendar year, with a check in with your GP after the first six. With me, that’s $89.50 back on each session.

Starting this way costs you nothing later. Sessions under a Mental Health Treatment Plan before an Eating Disorder Plan begins don’t count against the plan’s 40, so there’s never a reason to wait for one before getting support.

Once an Eating Disorder Plan starts, any sessions you have under a Mental Health Treatment Plan from that point do count towards the 40. So it’s worth knowing where you are on each before the plan begins.

How the reviews work

The plan builds in check ins along the way:

• a review before your 11th session, usually by your GP
• before your 21st session, a review by your GP and a review by a psychiatrist or paediatrician
• another review before your 31st session

I send your GP a short report after each block of sessions, so the reviews can happen on time and your sessions keep going. The plan lasts 12 months, and sessions you don’t use don’t carry over.

How to ask your GP

• Book a long appointment, and say when you book that it’s about eating.
• Before you go, write down what’s been happening and how often. A record you’ve kept for a few weeks is more useful than a guess on the day.
• Ask whether they’d like to do the EDE-Q with you, or have you complete it first.
• If you’d rather not know your weight, you can ask to be weighed without being told the number.
• If your GP isn’t sure, it’s fine to ask for a second opinion. A psychiatrist or paediatrician can also prepare the plan.

Where I fit

I’m Lauren Lynch, an Accredited Mental Health Social Worker and ANZAED Credentialed Eating Disorder Clinician. I can see you under either plan, by telehealth anywhere in Australia. If you’re not sure which pathway fits, we can start under a Mental Health Treatment Plan, or privately, and work it out together. Read more about eating disorder therapy in Perth, how Medicare works here, or ARFID in adults.

This article is general information, current as at October 2026. Medicare rules change, and your GP, psychiatrist or paediatrician decides eligibility.