Fees
Counselling and family dispute resolution
We aim to keep our Relationships Australia Victoria (RAV) services accessible for our clients.
Fees for counselling and family dispute resolution (FDR) vary depending on the service being used and are charged on a sliding scale according to your income.
When you contact us, we will ask about your individual or family income and financial circumstances to determine your fees for the relevant service.
You can find out how fees are calculated in our Fee Schedule for our counselling and FDR below.
Important note: This information and the current ‘RAV Fee Schedule - FDR and Counselling’ replace any previous advice about fees, including information contained in older brochures, forms, webpages, emails, or other documents.
Frequently asked questions about fees for counselling and FDR services
Our services are substantially subsidised by government funding. Fees vary depending on the service being used. For services such as counselling and FDR, fees are charged on a sliding scale.
Depending on the service and your family’s financial circumstances, fees may be based on your individual income or your family income.
Please see the relevant Fee Schedule for details.
Fees are not charged for appointments if more than 24 business hours are given before the appointment’s start time.
If appointments are missed or are cancelled with less than 24 business hours’ notice before the start of the booked appointment (a ‘late cancellation’) mandatory fees will apply.
Example 1: If you cancel at 4pm on Friday for a 10am appointment the following Monday, you have given less than 24 business hours’ notice, and a cancellation fee will apply.
Example 2: If you cancel at 11am on Monday for a 2pm appointment on Wednesday later that week, you have given more than 24 business hours’ notice, and no cancellation fee will apply.
If you miss your appointment without cancelling, you will be charged a fee equal to 50% of your scheduled appointment fee.
When an appointment is missed or cancelled at short notice, we cannot offer that time to someone else.
Cancellation fees encourage clients to give us enough notice so we can make appointments available to others who require our services.
We send clients SMS reminders 7 days and 2 days before booked appointments to help with this.
We understand that exceptional circumstances can arise. In such circumstances, please speak with a member of staff who can advise whether your cancellation or missed appointment fee can be reviewed under our Fees schedule.
An invoice for 50% of your scheduled appointment fee will be added to your account. You can pay it by any of our usual methods of payment (phone, bank transfer, credit card). If you have provided your credit card details, we will charge the cancellation fee to your credit card. We will contact you about any fees owing. The fee is to be paid before your next appointment.
We ask all clients to make a financial contribution towards the cost of their counselling and FDR services, based on their individual circumstances.
If you are experiencing financial hardship, please talk to a member of staff and we can discuss payment options.
Unpaid fees must be paid before further appointments are booked. We may not be able to provide services if you have outstanding fees.
If you are having difficulty paying your fees, please talk to us so we are aware of your circumstances and can discuss payment options with you.