The Home of Fertility with Liz Walton & Helen Zee

Unlocking Superannuation for Fertility Care and Why the ATO Asks You To See a Psychiatrist with Dr Justine Schelle

• Helen Zee • Season 2

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We share a clear path to accessing superannuation for fertility treatment with psychiatrist Dr. Justine Schelle, explaining why the ATO requires a psychiatric assessment and how that step protects mental health. Dr Justine shares generously the steps, including how Fertility Psych offers a unique service to streamline the process and save on costs and timings.

You will hear which treatments qualify—IVF, egg collection, IUI, surgical sperm retrieval, and related gynaecological procedures—and get clarity in what’s changed for surrogacy access. We also cover donor options, interstate and overseas care, and how accommodation and flights can be included when tied to treatment.

• Why a psychiatrist assessment is required by the ATO for fertility treatment 
• How assessments detect depression risk and support safe pregnancy and postpartum 
• What procedures qualify, including IVF, IUI, surgical sperm retrieval, and related surgery 
• National telehealth access and rural Medicare benefits 
• Using your partner’s super and lodging multiple applications within six months 
• Donor eggs, embryos, imported sperm, travel costs, and now surrogacy eligibility 
• DIY MyGov application steps to avoid third‑party fees 


Dr Schelle brings over 20 years of experience across Australia and Internationally. Her career spans hospital settings, clinical roles, the medico-legal industry, and FIFO psychiatry in regional areas. From 2016 to 2022, she was the consultant psychiatrist for the Assertive Outreach Team at Royal North Shore Hospital, leaving this role to concentrate on FertilityPsych and other psychiatric pursuits.

Having grown up and worked rurally, Dr Schelle understands the lack of accessible services in remote areas and recognises that even in cities, finding the right psychiatrist can be challenging. She has a strong interest in fertility-related psychiatry and supporting individuals and families through this journey.


Liz Walton:

Welcome to the Home of Fertility, a space for real conversation and expert insights about fertility, healing, and creating family. I'm Liz Walton.

Helen Zee:

And I'm Helen Zee. We are two mums who've walked this path and are passionate about supporting you on your journey, emotionally, physically, and spiritually.

Liz Walton:

We talk about it all. Fertility treatment, holistic support, relationship, mindset, and the emotional high and left.

Helen Zee:

Because sometimes the missing piece lies in someone else's story, in the quiet wisdom of the body, or in a breakthrough that's finally made for you.

Liz Walton:

We are so glad you are here. Let's dive in.

Helen Zee:

Today I am super excited to be sharing the expertise of Dr. Justine Schelle, who is a consultant psychiatrist who has a particular interest in psychiatry relating to fertility and is eager to assist individuals and families during what can be an emotional, isolating, and costly journey. I, for one, have got questions to ask because I know that accessing your superannuation for fertility treatments and medical treatments is something that is relatively new for us. And a lot of people don't know about it. And those that do know about it go on hearsay and don't get the proper information to make an informed decision. So today I'm happy to pick all that out with the lovely Dr. Justine and welcome.

Dr Justine Schelle:

Thank you very much, Helen. I'm very excited to be here as well. Wonderful.

Helen Zee:

I want to start off by asking why do I need to see a psychiatrist to access superannuation for fertility treatment?

Dr Justine Schelle:

That's a great question, and certainly one that we get asked reasonably frequently. Sometimes people feel very annoyed that they have to see a psychiatrist because they say there's never, you know, there's nothing wrong with me. I don't have any psychiatric issues, and why do we have to see one? It's an ATO requirement basically. So for fertility treatment, if you're wanting to access super, one of the requirements is that you see a psychiatrist. You need two forms in order to access super. One has to be from a psychiatrist, and the other can be from either your GP or your fertility doctor. We find that the majority of people get the combination from us and their GP, as often fertility doctors are reluctant to do the second form, mainly because it can be seen as a conflict of interest, as in access to your superannuation and then pay it to my clinic who will pay it to me. So, yes. So many of them refuse to do it, nicely, of course. Um, so usually it's us and the GP. I think I think the reason that the government chose psychiatrists as the other specialist to do this pre this um these forms is probably because we seem where we would be the most appropriate. Um and the we also during the assessments with fertility psych, which take about an hour, um, we do a full psychiatric assessment. And through that process, we probably pick up between five to ten percent of our patients who have a major psychiatric condition, usually depression, and we're able to give advice to them and to their GPs about how to treat that. Right. We we also know that if if people, particularly women, are depressed before they get pregnant, there's a much greater risk of them developing postnatal depression after the baby's born. So by hopefully by capturing some of those people because they have to see a psychiatrist, we're able to effectively be active in treating what is likely to become postnatal depression in these women. Um, and that obviously has long-term consequences for paternal and infant attachment, um, and very long-term consequences potentially for that child in the future to be raised by a very depressed mother.

