CBT online, from official services

Medicare Mental Health Check In

Eligibility

The Department describes it as a new, free service with online tools for people with mild mental health challenges.

Age

Anyone aged 16 and older.

Cost

Free for people living in Australia.

Referral

No diagnosis or referral needed.

Self-guided use

From 30 May 2026, the Department says, you can use the online tools on your own, at your own pace, and choose to connect with a trained practitioner along the way.

Practitioner support

The service can connect you with a trained practitioner by telehealth.

Medicare Mental Health’s own site describes Check In as free digital programs for building practical skills for challenges such as stress, sleep and low mood, used on your own or with a practitioner’s support by telehealth.

To find out whether it is right for you, the Department gives two ways:

• call Medicare Mental Health on 1800 595 212, 8:30 am to 5 pm on weekdays, except public holidays
• visit the Medicare Mental Health Check In website.

How the Department describes Check In

The Department calls Check In a safe and supportive space where people can talk about what they are going through and work through the online tools together, building confidence and learning practical skills for life’s ups and downs. That is the Department’s description of its own service. To find out whether it is right for you, the Department points to the Medicare Mental Health phone line and the Check In website, both listed above.

Check In is for people aged 16 and older. For younger people, Medicare Mental Health’s Kids Hubs support children aged 0 to 12 and their families, and Kids Helpline, which supports people aged 5 to 25, says you can talk to it by phone or online, at any time and for any reason.

Three ways in, no referral

Check In is one part of Medicare Mental Health, which brings free services, information and support options together in one place. Its services are funded by the Australian Government and free to use, and it says it will respect your privacy. You can start without a GP referral, a diagnosis or a Mental Health Treatment Plan. The Department’s contact page says it offers information, services and support for you or for someone you care about, and its own site says everyone is welcome, whether they have had ongoing challenges or are reaching out for the first time.

CBT with a professional, at a distance

healthdirect says CBT can be done in person or remotely, in private or group sessions. Services Australia notes that if you live in a remote area and find it hard to see a mental health professional, a telehealth video consult may be possible instead. Under Better Access, the Department’s fact sheet says all eligible Australians can use MBS telehealth by video or phone where it is safe and clinically appropriate, with the same yearly limits. The yearly limits and the rules for group sessions by telehealth are in Better Access and Medicare.

Crisis support by text and chat

Medicare Mental Health’s phone line keeps weekday office hours. The crisis services answer at any hour, and each offers a way to reach them without speaking aloud.

Lifeline

Text 0477 13 11 14, or chat online. Lifeline says its phone, text and chat services are all available at any time, day or night.

Suicide Call Back Service

Free professional counselling by online chat, 24/7, for people in Australia aged 15 and older, and by video, by appointment, for people aged 18 and older, for people at risk of suicide, people worried about someone at risk, people bereaved by suicide and people with emotional or mental health issues.

Kids Helpline

Web chat in real time, 24/7.

Help now describes each service from its own page, with its phone number. healthdirect’s own helpline, 1800 022 222, has a registered nurse available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week; in Victoria it is known as NURSE-ON-CALL.

For what CBT itself involves, see What CBT is, or go back to the ways in on the home page.