ABSTRACT
Freud often wrote as if to an imaginary hostile reader or a skeptical one. Australia is about as far from the wellspring of the psychoanalysis of Freud's Vienna as anything can be-both geographically and in terms of general lifestyle and living environment. The present situation needs to be understood in the context of the history of psychoanalysis in Australia. In Australia, however, it grew slowly and to not a very great extent. Fees paid by patients for all medical services provided by private medical practitioners in Australia are covered by Medicare, the universal health insurance scheme provided by the Australian government. The medical community in Australia, claiming professional freedom in the clinical arena as justification, has been largely successful in resisting any attempts to impose even reasonable controls. Although by no means widespread in the health care system, these concepts are beginning to become integrated into some early intervention programs and are beginning to influence planning for further services.
