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How to Choose an ADHD Assessment Provider

Three kinds of provider can assess and diagnose ADHD in Australia: a registered psychologist, a psychiatrist, or a paediatrician for children. Here is a practical way to work out which fits your situation and what to ask before you book.

Three kinds of provider can assess and diagnose ADHD in Australia: a registered psychologist, a psychiatrist, or, for children, a paediatrician. Which one makes sense for you depends mostly on whether you're likely to want medication and how old the person being assessed is.

Start with whether you might need a prescription

A registered psychologist can carry out a full ADHD assessment, reach a diagnosis, write the report and provide psychological treatment such as cognitive behavioural therapy, but cannot prescribe medication under any circumstances. A psychiatrist or paediatrician can do all of that and also prescribe, subject to the prescribing rules in their state. If medication is even a possibility you want to keep open, seeing a psychiatrist or paediatrician from the outset can save a second assessment later, though a psychologist's diagnosis is still a legitimate starting point if medication isn't your priority.

Registration is separate from what the assessment covers

Every psychologist, psychiatrist and paediatrician practising in Australia holds registration with AHPRA, the national board covering health professions, and the public AHPRA register lists a practitioner's registration type. One distinction worth knowing: only a psychologist with a specific additional endorsement can call themselves a clinical psychologist, and that endorsement is about extra training, not a requirement for diagnosing ADHD. A registered psychologist without that endorsement is still fully qualified to carry out an ADHD assessment.

Ask about total cost and wait time up front

A full ADHD assessment usually takes more than one appointment, so the number that matters is the total across every session, not just the first one. Nationally, total assessment costs average close to $1,400, with an initial adult session alone averaging more than $530, according to 2026 University of Wollongong reporting. The same reporting found only 59 percent of clinicians contacted responded within two calls, and fewer than half had any availability to book at all, which is a fair reason to ask more than one provider before settling on a wait.

Ask whether the assessment follows the national structure

The Australian Evidence-Based Clinical Practice Guideline for ADHD sets out what a thorough assessment generally includes: a clinical interview of two to three hours, which can be split across sessions, standardised rating scales covering both ADHD-specific symptoms and overall functioning, and input from people who know the person, such as family, teachers or an employer. The guideline is also explicit that neuropsychological testing isn't required to diagnose ADHD, so a provider who doesn't push that as a first step isn't skipping anything essential.

Assessment quality comes down to whether a provider follows this structure. Comparing real answers to the questions above is the practical way to use this list, before you book anything.

Common questions

Sources

• AADPA: Australian ADHD clinical practice guideline, diagnosis
• AADPA: guideline launch
• University of Wollongong: A 12-month wait and a $1,400 bill
• healthdirect Australia: Attention deficit disorder (ADD) or ADHD

Related reading

• The psychologist pathway to ADHD assessment
• The psychiatrist pathway: assessment and medication
• Questions to ask before you book an ADHD assessment