nadine - our first FS appointment was around $160 - got about half of that pack. each subsequent appointment has been between $70 and $80 and get around $32 back from medicare (maybe a little less) - until you hit the safety net.

you'll possibly find that, even though your GP has done some testing, the FS will put you through a whole lot more testing - DH and I walked out with pathology request forms absolutely chockers with test requests - not sure if all FS' do it, but mine wrote on it that it was to be bulk billed. the only one we had to pay for was one that had to be sent to, i think, the royal children's hospital as it was a specialised test to see if my immune system was attacking and killing DH's little swimmers.

as tarkine said, you'll need a referral from a medico for your FS - if your OB/GYN writes it, it will last only three months - if your GP writes it, they can write a 12 month or "indefinite" referral. most will limit it to 12 months, but after they've had to write more than one, they might change that to indefinite.