Reference only — not billing advice

MBS items change. Verify the current descriptor, fee, and rules on MBS Online before billing. This page does not include a fee amount. Last reviewed 28 April 2026.

Mental health
Eligible Psychologist
Eligible Social Worker
Credentialled Mental Health Nurse
5 variants

Items 81000–93029

Non-directive Pregnancy Support Counselling (NDPSC)

Non-directive pregnancy support counselling provided to a patient who is currently pregnant or who has been pregnant in the preceding 12 months. Eligible providers are credentialled mental health nurses, eligible psychologists, and eligible social workers. Item billed depends on provider type and delivery mode (in-person, video, or phone). All items share a 30-minute minimum duration and a 3-service-per-pregnancy cumulative cap.

Plain-English summary. See MBS Online for the verbatim descriptor of each item.

Which item should I bill?

All variants share the same documentation requirements (below). The item number you bill is determined by the actual face-to-face duration and the location.

Item	Time	Location	Typical use	MBS Online
81000	At least 30 min	In-person	Psychologist — in-person session	Open ↗
81005	At least 30 min	In-person	Social worker — in-person session	Open ↗
81010	At least 30 min	In-person	Mental health nurse — in-person session	Open ↗
93026	At least 30 min	Video telehealth	Any eligible provider — video telehealth	Open ↗
93029	At least 30 min	Phone telehealth	Any eligible provider — phone telehealth	Open ↗

Requirements to bill

Conditions imposed by the descriptor that must be met to claim any item in this family.

Patient must be currently pregnant or have been pregnant in the 12 months immediately preceding the first service in the family.
Patient referred by a medical practitioner who is NOT a specialist or consultant physician (i.e. a GP or an eligible prescribed medical practitioner).
Provider must hold the relevant eligibility status with Services Australia: Australian College of Mental Health Nurses (ACMHN) credentialling for CMHNs; the equivalent eligibility for psychologists and social workers.
Provider must be appropriately trained in non-directive pregnancy support counselling.
Provider must NOT have a direct pecuniary interest in a service whose primary purpose is the provision of pregnancy termination services.
Each service must be at least 30 minutes face-to-face / video / phone.
Maximum 3 services per pregnancy across the entire NDPSC family (including items 81000, 81005, 81010, 4001, 92136, 92138, 93026, 93029) regardless of provider or delivery mode.

Your notes must show

Documentation tests — what clinical notes need to record to match what the item asks, regardless of which variant you bill.

Date, start time, end time, delivery mode (in-person / video / phone), and item number claimed.
Pregnancy status — currently pregnant (with gestation if known) OR previously pregnant within the preceding 12 months (with date).
Referral details — referring medical practitioner, referral date, and confirmation that the referrer is not a specialist or consultant physician.
Service count — which session of the 3-service cap (e.g. "Session 2 of 3 for this pregnancy").
Non-directive framing — that the counselling explored the patient's feelings and concerns about the pregnancy without advocating any particular course of action.
Clinical content of the session — issues raised, concerns explored, support provided.
Where relevant, the patient's decision-making context (the practitioner does NOT direct the decision; the note must not read as steering the patient).
Risk assessment where indicated (perinatal mental health risk, intimate-partner safety, suicide risk).
Onward referrals or supports offered (e.g. obstetric care, perinatal mental health team, pregnancy counselling helplines).

Common audit failures

Patterns the Professional Services Review scheme and Medicare audits flag.

No documented pregnancy status — the patient must be currently pregnant or recently pregnant for the item to be claimable.
Referral from a specialist or consultant physician (e.g. obstetrician) — NDPSC items require a non-specialist referral.
More than 3 services billed in one pregnancy across the NDPSC family.
Service duration under 30 minutes.
Notes that read as directive counselling — the entire scheme is "non-directive" and audit reviewers look for evidence the practitioner did not steer the decision.
Provider not registered with Services Australia for NDPSC eligibility (the qualification + registration is a hard prerequisite — Medicare claims are rejected before audit if the provider is unregistered).

Related MBS items

Templates that document these items

Note templates inside Grounded Scribe that produce documentation aligned to these MBS items.

NDPSC — Non-directive Pregnancy Support Counselling (81010 / 93026 / 93029)Non-directive Pregnancy Support Counselling — the only MBS pathway available to credentialled mental health nurses (item 81010 in person; 93026 video; 93029 phone). Documents pregnancy status, referral, the non-directive framing of the session, service count against the 3-per-pregnancy cap, risk screen, and onward supports. Aligned with MBS Online descriptors and Services Australia eligibility requirements.

In-depth reading in the Library

Mental Health Nurses and the MBS: What Australian CMHNs Can Actually BillA common misconception is that credentialled mental health nurses can bill MBS items 82200–82216 under Better Access. Both halves of that framing are wrong. This guide sets out the only MBS pathway available to CMHNs (NDPSC item 81010), how community mental health work is actually funded post-MHNIP, and the documentation requirements that follow.

Source authority

Documentation tests on this page reference the descriptor conditions and PSR-audit patterns covered in our existing Library guides. Always confirm current rules against the official descriptor.

Last updated: 28 April 2026