Helen Zee:

Yeah. Wow, that you've just opened my eyes up. Um as you're talking, uh, a few things have come up for me, and that is you are correct in what you're saying about undiagnosed um conditions that they carry on through pregnancy as well as postpartum. And we've seen the statistics come out, and behind the statistics are people and families. And I feel that what you're doing here is you're a safety net. You're a safety net of capturing and also identifying uh people that may not realize are at risk.

Dr Justine Schelle:

Absolutely. And I think a lot of the time people are very understandably very, very stressed about doing IBS, particularly if they've had sales cycles. Um, and uh they think this is just normal. You know, I'm disappointed about not having a baby, all my friends are having babies, and yes, I'm low in mood, but what would you expect otherwise? And there's a difference between being low in mood because your fertility journey isn't going as you had hoped, and having a major depressive episode. Um, we are thrilled at times when we've really encouraged women to have treatment, um, keeping in mind that particular antidepressants are considered very, very safe in pregnancy and breastfeeding, as well as obviously interactions with a psychologist or counsellor. Um, but we're thrilled when people contact us later and say going on that medication or seeing a psychologist, or preferably the combination of both, has changed my life. And not only have you changed my life, but you've also made my relationship much happier as well because my partner was beside themselves with how depressed I was. And yes, I'm still not pregnant, but at least I'm managing my life better and my relationships better. So it feels like a gift. Yeah, we and we love hearing those stories. Um, it's just great to have people obviously get pregnant, um, but also to hear that we have made a major change in women's lives in general as well.

Helen Zee:

And uh the question that comes to mind and my curiosity is what made you decide to specialise in this area of fertility and psychiatry.

Dr Justine Schelle:

It was serendipitous, really. Um, I was talking to a colleague and she mentioned that one of our other colleagues was doing this for a larger company. And I had a look at how that company operated, um, and they're still they're still working. I obviously won't mention any names. And I just thought I can do this better than them. Um, I can not only assess women um and do a full mental health assessment, which which takes an hour, whereas a lot of the other doctors doing it for other clinics um were just saying we went for 15 minutes signing the forms and sending them on their way. Um but I also thought I can do it cheaper than the other clinics because with my assistance um I will write exactly what people need to do to access super through their MyGov accounts. Um, they won't need a third party to assist them with logging into their MyGov accounts. Um, that part of the process is actually really, really simple. And other companies charge a lot of money for that assistance. And obviously, that suits some people, they just want to outsource everything, and I can understand that as well. But for people who don't want to outsource everything and want to save money, um, this is a is a fantastic service. So I I started it seven years ago. Um initially it was just me, and um I thought, oh, this is a lovely little part-time job to do while I work um you know a lot more hours in the public hospital system, and then it just grew and grew. Um, there was so much need for this service, and we were getting fantastic reviews on Google, for example. Um, Facebook groups started talking about fertility psych, um, and then some IVF clinics started recommending us directly to their patients if they wanted to access superannuation. So ultimately it got to such a stage where I couldn't do everything. Um, I got an admin person, and then and then I started asking friends who I'd worked with or trained with if they'd like to join as well. Um, so I was extremely selective with who came to join the fertility site business. Um, and that they were all wonderful women and and a few men who I'd also worked with and thought would would be really great. Um we work very quickly, we tend to get reports back to people within 24 hours, generally, occasionally 48. Um, so that the momentum is going. Um, they see us, they get the report, they go to their GP, um, and realistically, all of that process can happen within a few days.

Helen Zee:

Well, and that would be such a relief for people because we already know that the waiting costs so much emotionally and mentally. And so to be able to have uh a process executed so effectively, I feel would give people hope that that they're gonna get closer to their next goal and series of goals. I've got a question for you, two questions. Three questions, actually. Keep going. One is uh do you you service people nationally, I'm assuming. You don't just need to be in the jurisdiction of where you live to be able to carry out this service on someone's behalf, correct?

Dr Justine Schelle:

Absolutely, that's the case. So um on our website um there's a tab that says posts, and if you look on that tab, um you can see the map of Australia and where we've seen people from. So um our all of our appointments now are done over Zoom. Um we often see people, women in particular, um, sitting in their cars at lunchtime on their mobile phones, zooming us. We've seen people from almost the tip of um Queensland, down to Tasmania, um in the Kimberleys in Western Australia, just everywhere. Um, Alice Springs, Broken Hill. Um, so a significant portion of our patients are rurally based, where of course it's even harder to find psychiatrists. And um, Medicare has a benefit that if you haven't seen a psychiatrist within the last 12 months and you live rurally, um, you can have one free psychiatrist appointment. So the very vast majority of people that we see from rural areas don't have to pay us anything at all.

