FAQ

Instant Consult provides you with the ability to have a health consultation with an Australian registered, fully qualified and experienced Doctor via video call, anywhere in Australia.

We provide a platform for affordable and effective health consultations supplementing the traditional health care system. The ultimate benefit of Instant Consult is the convenience to patients. No need to book an appointment – simply “Request a Consult” and the first available Doctor will connect with you instantly.

If you are not eligible for a bulk-billed consult, consultation costs are extremely competitive and lower than any private practice for a standard consultation.

All our Doctors are fully qualified and are registered with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA), as required by the Medical Board of Australia. Instant Consult practises to the standards developed by the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) and the Australian College of Rural & Remote Medicine (ACRRM) for medical services.

When clinically appropriate, our Doctors can issue Medical Certificates, Prescriptions (including Repeats), Specialist Referrals, Pathology Requests and Radiology Requests, as well as offer general medical advice, while on consult with you. Suitable medical consultations can be effectively managed online via video call.

The consults are charged according to the duration of the consult – not what medical documents are issued to you. Just like any consultation if you were to visit a local medical clinic, we cannot guarantee what medical documents the doctor will issue you. You will have to have a consultation where the doctor will ask about your health history, symptoms and any other details required, so they can make an informed decision as to whether or not the consult will result in a medical document being supplied.

You must be within Australia and be 17 years old or over to use the Instant Consult Service. If you are under the age of 17, you can only access and use the service in the presence of at all times, and with the consent of, a parent or guardian.

If you have an underage child who you are the parent/guardian of, who needs to speak to a doctor, you can add them to your account by visiting your Profile when you are logged in. Click on Family Profile to add or edit your dependent’s details. Alternatively, you can sign up an account for your child and request the consult through your child’s profile.

Our doctors cannot offer a consultation for your child if you request the consult under your name.

Need more information? Talk to a member of our support team by emailing support@instantconsult.com.au.

Yes, a doctor can issue you with a Medical Certificate when clinically appropriate. These Medical Certificates are predominately used for workplace or university personal leave. The certificate will be available in your Instant Consult Inbox immediately following your consultation, which can be saved to your device or forwarded to an email address, which is where you can forward this onto relevant personnel (place of work, school etc.). The Medical Certificate will remain in your Instant Consult Inbox until you choose to delete it.

Doctors do not backdate Medical Certificates and cannot issue a Medical Certificate covering more than 3 days. The details issued on the Medical Certificate is up to the doctor and what they deem suitable during consultation.

If you require a Mask Exemption, ‘Fit for Work’ Certificate, ‘Fit to Fly’ Certificate, Childcare/’Back to School’ Clearance, Centrelink Certificate, University Form completed, Work Cover or Gym Cancellation Certificate, a certificate for missing police station attendances, parole or court appearances, or any external forms completed – you will need to present to a GP in-person to undergo a physical examination and will not be able to use the Instant Consult service for these types of medical documents.

Yes, our doctors can issue Prescriptions and Repeat Prescriptions through Instant Consult when clinically appropriate.

ePrescriptions have been rolled out across Australia; a token sent direct to your email or mobile for you to present at any pharmacy. If you are ineligible to receive an ePrescription token, a traditional prescription can be sent directly to your local pharmacy for immediate collection – to use this service you must select one of the approved pharmacies from Instant Consult’s Pharmacy Directory. Alternatively, if you are ineligible to receive an ePrescription token and choose to not have a traditional prescription collected from any of our approved pharmacies, then the prescription can be posted to you.

You can also order your prescription medication online at chemistwarehouse.com.au/prescriptions and have it delivered direct to your door.

The consults are charged according to the duration of the consult – not what prescriptions are issued to you. Just like any consultation if you were to visit a local medical clinic, we cannot guarantee what medication the doctor will prescribe you. You will have to have a consultation where the doctor will ask about your health history and any current medications you are taking, so they can make an informed prescribing decision.

Please note that some medications cannot be prescribed using Instant Consult, including Panadeine Forte, Mersyndol Forte, Benzodiazepines (Valium), Phentermine (Duromine), Semaglutide (Ozempic), Liraglutide (Saxenda), Modafinil, Armodafinil, Gabapentin, Quetiapine, Pregabalin (Lyrica), Tramadol (Tramal), Zolpidem (Stilnox), Zopiclone (Imovane), Ivermectin (Stromectol), controlled substances, narcotics or opioids, any Schedule 8 (S8) controlled drugs and medications requiring close monitoring by a doctor.

