The clinic

The clinic is equipped with cutting edge diagnostic equipment, including the latest in high resolution retinal photography, optical coherence tomography (OCT), and retinal angiography.

    • Medicare Card

    • Private Health Insurance Card/Details

    • DVA or Pension Card (if applicable)

    • List of your regular medications

    • Any eye drops you currently take

    • Contact details (name, address, and phone number) of your regular GP and optometrist

    • A copy of your referral (if you have one)

    • Current pair of glasses

    • Sunglasses

  • Long specialist appointments are frustrating. Dr Bennett will always aim to minimise your wait, but giving you enough time to communicate your concerns is essential.

    At your appointment, you will have dilating eye drops, retinal scans, and a thorough examination and consultation. Typically, for new patients this will require approximately 2 hours in the clinic, or about 1 hour for review appointments.

    Emergency presentations are common in the retina clinic, and these can sometimes extend the wait. The staff will always endeavour to communicate this to you clearly.

  • As you will need dilating eye drops, you should not drive yourself home from the appointment.

    Taxi and public transport are both okay.

Making an appointment

  • A referral is required for you to claim the patient rebate from Medicare, which covers part of the cost of your visit.

    A referral letter can be sent from an optometrist or from a GP.

    If you do not have a referral, you can still make an appointment but will not receive a Medicare rebate.

  • Private health insurance covers part of the cost of treatment in hospital as a private patient. This includes fees for the hospital, the surgeon, and the anaesthetist. Private health funds vary in what treatments they cover and how much rebate you receive.

    Private insurance does not cover the cost of clinic appointments and associated testing, or procedures that are performed in clinic (eg injections, laser).

    Dr Bennett is always happy to see uninsured patients. The clinic will provide you with a full estimate of fees (informed financial consent) before any procedure, and you can then decide if you wish to go ahead.

    Additional information can be found here:

    https://medicalcostsfinder.health.gov.au/guide-to-costs