Helen Zee:

I'm just gonna write that down because um I feel like we can highlight that as well for people that so they can come in and get more information.

Dr Justine Schelle:

Yes, there's a there's something on the um on the web called the Monash Medical Model, um, and that tells people where they live with regards to if they're rural, regional, or metropolitan. Um it's a system graded from one to seven. If you're a one, then you're considered metropolitan. Um, and that doesn't only include big cities, unfortunately. In, for example, in New South Wales, where I am, all from Newcastle down past Wongong is all considered metro. Um, but the majority of the rest of New South Wales is considered regional or rural. So there's um we I can't remember, but I think about 20% of our patients are rural or regional. So they don't they don't pay anything for service.

Helen Zee:

And I am assuming that as a uh a wholesome provider in the services that you do, that you also do the applications to the ATO where you mentioned my gov, I'm assuming that you would be doing it the application to the ATO, and not all companies do applications to the ATO? No, it's the opposite.

Dr Justine Schelle:

So um most of the other companies, I think all of the other companies actually do the application to the ATO on the patient's behalf and charge several hundred dollars for doing that.

Speaker 2:

Yes.

Dr Justine Schelle:

Whereas our company doesn't do that, um, but we send out an email when we send the report to the patient, the GP, and the fertility doctor about exactly how to do it themselves online.

Helen Zee:

Love that. So that's how the go-to guide is part of the service, which means that people will be saving hundreds of dollars as a result of that. Absolutely.

Dr Justine Schelle:

And and more to the point. Yeah, and a third party doesn't access people's MyGov account. So you're the only one as the patient who is accessing your own MyGov account or your partner's MyGov account if you're using their super. Because you don't have to use your own super, you can use your partner's super.

Helen Zee:

Yeah. The other question that came up for me while we were talking was we're talking that psychiatrist uh consulting psychiatrist is needed to be engaged to do a review to access superannuation for fertility treatments. Now we know that we can also access superannuation for other treatments and medical treatments. Yes. Are we saying that you don't need a psychiatrist for a lot of the other medical treatments? That's correct.

Dr Justine Schelle:

So for fertility treatment, and that's not just IBS. Um, it can also include egg harvesting, um, IUI, um pieces, which is the testicular biopsies in order to access sperm, um, or even gynecological surgery related to fertility. Um, all of those need a psychiatrist. Other operations or procedures such as um bariatric surgery, um dental surgery or implants, etc., um, don't need a psychiatrist. Some clinics do want another opinion from psychiatrists. So we've certainly done some lap banding applications or gastric bypass. We've done a few dental, but we really concentrate on the fertility side of things, which is how we can be very, very specific and our applications are accepted well and truly by the ATO. Um, very, very occasionally someone will get a message back from the ATO saying that their application has been declined. Um, what we ask them to do is ring the ATO and find out why. It's usually that the GP hasn't put a date on the paperwork. Um it's not an issue with our paperwork. We haven't had problems. Um occasionally people say, Oh, um, I was going overseas for my treatment. I told you I was going to Greece, but now I'm going to Spain, and the ATO want that changed. Um, so we we do that on the same day as we get that phone call or that even usually that email. Um, of course, we don't charge anything for that. Um so if there are any issues, then we certainly sort them out from our point of view. But there are so few, it's it's not even really worth talking about.

Helen Zee:

Say, you know, their their state or nation, they can travel internationally for that as well. Absolutely. So this is incredible information to know. Like I know that the person listening to this is being highly educated and uh to make their choices as well. It's wonderful.

Dr Justine Schelle:

Thank you. Um we we see several people a week who are going overseas to get donor products, primarily donor eggs or occasionally donor embryos. Um, but that is absolutely part of what we do. Um, and the ATO agree for funding to be accessed for accommodation flights and obviously the treatment overseas. Um women are accessing donor sperm products. Um a lot of those are imported into Australia, and again, they can access superannuation to pay for the cost of those as well. Um, people travel interstate quite often to have treatment at their preferred um IVX specialists, or that can be covered as well.

Helen Zee:

And can you have um uh uh more than one application? Because you've you've got funding and it's taking longer than what was anticipated. Yes.

Dr Justine Schelle:

So yes, you can. Um so according to the ATO, the applications need to be lodged within six months of seeing the psychiatrist. But what that means is during that six month period, you can lodge a number of applications. We you don't need to see us again. So the paperwork is valid for all of that time if you do need to go back and do either another egg collection or frozen embryo transfer, for example. So um, after that six month period, if you do want to access super again, you do need to see us again.

