No, you don’t need a referral from a GP or doctor to see a chiropractor. We do, however, often see patients recommended by their local GP.

If you are claiming treatment under a third-party plan such as a Medicare care plan, Department of Veterans Affairs, motor vehicle accident insurance (ICWA), or WorkCover, then you you’ll need a referral from your GP.

Your first visit or initial consultation at our clinic is a comprehensive 45-minute session.

Your chiropractor will review your pain, injury and any other health concerns  and discuss your expectations and what you’d like to achieve with our help. We will then do a physical assessment in order to make a diagnosis and understand what is going wrong with your problem. From there, we will explain your problem in words you can understand recommend a plan to get you out of pain and help you work towards your management goals.

In 99% of cases, we will start treatment on your first appointment. This will generally include some form of spinal adjustment, as well as soft tissue treatment such as trigger point release, active release or dry needling. We will generally recommend some initial exercises, including rehab and home advice, to get you working on the issue in between appointments.

There’s no simple answer to this question, and generally it will depend on the nature and extent of your problem, how long you’ve had it for as well as what you hope to achieve or work towards.

For short-term pain relief, some issues may resolve in as little as three to four visits. For more long-standing or recurrent problems, patients may require anywhere from six to ten or more appointments. 

Our approach at Fortitude Chiro is that we will monitor your case and response to treatment very closely over the first 3-4 visits. This helps ensure that you are responding and improving predictably with treatment, so that we know we’re on the right track and we avoid wasting time if our approach is not for you. If we don’t make improvements after an initial 3-4 sessions, we will generally have your case reviewed by another practitioner or refer you out for some further scans or to see another practitioner, including a GP or specialist, to get some more information as to what’s going on.

The short answer is many patients find treatment from Chiro & Physio for problems like lower pain, neck pain and other injuries can have some similarities.

Chiropractors typically are more focused on using spinal adjustments (manipulative therapy) in their treatment of spinal related problems. Some Physios also incorporate manipulations as part of their treatment, although this is less common.

At Fortitude Chiro we combine this with other treatment modalities such as soft tissue therapy, dry needling & exercise based rehab therapy. This can overlap with the therapies that some physiotherapists use in there treatments.

The reality is that there can be a lot of similarities between allied health professionals (Chiro, Physio & Osteo), when it comes to treatment pain & injuries in private practice clinic environments. 

Chiropractic care is considered safe when performed by a qualified and registered practitioner. Like any healthcare treatment, it is not completely risk-free, but research consistently shows that serious complications are rare, particularly when patients are properly assessed and diagnosed before treatment.

It is normal to feel mild soreness after a chiropractic adjustment, mild muscle soreness or stiffness is one of the most common short-term responses following chiropractic treatment. For most people, it may feel similar to post-exercise soreness and settles within 24-48 hours. It is typically mild, temporary, and part of the body adapting to changes in movement.

Yes, we describe our approach to treatment as ‘multimodal’. What this means is that we incorporate multiple different modalities into our treatment sessions. Alongside spinal & extremity joint adjustments, we use muscular therapies such as:

• Trigger point release
• Soft tissue therapy
• Active release
• Trigger point dry needling
• IASTM (sometimes called scraping or graston therapy)

We also provide exercise-based rehab care, which aims to improve mobility, motor control, and strength.

Yes, we accept all private health insurance. Just check you have cover for Chiropractic included under your extras or ancillary policy (most do). We  use the HICAPS terminal for on the spot claiming, meaning that you only have to pay the gap amount.

We are also a BUPA preferred provider under the BUPA Members First network

Yes! At Fortitude Chiro, we look after a lot of active people, such as runners, crossfitters, body builders & physique athletes, gym athletes, grapplers, mixed martial artists and more!

Our female Chiropractor Hannah Gee has a special interest and extra training with it comes to looking after pregnancy women and children, including babies.

Our other practitioners Harold & Jed are both experienced with looking after women throughout pregnancy as well as children aged 6 and above.

As of July 2026, are our consult fees are:

Initial consultation and treatment (45 mins) – $125

Standard Consultation (15 mins) – $75

Extended Treatment (30 mins) – $104

For more information about our consult fees, including concession rates, here’s our main fees page.