FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Once called a Chiropodist, a Podiatrist is an expert in foot, ankle and lower limb health. They look after a wide range of foot problems including flat feet, foot & heel pain, ingrown toenails and many more. Your Podiatrist can also provide you with regular foot checks and care to help prevent any foot complications. This is especially the case with people who have Diabetes, blood circulatory issues, and nerve conditions.

Upon booking, our friendly staff will ask you what problems you are experiencing with your feet. This will help us determine the most appropriate appointment for you. This will also reduce the amount of confusion, time lost and fees that comes with being booked for the wrong appointment.

If you are experiencing pain, you will be booked in for an initial biomechanical assessment where the Podiatrist will look at the way you walk and the posture of your joints. From this, we customise a management plan which will reduce pain, increase functionality and improve performance and walking.

If you need your nails and skin looked after and general foot care, you will be booked in for an initial general treatment. Your Podiatrist will provide treatment to trim and file your nails and look after conditions such as warts, corns, callus, fungal nails, cracked heels, and tinea. If you have Diabetes and require a Diabetes foot assessment, this will also be booked under an initial general treatment.

Routine skin and nail care does not hurt. Our Podiatrist is very gentle and careful to ensure your treatment is as comfortable as possible. In cases where pain already exist e.g. ingrown toenails, there might be some discomfort. If the ingrown is sensitive, we can offer local anesthetic if necessary.

The frequency of your appointments depends on the type of appointment you are attending for. Each person is different meaning that the frequency may differ between two people even though they are being seen for the same type of treatment. On your first appointment, this will be discussed with you.

The arch in your foot allows the foot to support your body weight while standing, walking or doing activity. The arch is supported and strengthened by a number of ligaments and tendons, one of which is called the plantar fascia. The movement of the arch is what enables us to move and adapt to different floor surfaces. A Podiatrist is trained to assess the arch of the foot and its movement and identify any issues which could lead to injury or pain, such as plantar fasciitis which can have symptoms such as heel pain and pain when first stepping out of bed in the morning.

Yes, we regularly see and treat children. Children are one of the largest group of patients we see due to their rapid growth spurts and their high activity levels. We do a thorough assessment on all children and provide parents with a tailored management plan which will help their children get better. More information can be found on our Kids Feet page.

We treat many conditions that children can experience, growth pain being one of them. It is very common for kids to feel growing pain at their heels, ankles, calves, knees and hips. We will first conduct a thorough assessment and provide you with an appropriate and tailored management plan to support your child’s growth. We will look at the way they stand, the way they walk and check their muscles. Some treatment plans may also involve some exercises, footwear recommendation and custom shoe orthosis if necessary. Each child is different so we ensure that we tailor management plans to suit your child’s needs.

There may be a number of reasons as to why you experience pain and/or discomfort when walking or exercising. There are many different structures such as small bones, ligaments, tendons, muscles and other body tissue which may be the reason you experience pain when you move. It can be very difficult to pinpoint which structure(s) is affected. Your Podiatrist will perform a comprehensive assessment to identify what is causing your pain or discomfort.

Whether it be heel pain, forefoot pain, ingrown toenails, corns/calluses, arthritis, flat feet,  ill-fitting shoes or any other reason, our Podiatrist will ensure to do all the necessary testing to figure out why you are experiencing pain, and provide you with the most appropriate management plan to help relieve your pain.

Heel pain can be caused by either heel spurs, plantar fasciitis or Achilles tendon problems. In most occasions, shockwave therapy is the most successful in providing short-term positive outcomes. Footwear change, custom medical insoles and deep connective tissue massage may also be included in your management plan. Your Podiatrist will always do an initial biomechanical assessment before recommending you with the most appropriate treatment.

Depending on your extras health cover, you may be covered for Podiatry services. We accept all major health funds and have the HICAPS machine in the clinic. This means you can bring your health insurance card to receive an instant rebate for your appointment, leaving you with less out of pocket fees.

If you are unsure if your health fund covers you for Podiatry services, it is best that you discuss your cover with your health insurance. If you are unsure of item numbers, our friendly staff will be more than happy to provide them for you.

Depending on the type of appointment, you may be eligible for bulk-billed Podiatry services. If you are eligible, Your GP can provide you with an Enhanced Primary Care plan (EPC) or Chronic Disease Management (CDM) plan, which gives you access to 5 medicare rebated visits per year. We bulk-bill general treatment visits (nail & skin care and diabetes foot assessments) with a valid care plan from your GP.

You may still use your medicare visits for initial biomechanical assessments and pain management. However, not all of these type of appointments are bulk-billed and there may be some out of pocket fees. Please give us a call on (02) 8764 4604 to ask about which services will incur out of pocket fees and how much. Once you have paid for your visit, you will be provided with a receipt so you can claim a rebate back from medicare, manually.

Discussing this with your GP at your consultation will ensure you have a valid referral. The following information should be included on your EPC / CDM care plan if you wish to claim from medicare:

• Our business name: “The Foot Force Podiatry”
• Our business address: 4/43 Ware Street, Fairfield NSW 2165
• The number of services you are referred for Podiatry
• Your GP has signed and dated the referral
• You have not already used all 5 of our medicare visits for the year elsewhere (even if it were for physio, chiropractor, dietician or any other health professionals).

To ensure we have enough information about your health so we can provide you with the best possible care, please ask your GP to provide a copy of your health summary (including medications).