Helen Zee:

Yeah, yeah.

Dr Justine Schelle:

They're the ATO rules.

Helen Zee:

And um, would there be like a a cutoff because a person would also need to have a certain amount in their superannuation for life longevity? Or no, there doesn't seem no, you can use all of it if you can use all of it.

Dr Justine Schelle:

Um obviously that's not ideal because you will hopefully live for another 60 or so or 50 years after you've used it for IVF purposes. Um if you are using it for a second or third time, often the ATO will request the receipts to show that you actually have used the money appropriately for fertility treatment rather than spent it on, I don't know, holiday or something like that. Um, but certainly you can use it a number of times, and in theory, you could use all of your super.

Helen Zee:

Ideally, that's not going to happen. We want people to parenthood. Yes, absolutely.

Dr Justine Schelle:

Yes, because we can have and that's something that we talk to um our patients about as well. If they've had multiple failed attempts with their own eggs, we have quite a frank discussion about at least considering using donor products rather than keeping doing the same thing as they're getting older and older.

Helen Zee:

Yeah. Well those conversations, it's like the it's like us being in that space of being wise elders that people are going through. We do need to lean in and have what would feel like really difficult conversations, but when we can sit and and speak to our people, a woman and our couple, and just say the importance of creating a family, uh, where does that sit in alignment and in the values with whether that that genetic material comes from you andor other people exactly? And there's no right or wrong answer, but at least if there is that possibility of people saying, yes, I would do that, then you know you can start having the conversation and the counseling around the timing of that. Yes, yes.

Dr Justine Schelle:

And as you've just said, it's up to the individual or the couple to decide what is the most important for them. Is it having a child of their own genetic material or is it being a parent?

Speaker 2:

Yeah, yeah.

Dr Justine Schelle:

And you know, certainly we've assisted people, many, many people, with having donor product children, and those children could not be loved any more than they are. Like you know, it's amazing.

Helen Zee:

So that too is my practice, absolutely. So, Dr. Justine, what questions would somebody ask? And how long does the process take?

Dr Justine Schelle:

Yes. Um, so usually the process begins by um looking on the website, which is fertilitypsyc.com.au. Um, there is an intake form, um, which just basically is a request for information. We get that filled in by the patient. Um, we send back information that all happens usually within a few hours. Um, if people are interested, there's an online booking system that they find an appointment. Usually you can get an appointment within a week. It's pretty unreal, it's pretty unusual that you have to wait more than that. Um we also do have a very active wait list, um, and sometimes if the wait list gets a little bit long, an email is sent out to the other psychiatrist saying, Quick, can you open up a few more appointments? And generally speaking, most of the psychiatrists will open up one or two so that people don't have to wait for too long. Um after that, everyone who sees us because we are specialist doctors requires a GP referral. It can't be from the fertility doctor, uh, it has to be from a GP in order for people to get the best Medicare rebate. Um, so that sometimes slows things out down by a day or two. Um, we generally see them within a week. As I've said, their um the invoice um goes out within a few hours of being seen. Once they pay that, the um report goes to them, their GP and their fertility doctor within a few hours. Um and then they need to go back to their GP to get the second form for the ATO filled in. Um they apply to the ATO via their own MyGov account, and it generally takes about two to three weeks for the ATO to process the application. So in total, you know, if everything's going beautifully, from the first time you've ever basically heard of us to getting the money approved from the ATO would take about three weeks.

Helen Zee:

That is super fast.

Dr Justine Schelle:

We're very efficient. We've been doing this a long time and have literally seen thousands of patients during that time. Um, yes, we certainly the vast majority of people we've seen are female, but we see probably about two to three males a month who are requiring testicular either biopsies or extract aspirations or extractions um in order to obtain semen um and all of those applications um we assist with as well.

Helen Zee:

Does that also include um surrogacy?

Dr Justine Schelle:

Yes, it does now. Um so the ATO changed the rules around surrogacy in our at about Easter 2024. Beforehand, it didn't involve or didn't allow for surrogacy, but now does. So we since then have certainly seen um several, a number of um mainly same-sex male couples who are having surrogacy, but some some heterosexual couples who have also required it. Um we've got a little baby being born sort of any time now in Canada from a same-sex male couple, which we assisted with. Um, we've had we've got another little baby who is now in Canberra. Um, and we've yeah, so we yes, surrogacy is fine as well.

Helen Zee:

Pathways to parenthood have opened up to be able to not discriminate against uh the the inherent will that we have as a as a human being to want to become a parent.

