Patient guide
Declined by a telehealth clinic? What to do next
Telehealth clinics decline some people at screening and some at the first consultation. This guide explains the usual reasons, what you are entitled to ask for afterwards, and where to take your care from there. It is general information, not medical or legal advice.
Last verified 27 October 2026 against Ahpra and OAIC guidance. Rules change; check with the clinic before you rely on this.
The short answer
- A clinic can decline at screening or at the consultation. The usual reasons are age, the rules where you live, an answer in your safety screening, the Clinician’s clinical judgement, or a need for care in person.
- A decline answers one question: whether this clinic can treat you safely by telehealth. It is a clinical safety decision about the service, and it says nothing about whether your concerns are real.
- You can ask the clinic to explain the reason in general terms, ask for a copy of your records, and ask it to write to your GP.
- Ahpra’s guidance tells practitioners that telehealth is not appropriate for every consultation, and to help arrange other care, such as a face-to-face appointment, where it is needed.
- Your GP is the usual next step. If you think the process itself was unfair, raise it with the clinic first.
Start here
Three things worth knowing after a decline
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A decline is a safety decision
Screening and the first consultation both ask whether this clinic can treat you safely, by telehealth, under the rules that apply to you. A no answers that question for this service and nothing wider.
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You can ask for the reason
A clinic can explain its reason in general terms. Some details may be clinical, and the Clinician may prefer to go through them with you or with your GP rather than in an email.
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Your GP stays at the centre
Your GP knows your history, can examine you in person and can arrange other assessment if they think it is needed. A letter from the clinic helps your GP pick up where screening stopped.
The reasons
Why a clinic may decline
Most declines come down to one of five reasons. The clinic may tell you which one applies, and you can ask if it has not. The article on why structured screening protects patients explains why clinics screen before anyone is booked in.
- 01
Your age
Many telehealth clinics, LeafLine included, see adults only, aged 18 and over. Each clinic sets its own age floor and publishes it in its terms.
- 02
Where you live
Prescribing rules differ between states and territories. A clinic can only treat you where its Clinicians are able to prescribe lawfully for someone living in your state or territory, so a decline can turn on your address rather than on you.
- 03
Something in your safety screening
Screening asks about your health history, your other medicines and other risks. Some answers mean the clinic cannot safely begin treatment through its service. Our article on why structured screening protects patients explains how this works.
- 04
Your Clinician’s clinical judgement
At the consultation the Clinician weighs your history and the approved options available to you. If they decide prescribing is not clinically appropriate, they decline, and that judgement is theirs to make.
- 05
You need care in person
Some assessments need a physical examination or observation that a video or phone call cannot provide. Ahpra asks practitioners to consider whether good care can only be given in each other’s physical presence.
A decline is the start of a conversation with your GP, and the clinic can help with that.
Afterwards
What you can ask the clinic for
Start with the reason. Ask the clinic to explain, in general terms, why it declined. Where the reason is clinical, the Clinician may suggest a short conversation or a letter to your GP rather than a detailed email, and both are reasonable ways to hear it.
You can also ask for a copy of what the clinic recorded. Australian privacy law gives you a general right to request access to the health information a clinic holds about you, which includes your screening answers and any consultation notes. The OAIC treats 30 days as a reasonable time to respond and allows a fee that is not excessive (OAIC, read 27 October 2026).
Finally, ask the clinic to write to your GP. Ahpra's guidance on virtual care asks practitioners, with your consent, to inform other practitioners of the advice they have provided, and to help arrange alternative care, such as a face-to-face consultation, where telehealth is not suitable (Ahpra, page reviewed 7 October 2025). A letter means your GP hears the clinic's reasoning directly.
Your options
Where to take your care from here
Your GP is usually the right next appointment. They hold your wider history, can examine you in person, and can arrange further assessment if they think it is needed. Take the clinic's letter or your records along if you have them.
If the clinic declined because you need to be assessed in person, ask it or your GP what kind of appointment that should be. Telehealth suits many consultations and not all of them, and Ahpra expects practitioners to say so when it does not suit yours.
If you think the clinic misunderstood something you told it, say so and ask whether it changes the decision. Whoever you see next, give them the same full and accurate history, because each practitioner's safety decisions depend on it.
If the process felt wrong
Raising a concern about how you were declined
A clinic is entitled to decline. It is still expected to treat you respectfully, to handle your information properly and to give you a way to raise concerns. Put your concern to the clinic in writing first and ask it to review how the decision was made. If that does not resolve it, our guide to raising a concern about a telehealth clinic explains which body handles which kind of concern.
Current at 27 October 2026. General information, not medical or legal advice. Sources: Ahpra, Information for practitioners who provide virtual care (page reviewed 7 October 2025, read 27 October 2026); Office of the Australian Information Commissioner, Access your health information (read 27 October 2026); TGA, Special Access Scheme guidance for health practitioners (last updated 1 October 2024, read 20 October 2026). Refund terms are set by each clinic, so this guide does not state any clinic's terms.
Declined by a clinic: common questions
Why would a telehealth clinic decline me?
The usual reasons are your age, the prescribing rules where you live, an answer in your safety screening, the Clinician’s clinical judgement at consultation, or a need for an assessment in person. Ahpra’s guidance tells practitioners that telehealth is not appropriate for every consultation. This is general information, not medical or legal advice.
Is being declined a judgement about me?
No. A decline is a clinical safety decision about whether one clinic can treat you safely by telehealth. It does not mean your concerns are not real, and it is not a finding about you as a person.
Can I ask why I was declined?
Yes. Ask the clinic to explain the reason in general terms. Where the reason is clinical, the Clinician may prefer to explain it in a conversation with you, or in a letter to your GP.
Can I get a copy of my records after being declined?
Yes. Australian privacy law gives you a general right to request access to the health information a clinic holds about you, including screening answers and consultation notes. The OAIC treats 30 days as a reasonable time to respond, and a clinic may charge a fee that is not excessive.
Will the clinic tell my GP?
Ahpra’s guidance asks practitioners to inform other practitioners of the advice they provide with your consent. If you want your GP to know what the clinic found, ask it to send your GP a letter and confirm that you consent.
What should I do after being declined?
Book an appointment with your GP and take the clinic’s letter or your records if you have them. Your GP can examine you in person and arrange other assessment if they think it is needed. Give your GP, and any practitioner you see, the same full and accurate history.
What if I think the decision was unfair?
Raise it with the clinic first, in writing, and ask it to review how the decision was made. If you are still unhappy, our guide to raising a concern about a telehealth clinic explains which body handles which kind of concern.
Do I get my consultation fee back if I am declined?
It depends on the clinic’s terms, which differ between clinics and between a decline at screening and one at consultation. Ask the clinic and check the terms it published before you booked.
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