You do not need a referral to see a NutriBlooms dietitian. You can book directly today. But if you do have one, it can substantially reduce what you pay — and several of our funding pathways cost you nothing at all. This page sets out every funding option we accept, what each one covers, what you need to bring, and what you can expect to pay.
- ✓ Book directly with no referral, or use a referral to claim a rebate
- ✓ Medicare, NDIS, DVA, WorkCover, Support at Home and private health extras all accepted
- ✓ HICAPS on site at all six Melbourne clinics, so private health rebates come off on the day
- ✓ A written letter back to your referrer, every time — GP, specialist, NDIS or DVA
Your funding options at a glance
NutriBlooms accepts more funding types than most private dietetic practices in Melbourne. If you are not sure which applies to you, call us on 0431 189 792 and we will work it out with you before you book.
- Medicare (GP Chronic Condition Management Plan) — for people with a chronic condition. Up to 5 subsidised allied health services per calendar year. You pay the fee and receive a rebate; a gap applies.
- Medicare (Eating Disorder Treatment and Management Plan) — up to 20 subsidised dietetic sessions in a 12-month period. You pay the fee and receive a rebate; a gap applies.
- NDIS — for self-managed, plan-managed and agency-managed participants where nutrition supports your goals. No out-of-pocket cost when funding is available in your plan.
- DVA — Veteran Card Gold or White holders with a D904 referral. No gap fee at all.
- WorkCover — with an accepted claim and a referral. Invoiced directly to your insurer.
- Support at Home and the Restorative Care Pathway — for older Australians. Invoiced to your provider from your allied health budget.
- Private health extras — claimed on the spot through HICAPS at every clinic. The rebate depends on your policy.
- Private (self-funded) — no referral, no waiting for paperwork. Book online and come in.
Medicare rebates and the GP Chronic Condition Management Plan
The old GP Management Plan and Team Care Arrangements were replaced by a single GP Chronic Condition Management Plan (GPCCMP).
- Your GP refers you with an ordinary referral letter. The old structured Medicare referral form is gone.
- Your GP no longer names the provider or specifies how many sessions go to each profession. That choice is yours.
- Your referral stays valid for 18 months from your first session.
How many subsidised sessions you can have
Up to 5 subsidised allied health services per calendar year, or up to 10 for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. These are shared across every allied health provider you see — dietitian, physiotherapist, podiatrist and exercise physiologist all draw from the same five. They are not five each.
What you will pay
Medicare pays a rebate of $63.40 per session. It is a rebate, not full coverage — you pay the consultation fee and the rebate comes back to you. Our current fees are on the consultation fees page.
What that gap buys you is a 60-minute initial consultation rather than a rushed one, a complimentary InBody body composition scan so your plan starts from real measurements, and a dietitian who will still be following your case in six months. If you have reached the Medicare safety net, your rebate increases.
A note on the numbers. Medicare rebates are indexed every 1 July, so the figure above changes annually. We update this page each July, but if you are budgeting to the dollar, confirm the current amount with Medicare or ask us when you book.
The letter we send your GP
Every referral we receive gets a written letter back. Not just the first and last visit that Medicare requires — every course of care, and for every referrer: GPs, specialists, NDIS support coordinators and DVA. Your referrer sees what we assessed, what we recommended, what you agreed to work on, and what we suggest they watch for. If something clinical needs their attention sooner, we contact them rather than waiting for the letter.
Eating Disorder Treatment and Management Plans
This is a separate Medicare pathway. An Eating Disorder Treatment and Management Plan, prepared by your GP or psychiatrist, gives access to up to 20 dietetic sessions in a 12-month period alongside up to 40 psychological treatment sessions. It does not draw on your five chronic condition sessions.
We accept these referrals. Our dietetic care runs alongside your psychologist and medical team rather than in place of them, and we will coordinate with them directly. You can read more on our eating disorder dietitian page.
NDIS
If your disability affects your ability to eat well, manage your nutrition, prepare food or maintain a healthy weight, dietetic support can be funded through your NDIS plan under Improved Daily Living. We work with self-managed, plan-managed and agency-managed participants, and we provide NDIS reports on request.
We regularly support participants with tube feeding and home enteral nutrition, texture-modified diets, ARFID and restricted eating, mealtime management, weight concerns and complex medical nutrition needs. Full detail and the referral form are on our NDIS dietitian page.