Medications used to prevent and treat COVID-19 listed on the following website cannot be prescribed through Instant Consult: https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/covid-19/medications

Pharmacy Finder www.instantconsult.com.au/pharmacyfinder

If you are a Pharmacy and would like to be added to our Pharmacy Directory, please email support@instantconsult.com.au for a registration pack.

Yes, our doctors can issue Compound Prescriptions through Instant Consult when clinically appropriate.

ePrescriptions have been rolled out across Australia; a token sent direct to your email or mobile for you to present at any compounding pharmacy. If you are ineligible to receive an ePrescription token, a traditional compound prescription can be sent directly to your local compounding pharmacy for immediate collection – to use this service you must select one of the approved compounding pharmacies from Instant Consult’s Pharmacy Directory. Alternatively, if you are ineligible to receive an ePrescription token and choose to not have a traditional compound prescription collected from any of our approved pharmacies, then the prescription can be posted to you.

The consults are charged according to the duration of the consult – not what prescriptions are issued to you. Just like any consultation if you were to visit a local medical clinic, we cannot guarantee what medication the doctor will prescribe you. You will have to have a consultation where the doctor will ask about your health history and any current medications you are taking, so they can make an informed prescribing decision.

Please note that some medications cannot be prescribed using Instant Consult, including Panadeine Forte, Mersyndol Forte, Benzodiazepines (Valium), Phentermine (Duromine), Modafinil, Armodafinil, Gabapentin, Quetiapine, Pregabalin (Lyrica), Tramadol (Tramal), Zolpidem (Stilnox), Zopiclone (Imovane), Ivermectin (Stromectol), controlled substances, narcotics or opioids, any Schedule 8 (S8) controlled drugs and medications requiring close monitoring by a doctor.

Pharmacy Finder www.instantconsult.com.au/pharmacyfinder

If you are a Compounding Pharmacy and would like to be added to our Pharmacy Directory, please email support@instantconsult.com.au for a registration pack.

Yes, a doctor can issue you with a Specialist Referral, Pathology/Blood Test Request or Radiology/X-Ray Request, when clinically appropriate.

Specialist Referrals enables you to receive a Medicare rebate on your specialist appointment*. Pathology and Radiology Requests entitles you to tests which may be bulk-billed by Medicare*.

*you must have a valid Medicare Card

The Referral will be available in your Instant Consult Inbox immediately following your consultation, which can be saved to your device or forwarded to an email address. You can print the Referral and take it to your preferred Specialist, Pathology or Imaging Centre, or you can email direct to their administrator. The Referral/Request will remain in your Instant Consult Inbox until you choose to delete it.

Results for pathology and imaging are sent directly back to our clinic, where we will notify you when to request a consult to discuss the results with the first available doctor. If you have not been notified that your results have been received within 3 business days from your test date, please contact our support team.

Alternatively, during your initial consult you can request for your results to be sent to your usual family practice where you can discuss your results with your regular GP.

Consults are covered by Medicare and are bulk-billed with a valid Medicare card for patients under 12 months of age only.

Medicare stipulates we cannot bulk-bill any patients who are not under 12 months of age.

If you are not eligible for a bulk-billed consult, the following private fees are applicable and not rebatable by Medicare:

Over 95% of our consults are just $45!

The consultations are automatically timed and billed. Your nominated credit or debit card will be automatically charged upon conclusion of your online consultation. You can edit your payment details 24/7 through the Instant Consult App and Website when logged in to Instant Consult. Simply click on Saved Cards in your side menu to view and edit payment methods.

Have an Instant Consult Coupon Code? Within this same screen, you can click on Saved Coupons, Add Coupon, insert your coupon code and save this to your account. The value of the coupon will be automatically applied against your next consult fee.

When you request a consult, an amount is automatically pre-authorised from your card. We have not taken the money from your account, it gets held by your bank until the funds are released back to you or captured by us. Funds are only charged and captured on conclusion of a successful consult. Funds are automatically released and refunded back onto your card if your consult request was cancelled or unsuccessful. It may take a few business days for your bank to release the funds back onto your card, but we automatically release and refund the charges when a consult request is not successful. It is up to your bank how long they will take to release the funds back onto your card.

The transaction may appear in your statement as INSTCONSUL* INSTANT CO TOOWONG

Please note that the consult fee is based on a timer which is started by the doctor when the consult starts and ends when the consult and relevant notes are documented; including all medical documents that are issued and comprehensive consult notes completed for your consultation which are stored in your patient record.

Consults are covered by Medicare and are bulk-billed with a valid Medicare card for patients under 12 months of age only.

