Changing clinics
How to switch clinics in South Australia
We request your records from your previous clinic with your written consent, and your first appointment is a transfer consultation with an AHPRA-registered Clinician at $69. Every treatment decision is made afresh, by your Clinician, after that consultation.
- Records requested on your behalf
- Transfer consultation $69
- AHPRA-registered Clinicians
If you are in South Australia and your care at another clinic has stalled, LeafLine Clinic can take it over. With your written consent our patient-support team requests your records and treatment summary from your previous clinic, and your first appointment is a transfer consultation with an AHPRA-registered Clinician at $69.
South Australia is the state where the length of your previous treatment matters most, because its two-month rule counts time with your previous prescriber.
How it works
Moving your care from South Australia, step by step
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Start with a call, or check your eligibility
Book a free 10-minute info call with our patient-support team, or complete the online eligibility check. The check asks where you are located, which for South Australia sets which of the rules on this page apply, and the screening questions every patient answers. No clinical advice is given on the call.
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Give consent and tell us where you were treated
Complete your intake forms and name your previous clinic. With your written consent our patient-support team requests your records and treatment summary from them. Anything you already hold, such as your approval letter or a recent treatment summary, can be sent to us straight away.
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A transfer consultation, $69
You meet your Clinician by video. They review your history and records with you, discuss your circumstances, and make an independent clinical assessment. Nothing carries over automatically, and any new approval is applied for after this consultation, not before.
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New approvals, then ongoing care
If your Clinician decides to prescribe, they lodge the federal application, and any South Australia application that applies to you, and nothing is prescribed until those are granted. Follow-up reviews are booked with the same Clinician, and with your consent your Clinician can write to your regular GP.
Before you book
What changes when your prescriber changes
The Therapeutic Goods Administration grants the approval behind your prescription to the practitioner who applied for it, for you, for the period written on the approval letter. Only that practitioner can prescribe under it. When you move clinics and your new Clinician decides to prescribe, they make a new application after your transfer consultation, and the TGA states it processes applications in 2 to 5 days.
Bring your existing approval letter and current prescription details to the consultation if you have them. They answer most of the questions the new application asks, and they let your Clinician see how long your current approval has left to run.
Under section 18A of the Controlled Substances Act 1984 (SA), a Clinician needs an SA Health authority before continuing this kind of treatment past two months, and before starting where the patient has already been prescribed it for more than two months elsewhere. A patient transferring after months of care therefore usually needs that authority before the new Clinician prescribes. Patients aged 70 or over and Notified Palliative Care Patients are exempt.
If your Clinician decides to prescribe after your transfer consultation, they apply for the SA Health authority alongside the federal application, and nothing is prescribed until both are granted. Bring your previous prescriber’s details and the date treatment began, because the two-month count runs from that date.
SA
Transferring from a South Australian clinic
South Australia runs half an hour behind the eastern states, so LeafLine Clinic’s line is open 8:30am to 6:30pm Adelaide time during standard time. Consultations run by video or telephone from Adelaide to the Eyre Peninsula, and the records request goes to your previous clinic in the same form wherever it was.
You have a right of access to your own health records. Australian Privacy Principle 12 requires an organisation that holds your personal information to give you access to it on request, within a reasonable period, which the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner says should generally not exceed 30 calendar days. Your previous clinic may charge for copies; LeafLine does not charge for requesting or receiving them.
Switching clinics in South Australia: common questions
Do I need a new approval when I move my care to LeafLine in SA?
Yes, and often two. The Therapeutic Goods Administration approval behind your prescription names the practitioner who applied for it and does not transfer, so any new prescribing needs a fresh application by your new Clinician. If you have already been prescribed this kind of treatment for more than two months, SA Health’s section 18A authority is needed as well before the new Clinician prescribes, unless you are 70 or over or a Notified Palliative Care Patient.
Does time with my previous clinic count towards the two months?
Yes. The Controlled Substances Act 1984 (SA) requires the authority before starting treatment where the patient has already been prescribed it for more than two months, so a transfer after a long period of care usually starts with the authority application. Bring the date your treatment began to your transfer consultation.
Will my new Clinician see what I was prescribed before?
Yes. Your new Clinician checks ScriptCheckSA before prescribing, which shows your recent prescribing history for monitored medicines. It does not replace your records, which we request from your previous clinic with your consent.
What does the transfer cost in South Australia?
The transfer consultation is $69. Follow-up consultations are $59 to $69. LeafLine does not charge for requesting or receiving your records; your previous clinic sets its own policy on copies. Fees are the same in every state and territory and are published before you book.
What hours can South Australians reach LeafLine Clinic?
Support and bookings run 9am to 7pm AEST, seven days a week, which is 8:30am to 6:30pm Adelaide time during standard time. During daylight saving, South Australian local times sit one hour ahead.
Ready to get started?
Take the first step. A simple conversation with a Clinician.
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