Dr Justine Schelle:

Yes, yes.

Helen Zee:

The definition of the modern family has changed. And so it's great to see that the glass ceiling is lifting. Services are able to be more accessible to everybody who desires to be a parent.

Dr Justine Schelle:

Yes, yes, absolutely. So, and it's marvelous to be able to assist with all of those different combinations of families as well.

Helen Zee:

Yeah, great, great, wonderful. Ah, is there anything else that we've missed that this has been an intriguing conversation? I've relished in the information and what's what's possible for me to also uh through my own uh practice be able to share this information uh with people. So I ask you.

Dr Justine Schelle:

I can't think of too much else. Um I think the fact that we are frequently promoted by by members of Facebook groups um between people. And it's interesting. Generally, we say, How did you hear about us? Because it's fascinating. And um, you know, occasionally people find us on Google, particularly after reading the Google reviews, they're keen to see us. Um fertility clinics promote us, not all of them, but quite a few. Um, and the Facebook groups, then I'll say, Oh, which Facebook group? And often it's um, you know, IVF Australia or um Monash Gold Coast. But then there's other ones that I didn't even know existed, like Single Mothers Over 40, um, and I've had someone from Single Mothers Over 50 as well. Um, and just all these little niche groups that someone has used our services, been delighted with them, and is spreading the word. And um, often I'll someone will say, Oh, I just put on the face, I didn't know what to do, and how would I find a psychiatrist who has an interest in fertility specifically? Um and so I put it on my Facebook group, and within minutes, four or five people replied back, all saying, You have to use Fertility Psych. And obviously that just makes us so happy. Um, and and me as as the founder of this community, um, absolutely delighted as well. So um as I was saying, it got so busy, Helen and I um ended up employing or working with, I say, um, so many of my friends that I did actually successfully sell the business in May, but am still working with them. And um, because it's not just me um and the admin person doing all of the admin work, there's a few of those people now. Um, it's even more efficient than it was. So um, and they've actually Kept some of the same acne people as we had anyway.

Helen Zee:

So our wonderful, wonderful. This is why I'm excited that upcoming we've got the Melbourne Fertility Expo. You get to showcase um your keynote speaker position at the expo as or being a part of it at the panel. And also having other fertility and family planning providers get to know you and have this similar conversation that I'm having with you. So more and more people know the village that exists, the threads of connection that exists. So we are all more efficient about where we send our our people.

Dr Justine Schelle:

Yes. Well, there'll be two psychiatrists at that organized meeting. So the Fertility Summit, obviously, I'll be there, and Dr. Louisa Christie, who's absolutely delightful. And Jade, who is the business manager for Fertility Psych, who is so knowledgeable. And she runs the back office extraordinarily efficiently. So we're certainly keen to talk to as many people as would like to come and talk to us. We're psychiatrists, we can talk, as you've probably worked out. So we have a chat. You're very personable. Absolutely. Yeah, come and talk about it. There's no question, that's too silly. So and ask everything. We've been asked everything before. So you won't be the first.

Helen Zee:

Fabulous. And we're breaking the stigma. We're breaking the stigma of like, oh my gosh, I've got to do this. And it's now a psychiatrist, and now I have to duh and I've got to do this and I've got to do that. And it's all so overwhelming. At the end of the day, we are having a human experience. And just having the warmth of the conversation and the knowledge come through today, I know that I am grateful. And I dare say that the person listening is also grateful for this opportunity and this information. So thank you. Thank you.

Dr Justine Schelle:

I always feel I'd be very anxious before seeing a psychiatrist, even though I am one. But and so and so many of the patients say that they struggled to sleep the night before, or they've been so stressed about it. And at the end they say, that was actually really pleasant. And I'm like, yeah. So by all means, speak to us, have a cup of tea in your hand. And um, yeah, it's not scary. We're very nice. You are, you are. We're all very nice. I've chosen very lovely people.

Helen Zee:

So excellent. Once again, I thank you for your time, your knowledge, your expertise, and as well as the ethos that got you on this path and keeps you here, servicing so many people through this very special path to parenthood. Thank you so much for interviewing me, Calem. Thank you too. Thanks for joining us at the Home of Fertility. We hope today's episode brought you clarity, comfort, and connection.

Liz Walton:

If this podcast resonated, please share it. Leave a review or subscribe. This helps us support more people that are on this path.

Helen Zee:

And if you'd like to connect or share your story, find us on Instagram and Facebook at Australian Fertility Summit.

Liz Walton:

Remember the missing piece might be waiting in a story, your body's wisdom, or something new just made for you. Take care.