Little Stories, Big Trust

Please arrive at least 10 minutes before your appointment to allow time for parking and registration at front reception. Parking can be accessed near the surrounding streets, the Australian Mint or the Wilson’s car park next to the John James Private Hospital. Please note that the clinic reserves the right to cancel or reschedule appointments if a patient arrives late.

Payment is required in full on the day of your consultation. As a private billing clinic, we reserve the right to decline future bookings if payment has not been received. The fee is determined based on the complexity of your child’s needs/ time spent with the paediatrician. Unfortunately, private health insurance does not cover any standard paediatric consult. Please note that our clinic accepts card (including Amex) and cash (exact amount). We do not accept any healthcare/ concession cards at this time. For more information about our fees, please contact our reception team on 02 5114 3350.

Telehealth and video conference appointments are available for current patients who are unwell or travelling from out of town. Full payment is required prior to the appointment via the SMS payment link provided. Please be aware that failure to complete payment may result in cancellation of prescriptions and/or refusal to arrange further appointments. An email will be forwarded to families to assign their Medicare benefit prior to any consult to ensure rebates can be processed.

Where possible, we ask that both parents attend paediatric appointments to assist with child-minding and to ensure the doctor can conduct a thorough, uninterrupted consultation.

We also request that siblings do not attend appointments where possible to help minimise distractions during the consultation.

Please ensure all questionnaires and requested reports are completed/ obtained and emailed to our reception team before your child’s appointment date. This allows the doctors adequate time to review the information in advance.

Please allow up to 7 business days for all clinic correspondence, including GP letters, referrals, and school correspondence, due to the increased workload of our paediatricians. We will endeavour to complete your request as soon as possible. If you notice any errors in the correspondence you receive, please contact the clinic so we can correct them promptly.

It is the clinic’s preference that any queries regarding your child’s appointments be directed to info@deakinpaeds.com.au. Please ensure all email correspondence includes your child’s full name and date of birth. As not all of our doctors work full-time, please allow 3–5 business days for a response. 

Not attending your appointment without a valid reason denies other patients the opportunity to access medical care. We ask that you please be mindful of this when managing your bookings.

It is your responsibility to remember your appointment date and time. As a courtesy, we will send an SMS reminder one week before and the day prior to your scheduled appointment.

A $100 deposit will be collected from you during the initial phone call to organise the appointment. This deposit will be removed from the total consultation fee after the initial appointment. 

This deposit will not be refundable under the following circumstances:

• If an appointment is cancelled within the 48-hour window without a valid reason.
• If you do not attend your appointment without any prior notice.

Please note that any further appointments will only be scheduled after any outstanding cancellation/ non-attendance fees have been paid. If three appointments are missed/ cancelled without the required notification, no further appointments will be offered.

Note: Patients of Dr Sissons will be charged the full consult amount if an appointment is missed without a valid reason.

It is the carer's responsibility to ensure a valid referral is obtained prior to the scheduled appointment. A courtesy message will also be sent to carers informing them of this.

For children who are new to our clinic, referrals must be triaged before an appointment can be offered. Please ask your GP clinic to forward the referral directly to us, or email it as a PDF to info@deakinpaeds.com.au

A valid referral is required to access Medicare rebates. If you are unsure whether your referral is current, please reach out to the team on 02 5114 3350. Please note that most referrals from GP’s are valid for 12 months.

Please allow between 30-60 minutes for an initial consultation and 20-30 minutes for review consultations.

To receive a Medicare rebate, the patient must be present at every appointment (face-to-face and telehealth).

Any aggressive or threatening behaviour from parents or carers will result in the child being discharged from the practice.

To ensure the continuity of care and timely management of medication for our patients, we ask that you please adhere to the following policy for all prescription requests.

Notice for Repeat Prescriptions

• Please provide at least one week's notice if your child's medication is running out. This allows sufficient time for the request to be processed and a new script to be provided.
• Please note that any script requests over the Christmas break will not be actioned until the clinic reopens for the new year.

Appointments for New Scripts

• An appointment is required for all new or repeat prescriptions. To organise a consultation, you must have a current and valid referral from your GP.
• The format of your appointment (e.g. in-person, telehealth, phone) will be determined at the discretion of the paediatrician, based on clinical need and suitability. It is always recommended that you have your child’s most recent height, weight and blood pressure and heart rate prior to any non face to face consults to ensure accurate dosages can be administered. 

This clinic is not an emergency or crisis service.
If your child is experiencing a life-threatening or time-critical emergency, please call Triple Zero (000) immediately.

