Hi Naenae, As no one else has answered, I'll tell you what I know and someone else can jump in to correct me if I get it wrong!

You need a referral from your GP to see a gynae. It makes a difference to the medicare rebate you will receive for the consultation. Some specialists will refuse to see you without a referral as it indicates that you have seen a GP who agrees that the specialist consultation is required. Shouldn't be too hard to get from your GP. The referral needs to be addressed to the specific doctor you make an appt with, so you can ask your GP to refer you to someone specific or ask for his/her recommendation.

When you make the appt to see the gynae you can ask the receptionist what the cost of the initial consultation is and she will probably be able to give you an idea of the Medicare rebate so that you will have some idea of the out of pocket (OOP) cost. Somewhere between $100-200 is probably average OOP for an initial specialist consultation. You then have the costs of any BT or ultrasounds you require. You *might* be bulk billed for the BT's, maybe not. OOP for BT (depends on what they're for!) are usually not too much, say $30-100. US you may be bulk billed or OOP up to around $200ish. Medicare does give some rebate, but it's pretty average for US.

Private health insurance will NOT cover the cost of any of this... so far. The difference is if you require any treatment as an in-patient in hospital. PHI covers the cost of most things post admission (depending on the patient's cover and minus any excess). Being admitted to hospital (public or private hospital) as a private patient (which you would need to be to be treated by the gynae of your choice) is cost prohibitive without PHI. Thousands of $$$ for most admissions.

So, if you think you will only require a consultation in the specialists rooms with some basic tests such as BT's and maybe an US, it may be worthwhile seeing someone privately and accepting the OOP costs. If you (and your GP) believe you will require admission to hospital for treatment be aware it will cost you big $$$!

Hope that answered some of your questions. Good luck!