Medicare stipulates we cannot bulk-bill any patients who are not under 12 months of age.

If you are not eligible for a bulk-billed consult, we have kept our pricing as low as possible to ensure we offer an affordable solution for our users. Private fees are not rebatable by Medicare.

Need more information? Talk to a member of our support team by emailing support@instantconsult.com.au.

CBHS Health Fund is currently the only private health insurance provider that does cover Instant Consult fees for its Overseas Student Health Cover (OSHC) members, Overseas Worker Mid Hospital and Medical (OVHC) members, and Overseas Worker Top Hospital and Medical (OVHC) members. If you are ineligible for your consult to be bulk-billed through Medicare, and are subject to a private consult fee, you will be unable to claim the Instant Consult fee through your Private Health Insurance, unless your provider is CBHS Health Fund and you are a OSHC or OVHC member.

The receipt which holds all the information legally obligated to be issued after a consult can be found in the inbox of your Instant Consult account.

Private Health Insurance Funds will cover consults which have an item number applicable. As we are a telehealth practice and do not see any of our patients in-person, if you are ineligible for a bulk-billed consult through Medicare, there are no item numbers applicable for your consult. This is different to physical GP practices who can offer in-person consultations. Telehealth attendances have their own criteria defined through the Medicare Benefits Schedule.

Need more information? Talk to a member of our support team by emailing support@instantconsult.com.au.

No, if you need emergency medical attention in Australia you can dial 000. Examples of medical emergencies include: chest pain, head or spinal injuries, severe bleeding, loss of movement, breathing difficulties and reduced level of consciousness.

Our aim is to have doctors available 6am – midnight, 7 days a week (AEST). Please note the availability of doctors may vary, and we are constantly keeping track of balancing numbers of consult requests vs. number of doctors available for a consultation. If you are not immediately connected to a doctor, you will join a queue until the next available doctor connects to you.

You can view if doctors are online and the current average wait time on the homepage of Instant Consult once you login. If you request a consult when no doctors are online, you will join a queue and wait to be connected with a doctor when one comes online, or be asked to request a consult at another time.

Doctors are unable to generate a GP Mental Health Treatment Plan via the Instant Consult platform. Please see your local GP. Alternatively, our doctors can refer you to your nominated psychologist who may then prepare a management plan for you.

Yes, there are certain medications that cannot be prescribed online, such as:

• Panadeine Forte
• Mersyndol Forte
• Benzodiazepines (Valium)
• Phentermine (Duromine)
• Semaglutide (Ozempic)
• Liraglutide (Saxenda)
• Modafinil, Armodafinil
• Gabapentin
• Quetiapine
• Pregabalin (Lyrica)
• Tramadol (Tramal)
• Zolpidem (Stilnox)
• Zopiclone (Imovane)
• Ivermectin (Stromectol)
• Controlled substances, narcotics or opioids
• Any Schedule 8 (S8), and some Schedule 4D (S4D) controlled drugs and medications requiring close monitoring by a doctor.

Instant Consult can be used with your Google Chrome or Safari web browser on any type of Windows PC, macOS and Android Tablet when logging in through the URL patient.instantconsult.com.au

Instant Consult iOS App is compatible on iPhones and iPads. You cannot login to Instant Consult through a web browser on an iOS device, so you must download the Instant Consult App if you want to use it on your iPhone or iPad.

Instant Consult Android App is compatible on Android Phones only. You cannot login to Instant Consult through a web browser on an Android Phone, so you must download the Instant Consult App if you want to use it on your Android Phone. If you want to use Instant Consult on your Android Tablet, please login through a Google Chrome web browser on your tablet.

You will need a camera and speakers connected/installed on your device, and access to either a WiFi connection or a mobile data connection.

All internet traffic on Instant Consult use 256 bit SSL Certificates, which includes digital certificate authentication and 256 bit data encryption. 256 bit SSL Certificates are trusted by over 99.9% of current Internet users. Positive SSL is the solution for new websites and environments where trust has been established and entity verification (for identity assurance) is not needed.

Simply visit the Australian App Store for iOS or Google Play Store for Android to download the Instant Consult App for free. Once downloaded, simply register your details, agree to the terms and conditions and login! Don’t have an iPhone, iPad or Android Phone? Visit our website www.instantconsult.com.au where you can sign up and login through your Google Chrome web browser.

More FAQs are available once you login to Instant Consult, which cover more detailed queries.

Contact Instant Consult Support by emailing support@instantconsult.com.au or check our privacy policy here.