DVA — support for veterans
Veteran Card Gold holders can be referred for any condition. Veteran Card White holders can be referred for their accepted conditions. Either way, you pay nothing — DVA rules prohibit providers from charging veterans a gap fee, and we accept the DVA fee as full payment.
- Ask your GP for a D904 referral addressed to NutriBlooms. Your DVA file number must be on it.
- A referral covers one treatment cycle: up to 12 sessions or 12 months, whichever comes first.
- You can run treatment cycles with a dietitian, podiatrist and physiotherapist at the same time. They do not compete with each other.
- We prepare a DVA Patient Care Plan at the start and an End of Cycle Report for your GP at the end, so a new cycle can be arranged without a gap in your care.
- Home visits are available across Melbourne metro if getting to a clinic is difficult.
The DVA allied health treatment cycle page explains the arrangement in full.
Private health insurance
Most extras policies include dietetics. We have HICAPS terminals at all six clinics, so your rebate comes off at the counter and you only pay the difference — no forms, no waiting for reimbursement. You do not need a referral to claim through private health.
Two things worth knowing. First, rebate amounts and annual limits vary between policies, so please call to your insurer before your first appointment. Second, you cannot claim private health and Medicare for the same consultation — it is one or the other.
WorkCover
If you have an accepted WorkCover claim and your treating doctor has referred you for dietetic support, we invoice your insurer directly. You will need your claim number, your case manager’s contact details and the referral. Call us before booking and we will confirm approval with your insurer first, so you are not left with an unexpected invoice.
Support at Home and the Restorative Care Pathway
Support at Home replaced Home Care Packages and Short-Term Restorative Care on 1 November 2025. Dietetics sits in the allied health category, and for many older people it is fully covered by their package with no out-of-pocket cost. The Restorative Care Pathway funds short, intensive blocks of allied health aimed at regaining independence — appetite, strength, and eating well after a hospital stay are squarely within it.
We invoice your provider directly. Families, care partners, support coordinators and GPs can all refer, and we aim to be in touch within 48 hours. See our home care dietitian page for how it works.
No referral? You can still book today
Book online at any of our six clinics, by telehealth anywhere in Australia, or as a home visit across Melbourne metro.
One free option worth knowing about: NutriBlooms is a facilitator for the Life! Program, funded by the Victorian Government through Diabetes Victoria. If you are eligible, it costs you nothing.
Referral myths
Medicare changed substantially in July 2025 and a great deal of the advice still circulating online,
- “You need an EPC or a GP Management Plan form.” Not since 1 July 2025. A referral letter from your GP is enough. If your GP is still filling in the old form, it will not stop you being seen.
- “Your GP has to nominate the dietitian.” No longer. The reform deliberately shifted that choice to you. If your GP has named a different practice, you can still come to us.
- “You get five sessions with each type of provider.” The five are shared across all your allied health providers combined.
- “You need a referral to see a dietitian.” You never have. A referral unlocks a rebate; it is not a gate.
- “Medicare covers the appointment.” Medicare pays a set rebate. Ask any practice for the gap, not the rebate.
- “Your sessions reset when your referral does.” They do not. The five-service cap runs by calendar year, while your referral runs 18 months from your first visit. If you start in November, you may have very few left in December and a fresh five in January.
For GPs, specialists and health professionals
We accept referrals from GPs, medical specialists, support coordinators, aged care and Support at Home providers, allied health colleagues and families.
- Please send referrals to info@nutriblooms.com.au or fax 03 9124 2762.
- Please include the reason for referral, relevant diagnoses, current medications, recent pathology if available, and the funding type.
- We contact your patient within one business day to arrange an appointment at whichever of our six clinics suits them, by telehealth, or at home.
- You receive a written letter after the initial assessment and at the end of the care period, with the assessment findings, the agreed plan and anything we think warrants your attention.
- Complex cases are case-conferenced internally with our Principal Dietitian, so your patient gets more than one clinician’s thinking without a second referral.
Our eight Accredited Practising Dietitians cover chronic disease, gut health and low FODMAP, paediatric feeding and ARFID, women’s health and fertility, eating disorders, renal nutrition, oncology support, malnutrition, tube feeding and home enteral nutrition, sports nutrition and aged care. If you are unsure whether a patient is a fit, call us and ask.
