Great news! From 1 March 2026, the Australian Government introduced new rebates for Medicare speech pathology services for people under 25 with certain speech conditions.

Under the Chronic Condition Management (CCM) plan (previously known as the Chronic Disease Management (CDM)), eligible individuals can now access:

8 Medicare-rebated speech pathology assessment sessions
20 Medicare-rebated treatment sessions

This means eligible children, teenagers and young adults may access up to 28 sessions of speech pathology support through Medicare, when referred by an eligible medical practitioner.

This update significantly expands support for individuals experiencing specific speech conditions.

What Changed in the Medicare Speech Pathology Rebates?

Before this change, most people could only access 5 Medicare-rebated allied health sessions per year through a Chronic Disease Management (CDM) plan.

The 2026 Medicare update expands support for specific speech conditions by allowing:

Which Speech Conditions Are Eligible?

The expanded Medicare rebates apply to individuals under 25 with specific speech conditions, including:

Stuttering

Stuttering affects the fluency (smoothness) of speech and can sometimes make it difficult for people to be understood and express themselves. Stuttering typically starts between ages 2 and 5. Speech therapists work to develop treatment and management plans to help people better understand and manage their stutter and reduce the severity of the stutter if desired.

Speech Sound Disorders

Speech is how clearly a word is pronounced, speech sound disorders can be quite common and don’t always require treatment, if speech is impacting you child ability to be understood or impacting their confidence socially it may require treatment and supports. Examples of speech disorders include:

articulation difficulties
phonological disorders
childhood apraxia of speech
dysarthria

Cleft Lip and Palate

Individuals born with cleft lip and/or palate often require speech therapy support to improve speech clarity as well as some feeding skills. Typically, clefts are diagnosed and treated at birth but there are times when treatment may be delayed.

What Speech Therapy Services Are NOT Covered by the New Rebates?

The expanded Medicare rebates do not apply to all speech and language difficulties.

The following areas remain covered only under the standard 5 allied health sessions per year:

Language concerns
Voice difficulties
Feeding and swallowing difficulties

Families may still access support for these concerns through:

The standard 5 allied health Medicare sessions
NDIS funding (if eligible)
Community health services (if eligible)
Private speech therapy services

Why This Medicare Change Is Important

Speech disorders can significantly impact:

learning and literacy development
social participation
confidence and emotional wellbeing
long-term communication skills

By expanding Medicare access, the government aims to provide earlier and more accessible interventions to families.

How to Access Speech Pathology Services Through Medicare

If you believe you or your child may benefit from speech therapy support, you can:

Visit your GP or paediatrician
Discuss concerns about speech development
Ask about a Chronic Condition Management (CCM) plan
Obtain a referral to a speech pathologist
Book an assessment appointment

Your speech pathologist will then determine the appropriate assessment and therapy plan.

When Should You Consider a Speech Assessment?

You may wish to seek an assessment if a child or young person:

Struggles to be understood by others.
Frequently repeats sounds, words or phrases when speaking or gets ‘stuck’ on a single sound.
Are not hitting milestones or showing regression of speech/language.
Struggle socially due to difficulties understanding others or expressing themselves.
Struggling with picky eating or feeding skills.

A speech assessment helps identify the underlying difficulty and determine whether therapy may be helpful.