More than 48 hours
The full planned appointment time remains billable and is replaced with meaningful, child-specific clinical work completed for your child.
Cancellation Policy
Flow Talk family information
Reserved appointments and changes to attendance
Flow Talk works using a block model. When your family accepts a Therapy Block, all appointments and associated clinical time are reserved for your child in advance, much like enrolling in a term or block of swimming lessons.
Less than 48 hours
The full scheduled appointment fee applies because the clinical time has been reserved for your child and generally cannot be offered to another family.
How the block model works
Flow Talk does not offer appointment-by-appointment cancellations within an agreed Therapy Block. If your child cannot attend a scheduled appointment, the reserved time remains part of their block.
This policy applies consistently to plan-managed, self-managed and private-paying families.
More than 48 hours’ notice
When more than 48 hours’ notice is provided, the full planned appointment time remains billable. The appointment time is replaced with appropriate child-specific clinical work completed for your child.
The fee relates to the child-specific clinical support completed during the time reserved for your child, rather than a cancellation charge. This ensures that the clinical time committed to your child’s Therapy Block continues to support their goals, even when they cannot attend directly.
The time may be used for:
- preparing or adapting home-practice activities;
- developing individualised therapy resources;
- reviewing recordings, assessments or other clinical information;
- analysing therapy data and planning future sessions;
- preparing written recommendations;
- liaising with other members of your child’s team, where appropriate;
- completing a Therapy Block Plan, progress update or another activity due as part of the block; or
- completing another clinically appropriate activity that supports your child’s goals.
You can request a particular activity. Flow Talk will consider your request and use the time in a way that is clinically appropriate and relevant to your child’s Therapy Block.
The amount of child-specific clinical work completed will be equal to the total planned time reserved for the appointment, including its direct and associated indirect clinical time.
This work is provided and invoiced as a child-specific clinical support service, rather than as a cancellation. Everything completed will be documented in your child’s clinical record.
If you would like a copy of the work completed during the reserved time, please specifically request one from Flow Talk.
Less than 48 hours’ notice
When less than 48 hours’ notice is provided, or when an appointment is missed without notice, the full scheduled appointment fee applies.
Families may request that Flow Talk use the reserved time to complete a particular child-specific activity. Flow Talk will consider the request where it is clinically appropriate and practical to complete within the available time.
Please note: Therapy Block Plans, progress updates and other activities with separately allocated indirect clinical time remain additional to the missed appointment. With less than 48 hours’ notice, these activities do not replace the reserved appointment and will still be completed and invoiced separately where applicable.
Travel fees
Flow Talk provides community appointments to self-managed families only.
The agreed travel fee remains payable when a child cannot attend a scheduled community appointment, including when more than 48 hours’ notice is provided. This is because the travel time was reserved as part of the child’s Therapy Block and cannot readily be reallocated.
The travel fee also applies when less than 48 hours’ notice is provided or an appointment is missed without notice.
Public holidays
Flow Talk is closed on public holidays. Appointments do not proceed on these days, and families are not charged an appointment or cancellation fee.
Public holiday closures will be accounted for when Therapy Blocks are planned.
When Flow Talk cancels
Families will not be charged when Flow Talk cancels an appointment.
Where possible and clinically appropriate, Flow Talk will discuss an alternative appointment or arrangement with the family.
Invoices and payment
Invoices are issued weekly and payment is due within seven days of the invoice date.
Why Flow Talk uses this policy
Speech therapy is most effective when delivered with appropriate frequency, continuity and practice dose. Flow Talk’s block model allows a defined amount of clinical time to be protected for each child across the school term.
Reserving appointments in advance also means that Flow Talk commits staffing, preparation and service capacity to each family for the duration of the block. This time generally cannot be offered to another family when an individual appointment cannot be attended.
When more than 48 hours’ notice is provided, redirecting the appointment to a genuine child-specific clinical support service allows the reserved time to continue contributing meaningfully to the child’s goals.
Letting Flow Talk know
Please notify your child’s therapist by email or text message as early as possible if your child cannot attend. You are welcome to suggest a child-specific activity when providing more than 48 hours’ notice. If you would like a copy of the completed work, please include that request in your email or text message.