Attendance & Cancellation Policy

At Grow & Tell Speech and Occupational Therapy, we are committed to providing consistent, high-quality therapy that supports each child and family’s individual goals, participation and development.

Regular therapy and active family involvement help children maintain momentum and make meaningful progress over time. For this reason, Grow & Tell operates under a Perpetual Care Model, rather than a school-term-based model.

This means recurring therapy appointments continue throughout the year, including NSW school holiday periods.

Regular ongoing therapy can help provide:

• Consistency and routine for children
• Fewer interruptions to therapy
• Ongoing progress towards therapy goals
• Continuity with your child’s clinician
• Access to a preferred recurring appointment time
• Proactive and individualised support

We understand that illness, emergencies and changing family circumstances occur. Wherever possible, our team will work collaboratively with families to maintain continuity of care.

Regular Attendance

Families are encouraged to attend their scheduled therapy appointments throughout the year, including during NSW school holidays.

To support continuity of care and therapeutic progress, Grow & Tell aims for families to maintain approximately 90% attendance each quarter, either by attending the scheduled appointment or receiving another clinically relevant service when face-to-face attendance is not possible.

If attendance or receipt of services falls below 90% across a three-month period, Grow & Tell may:

• Review the suitability of the recurring appointment time
• Transition the family to flexible or casual bookings, where the preferred appointment time may not be available
• Recommend alternative supports such as Telehealth or parent coaching
• Place ongoing therapy on hold until regular attendance can resume

These decisions are made with consideration of each family’s circumstances and with the aim of supporting both individual families and fair access to therapy appointments across our community.

Rescheduling, Cancellations & No Shows

If you need to cancel your child’s appointment, Grow & Tell requires at least 48 business hours’ notice.

Where less than 48 business hours’ notice is provided, the full session fee will apply. A Telehealth service will be offered at the reserved appointment time.

Cancellation fees are not covered by private health funds or Medicare and are the responsibility of the family.

If you need to reschedule an appointment, please contact the clinic as early as possible. Rescheduling requests are subject to clinician and appointment availability.

Alternative Services During a Reserved Appointment

If your child is unable to attend their scheduled face-to-face appointment, the clinician may provide another clinically relevant service during the reserved appointment time to continue progressing your child and family towards their therapy goals.

This may include:

• Parent Telehealth sessions
• Parent coaching and strategy sessions
• Goal review, report writing or therapy planning
• Personalised home programs and therapy activities
• Liaison with schools, educators, support workers or other allied health professionals
• Creation of therapy resources or visual supports
• Progress summaries and clinical documentation
• Review of videos or information provided by families
• Therapy preparation, program adaptation, scoring or report-related activities aligned with your child’s goals

These services remain an important part of the therapeutic process and can continue supporting your child’s progress when a face-to-face session is not possible.

Why Reserved Appointments Matter

Therapy sessions are prepared in advance, and clinicians structure their schedules around recurring appointments.

Appointments cancelled at short notice often cannot be offered to another family. Recurring appointments are designed to provide continuity, fairness and sustainable access to therapy for all families.

Our goal is not simply to provide appointments, but to provide meaningful ongoing support that helps children and families continue progressing towards their goals.

How to Cancel an Appointment

To notify us that you need to cancel or change a scheduled appointment, please contact Admin:

Phone: 1300 848 795
SMS: 0450 937 027

If you wish to permanently discontinue ongoing therapy services, Grow & Tell requires 7 days’ written notice.

No Shows

If your child does not attend their scheduled appointment and no notice has been provided, the appointment will be considered a No Show and the full session fee will apply.

If there are more than 4 No Shows within a three-month period, your child’s ongoing therapy may be placed on hold. The family will be notified by phone or email.

Late Arrivals

If you are running late, please notify your clinician or the administration team as soon as possible.

Late arrivals may result in a shortened session because clinicians need to maintain their scheduled appointment times.

The full session fee remains applicable to the reserved appointment time.

Therapist Cancellations

Occasionally, a clinician may need to cancel an appointment due to illness or unforeseen circumstances.

Grow & Tell will provide as much notice as possible and make reasonable efforts to offer:

• An alternative appointment time
• Telehealth support
• Another suitable service option where appropriate

Families will not be charged where Grow & Tell is unable to provide the scheduled service and no suitable alternative can be arranged.

School Holidays & End-of-Year Closure

Grow & Tell operates throughout the year, including during NSW school holiday periods.

The clinic closes for approximately one week during the Christmas and New Year period. No therapy sessions, services or billing take place during this closure.

Acceptance of Terms

By engaging services with Grow & Tell Speech and Occupational Therapy, families acknowledge that they have read, understood and accepted these Attendance & Cancellation Terms of Service.