Yes, we accept Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) for your Podiatry treatment and services. However, your coverage will depend on the type of card you have.

For Veterans with a Gold Card, you will be completely covered for all podiatry services. For Veterans with a White Card, DVA will fund podiatry services if they are required because of an accepted war or service related injury or disease.

We recommend speak with DVA prior to a consultation to identify your level of entitlement. Once you have discussed your coverage with DVA, you will need a referral letter from your GP in order to claim through DVA. We request you bring the referral and your DVA card with you to all Podiatry visits.

Yes, we do accept Work Cover claims and provide treatment accordingly. However, we do not bill WorkCover directly. You will be required to pay the full consultation fee on the day of your visit. You will then be provided with a receipt to seek reimbursement from your insurance company. For more information, visit our Work Cover page.

Yes, we do accept CTP claims and provide treatment accordingly. However, we do not bill your insurance company directly. You will be required to pay the full consultation fee on the day of your visit. You will then be provided with a receipt to seek reimbursement from your insurance company. For more information, visit our CTP page.

We accept payments through Visa and MasterCard, and HICAPS payments. We do not currently accept American Express or cash. We also can access NDIS funding and Work Cover.

We ask that you provide 24 business hours notice for cancellations or rescheduling of general appointments. For NDIS/Workers comp/surgery/MyAged Care/LASER appointments, we require at least 48 business hours notice. We know the unexpected can often happen, so a courtesy phone call if you are going to miss an appointment is always appreciated.

An appointment which is cancelled or rescheduled with insufficient notice, may incur a $50 cancellation fee or render your deposit voice. No-show appointments will also incur a $50 fee or render your deposit void. We have put this cancellation policy in place to make it fair for other patients who are waiting for an appointment.

In situations where you are seen under NDIS, MyAged Care, or Work Cover, 48 business hrs’ notice is required, or 100% of the fee is payable. These types of bookings require substantially longer appointment times to address concerns efficiently.

Yes, we follow the NSW healths regulations and sterilise ALL our instruments after use. This ensures we kill all germs, bacteria, viruses and fungus before we use the instruments on our patients. This lowers the risk of infection and cross-contamination. The Foot Force Podiatry adopt industry standard best practices to ensure the safety and care of our patients at all times.

Yes, we do offer home visits, including for nursing homes for Fairfield and surrounding suburbs for patients who are home-bound or find it difficult to leave the home due to age, illness or disability. We do accept EPC/CDM for medicare rebate and a travel fee does apply depending on your home location. More information can be found on our Home Visits page.

Yes, the Downey Lane car park is located just behind the Civic Plaza complex and provides you with 3 hours FREE parking. Entry to the clinic is less than 1min walk from the back of the Civic Plaza complex from Downey Lane. There is also an easy access ramp for those who require wheelchair or walking frame access.

As registered health practitioners, we are required to abide by our medical responsibility to maintain patient confidentiality and privacy unless advised otherwise by the patient or in occasions where requested by law. We ensure to protect all information and details provided to us by our patients. Unless advised by you, your information will not be shared with anyone else unless legally required to do so.

Your feet can definitely contribute to lower back pain. The way your arch and foot moves with your ankles can cause your knees to turn inward. This in turn can impact your hips which will affect the way you walk. If not corrected, this may affect your spine leading to lower back pain. On most occasions, this can be fixed with conservative measures such as correct footwear and custom medical insoles for your shoes.

Services mean the appointment you book with us, and the associated fees with that service. We provide as much information about the services we provide on our website, over the phone, via e-mail and other communication modalities to ensure our patients make an informed choice prior to booking one of our services.

Our service fees comprise a range of tasks, which may include but is not limited to: history taking, assessment, diagnosis, treatment, education, clinical notes, referral letters, treatment plans and administration.

We do not charge based on time, rather, based on the types of tasks that we perform during that service. However, some of our fees may also reflect the time we spend on a particular service. Therefore we DO NOT offer refunds for the service and/or time we have provided for you.

If you believe that a service does not meet your expectations or addressed your concerns please let us know A.S.A.P. This will give us the opportunity to offer you another service.

Please note: We reserve the right to refuse to offer you another service if we believe your request is unreasonable.

At The Foot Force Podiatry, we provide a range of medical devices, these can include, but are not limited to; custom-made and prefabricated foot orthotics, ankle-foot orthoses (AFO), ankle braces, and interdigital devices.

Medical devices we provide come with no ‘guarantee’ of successful treatment of your condition or a positive outcome.

Medical conditions are often complex. There may be many unforeseen circumstances where a medical device has not achieved a successful outcome.

We therefore believe it is inappropriate and DO NOT offer a refund for any medical devices.

If you are unhappy with a medical device that we have provided, we encourage you to contact us A.S.A.P. We will make every attempt to resolve your concerns.

Please note: We reserve the right to refuse a refund, repair, or replacement if we believe your request is unreasonable. 

Products include items that we purchase from third party organisations and resell to our patients. Examples may include, but are not limited to: creams, spiky balls, massage devices, footwear, etc.

Due to the products we provide being obtained from third party organisations, we cannot guarantee their quality.

If a product does not meet your expectations or is faulty, please contact us to arrange a replacement within 7 days or purchase.

Please note: We reserve the right to refuse a refund, repair, or replacement if we believe your request is unreasonable.