Our clinic does not provide urgent medical response, after-hours emergency services, or ambulance coordination. In accordance with ACT Government and national emergency-service guidelines, any situation involving serious breathing difficulties, collapse or unconsciousness, severe injury, suspected stroke, chest pain, seizures, or any condition that appears life-threatening must be directed to 000 without delay.

If your child’s condition worsens suddenly, or if you are unsure whether the situation is an emergency, call 000 for immediate assistance or attend the nearest emergency department.

For non-urgent matters, routine appointments, or general enquiries, please contact our clinic during business hours.

At our practice, our primary focus is the health and well-being of your child. We understand that family separation can be a challenging time, and we are committed to supporting all families by ensuring a safe, respectful, and cooperative environment for your child's medical care. This policy outlines the conduct we expect from separated parents to help us achieve this.

Legal Framework and Parental Responsibility
Under the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth), it is presumed that both parents have "equal shared parental responsibility" for their child. This means both parents have a role in making major long-term decisions about their child's health, unless a court order specifies otherwise. Our practice operates on the assumption that this responsibility is shared, and we will engage with parents accordingly.
 

Please provide us with a copy of any current court orders relating to parental responsibility, communication, or your child’s healthcare prior to your first appointment. This information will be stored securely and will help us to provide appropriate care for your child while respecting legal arrangements.

Communication and Conduct

• We expect all communication between parents, and with our staff, to be respectful and courteous at all times.
• Disagreements regarding personal matters should be addressed outside of the practice. We encourage parents to utilise mediation or legal support if they are unable to reach an agreement.
• Abusive, disruptive, or disrespectful behaviour will not be tolerated.

Appointments and Attendance

• Both parents are welcome and encouraged to attend appointments. If this is unable to occur, we can facilitate a phone link with the other parent during the consult. We ask that you coordinate scheduling with each other to prevent conflicts and ensure you are both aware of upcoming consultations. 
• If only one parent attends an appointment, we will assume they have the authority to consent to the proposed treatment on behalf of the child. It is the attending parent's responsibility to share relevant information with the other parent.

Access to Medical Information

• In line with the Family Law Act 1975 and Australian privacy principles, both parents with parental responsibility have the right to access their child's medical information.
• Our practice encourages open communication between parents to ensure continuity of care for your child.

Financial Responsibility

• Payment for the consultation is required in full on the day of the appointment. The parent who attends the appointment is responsible for settling the account.
• It is the responsibility of the parents to arrange reimbursement between themselves, in accordance with any private agreements or court orders. Our practice will not be involved in financial disputes.

Medico-Legal Reports

• Our practice does not conduct assessments for the primary purpose of providing evidence for legal proceedings related to custody or family law disputes.
• The preparation of medico-legal reports is not a routine service. Requests for such reports must be negotiated separately from your child's clinical care, and we reserve the right to decline these requests.

Policy Non-Compliance

Our priority is the safety and well-being of your child. We cannot provide effective care in an environment of high conflict.

If parental conflict is disruptive to our practice or compromises our ability to provide care to your child, we may take actions including:

• Splitting an allocated appointment between both parents.
• We reserve the right to discharge a family from our care if conflict persists and impedes the effective medical treatment of the child. We will fulfil our duty of care by providing necessary information to a new provider.

We thank you for your cooperation in helping us provide the best possible care for your child.

 Our paediatric practice is committed to protecting the privacy, confidentiality, and security of all patient information. We follow the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) and all relevant ACT and Commonwealth legislation to ensure that sensitive health information is handled safely and responsibly.

Collection and Use of Information
We collect only the information necessary to provide high-quality paediatric care. This may include:

• medical history, reports, referrals, and other clinical documents from external providers
• personal details including name, address, date of birth and contact details
• Medicare information

All information is used solely for clinical, administrative, or legally required purposes.

Secure Storage
All patient information—whether electronic or paper-based—is stored securely.

• Electronic records are protected through encrypted systems, password-restricted access, and regular data backups via our cloud-based software, Xestro.

Access Control
Only staff members directly involved in patient care or administration are permitted access to sensitive information. Staff are trained in privacy obligations and required to follow strict confidentiality protocols at all times.

Information Sharing
We only share patient information with external healthcare providers where it is clinically necessary and with appropriate consent, unless required by law. Information is transmitted through secure, approved channels.

Under no circumstance will a provider/ employees personal details be shared with clients of this practice.

Retention and Disposal
Patient information is retained in accordance with legal and professional requirements. When no longer required, records are securely destroyed or permanently deleted.

Breach Management
Any suspected privacy or data breach will be acted upon immediately, following established response procedures to minimise risk and notify affected parties as required by law.