How to Choose an Online Speech Pathologist in Australia

To choose a speech pathologist for online therapy, find out exactly who will work with your child and check that person is a Certified Practising Speech Pathologist. Ask whether your child will see the same person every session. Then compare the fees, what the first appointment involves and how you will be told about progress.

Choosing well matters more online than locally. A local clinic has a door, a waiting room and a face you meet. An online service can be one clinician or hundreds, and from the home page it is often hard to tell which. The questions below apply to any provider, this one included.

How do I check that a speech pathologist is qualified?

Ask for the full name of the speech pathologist who would see your child, then check that they are a Certified Practising Speech Pathologist (CPSP) with Speech Pathology Australia. The association’s Find a speech pathologist search is public, and a provider should be willing to confirm a clinician’s certification if you ask.

The check matters because speech pathology in Australia is a self-regulated profession. Speech pathologists are not registered with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (Ahpra) in the way doctors, psychologists and occupational therapists are. Certification through Speech Pathology Australia is the profession’s own standard: it sits on a recognised university degree, and it is kept by meeting the association’s requirements for ongoing professional development and conduct.

Two cautions. Speech Pathology Australia also publishes a list of members who offer telepractice, and the page states that the information in it is not verified by the association, so treat a listing as a starting point. And a company being well known tells you nothing about the individual on the call. Check the person.

What questions should I ask an online speech pathology provider?

Ten questions cover what most parents later wish they had asked. A provider that answers them plainly, in writing or on its website, is showing you how it works.

Who exactly will work with my child? Ask for a name and qualifications before you pay for anything.
Is that person a Certified Practising Speech Pathologist? Some services also use therapy assistants or students for part of the work. That can be fine, but you should know.
Will my child see the same person every session? Children do their best talking with someone they know, and a clinician who has seen every session knows what was tried last week. Ask what happens when that person is on leave or moves on.
What experience does that person have with my child’s age and difficulty? Healthdirect suggests asking a speech pathologist whether they have experience with your type of difficulty. A clinician who mostly sees adults is a different choice from one who works with children all week.
What happens first, and what does it cost? Ask whether therapy starts with an assessment, how long it takes, what it costs and whether you receive a written report.
What does a session cost, and what does the fee cover? Ask how many minutes are spent with your child and whether planning, notes and messages between sessions are included or billed separately.
Which funding can I use with you? Ask about Medicare, private health insurance and, for the NDIS, which ways of managing a plan the provider can accept.
What will I be asked to do? With young children, a parent usually sits beside the child and helps with the activities. Ask how much of each session involves you and what practice is suggested between sessions.
How are goals set, and how will I hear about progress? Ask how often goals are reviewed and in what form you are told.
What happens if online does not suit my child? Ask what the provider does when a child is not managing on video. The guide is online speech therapy right for my child? lists the situations where in-person help is the better choice.

It is also fair to ask what evidence there is for delivering your child’s kind of therapy by video. The page does online speech therapy work? names the studies and says where the research is thin.

What do “no waitlist” and “matched to a therapist” mean?

“No waitlist” usually means a service has enough speech pathologists on its books to start a new family quickly. “Matched to a therapist” usually means the service, not the family, decides which of its clinicians a child sees, based on availability and the child’s needs.

Neither is a problem in itself. A quick start matters, particularly for a young child, and a good match made by someone who knows the clinicians can work well. Both are prompts for questions three and four above: who is the person, how long have they been practising, and will it still be them in six months? A service that can start tomorrow with someone suited to your child is a good find. A service that can start tomorrow with whoever is free is a different offer under the same words.

A small practice has the opposite trade. You know exactly who you will get, and you may not get a place at all.

Do you need a referral to see a speech pathologist?

Usually not. You do not need a referral to see a private speech pathologist in Australia, online or in person. Healthdirect states that a doctor’s referral is not usually needed, and you can apply to or book with a private speech pathologist directly.

A referral is needed for a Medicare rebate. On MBS Online on 15 November 2026, the main Medicare item for a video session with an allied health practitioner (item 93000) has three conditions. The child needs a GP chronic condition management plan prepared or reviewed in the last 18 months, a referral from that doctor, and a session of at least 20 minutes.

Under that item, up to five allied health services are covered in a calendar year, and the rebate covers part of the fee, not all of it. Children with some diagnoses, such as autism, may be eligible for other Medicare items. Private health insurers set their own rules, so check your policy. The guide to Medicare, the NDIS and private health for online speech therapy sets out each route and what it pays.

A visit to your GP is still worthwhile even if you do not need the paperwork, because a GP can arrange a hearing check.

Can I trust online speech therapy reviews and “best” lists?

Reviews of online speech therapy tell you how a service handles bookings, communication and billing, and a little about how families felt. They cannot tell you whether a particular clinician is right for your child’s difficulty, and in a large service the reviewer’s therapist is unlikely to be yours.

Lists of the “best online speech therapy in Australia” are often written by providers themselves or by directories that earn from listings. There is no official ranking of speech pathologists, and Speech Pathology Australia’s search lists members without rating them. The checks on this page will tell you more than a star rating.

When is a larger, public or NDIS-registered service the better choice?

A larger or NDIS-registered service is the better choice when your funding or your child’s needs call for it. If your child’s NDIS plan is managed by the National Disability Insurance Agency, it can only be used with registered providers, so a registered service is the one to choose. If your child also needs occupational therapy, psychology or physiotherapy, a service with those professions under one roof can make coordination easier.

A public or community health service, or a speech pathologist working through your child’s school, costs little or nothing. It is the right choice when private fees are out of reach, although places are limited and waits can be long. The funding guide explains these routes alongside the private ones.

How does Online Speech Therapy answer these questions?

Online Speech Therapy is the practice of one speech pathologist, and its answers to the questions above are published so that families can compare them with anyone else’s.

Question	Answer at Online Speech Therapy
Who will work with my child?	Dr Lauren Crumlish (PhD), the only clinician. Her doctorate is from the University of Queensland; she is a speech pathologist, not a medical doctor
Is she certified?	Yes. Dr Lauren is a Certified Practising Speech Pathologist
Will my child see the same person every session?	Yes. Every session is with Dr Lauren
How are sessions delivered?	Every session is by video, for children and teenagers up to 18, Australia wide
What happens first, and what does it cost?	An initial assessment by video: Short $590, Mid-Length $890 or Long $1,290
What does a session cost?	$193 per session, which is one hour of service: 45 minutes of therapy and 15 minutes of preparation and notes
Which funding can I use?	Medicare rebates are available with a doctor’s referral, and private health may apply. The practice is not NDIS registered: self-managed and plan-managed participants are welcome, and NDIA-managed funding cannot be used
Is there a waitlist?	No wait time is quoted. Dr Lauren works with a small number of families and has limited availability, and a place cannot be guaranteed

The remaining questions, including how progress is reported, are ones to raise at the assessment. Fees are set out in full on the pricing page.

Families who would like to work with Dr Lauren can apply. Our team will review your application.

Sources

Speech Pathology Australia, Find a speech pathologist and Find a Telepractice listing, read 15 November 2026.
Speech Pathology Australia, Overview of the regulation of health professionals in Australia, version 5, 12 November 2025.
Healthdirect Australia, Speech pathology, reviewed July 2026.
Better Health Channel, Speech pathologist service, read 15 November 2026.
MBS Online, item 93000, read 15 November 2026.