What happens after we receive your referral
Every client, whatever their funding pathway, gets the same structure.
- Assessment. A 60-minute first consultation covering your medical history, medications, pathology, current eating patterns, culture and food preferences, budget and daily routine — plus an InBody body composition scan where appropriate.
- A personalised action plan. Written down, with practical objectives you have agreed to, in an order that makes sense for your life rather than a generic handout.
- A clear pathway. How many reviews we suggest, roughly when, what we will look at each time, and how your remaining funded sessions map onto it.
- Review and adjust. Goals and milestones are revisited at each appointment and changed when life changes. Between appointments you can reach us by phone or email.
- Communication back to your team. Your GP, specialist, coordinator or insurer receives the written letter described above.
Why people choose NutriBlooms
Easy to reach, whatever your funding
Six Melbourne clinics — Blackburn, Ringwood, Lilydale, Dandenong South, Roxburgh Park and Epping/Lalor — plus home visits across Melbourne metro and telehealth Australia-wide. Eight Accredited Practising Dietitians means appointments sooner and a second opinion in the same building. HICAPS at every clinic. Five of our eight dietitians hold the Monash FODMAP credential, and our Principal Dietitian is a Certified Fertility Dietitian.
Recognised in 2025
- Dietitians Australia and Griffith University Quality in Primary Care Award, 2025
- Local Business Award Winner — Outstanding Health Improvement Services, 2025
- Quality Business Award Winner — Quality Rating Over 95%, 2025
Explore related services
- Consultation fees and appointment types — work out your exact gap before you book.
- NDIS dietitian services — eligibility, supports and the referral form.
- Home care and Support at Home dietitian — home visits and aged care nutrition.
- Chronic disease management — the conditions most commonly referred under a GPCCMP.
Frequently asked questions
No. You can book directly with any of our Accredited Practising Dietitians without a referral, at any of our six Melbourne clinics, by telehealth or as a home visit. A referral is only needed if you want to claim a Medicare rebate or access DVA, WorkCover or Support at Home funding. Private health extras can be claimed without a referral.
The Medicare rebate under a GP Chronic Condition Management Plan is 63.40 dollars per session as at 1 July 2026, under item 10954. Rebates are indexed every 1 July, so confirm the current amount with Medicare if you are budgeting precisely. The rebate is paid to you after the appointment and does not cover the full consultation fee.
Up to 5 subsidised allied health services per calendar year, or up to 10 for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Importantly these are shared across every allied health provider you see, not five with each one. Under an Eating Disorder Treatment and Management Plan you can access up to 20 dietetic sessions in a 12 month period instead.
No. NutriBlooms is a private practice and does not bulk bill Medicare appointments. You pay the consultation fee and Medicare pays you a rebate, leaving a gap. The one exception is DVA: veterans with a valid D904 referral pay nothing at all, because DVA rules prohibit charging a gap fee.
No. You can use one or the other for any given consultation, not both. Many clients use their five Medicare sessions first and then switch to their private health extras for the rest of the year. We have HICAPS at all six clinics, so private health rebates are processed on the spot.
Ask your GP for a D904 referral addressed to NutriBlooms, including your DVA file number. Gold Card holders can be referred for any condition and White Card holders for their accepted conditions. A referral covers one treatment cycle of up to 12 sessions or 12 months, whichever ends first, and can be renewed by your GP. There is no cost to you.
Yes, every time. We send a written letter to your referrer after the initial assessment and at the end of your care period, covering what we assessed, the plan you agreed to and anything we think needs their attention. We do this for GPs, medical specialists, NDIS support coordinators and DVA, and we contact your referrer sooner if something clinical warrants it.
It depends on your funding pathway. With a Medicare referral you pay the consultation fee and receive a 63.40 dollar rebate, leaving a gap. With private health extras your rebate depends on your policy and comes off at the counter through HICAPS. With DVA, NDIS, WorkCover or Support at Home there is generally no out of pocket cost. Our current fees are listed on the consultation fees page, or call us on 0431 189 792 and we will work out your exact gap before you book.
Not sure which pathway applies to you?
Call us on 0431 189 792 and we will work out your funding, your likely gap and the right dietitian for you before you commit to anything. Or book straight in at one of our six Melbourne clinics, by telehealth, or as a home visit.