AuDHD diagnosis in Australia: how to get assessed for ADHD and autism (2026)

AuDHD is a community term for being both autistic and ADHD. You won't find it in a diagnostic manual, so in practice an AuDHD diagnosis means two diagnoses, ADHD and autism, each assessed against its own criteria. Australia's National Guideline for autism assessment expects a diagnostic report to list co-occurring conditions, and it gives a dual autism and ADHD diagnosis as its example.

The overlap is common. A 2021 meta-analysis by Rong and colleagues, published in Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, found that 38.5% of autistic people currently meet criteria for ADHD (56 studies), and 40.2% across their lifetime (13 studies). Australia's ADHD guideline, from the Australasian ADHD Professionals Association (AADPA), lists autistic people among the groups who have a higher rate of ADHD than the general population, and asks that an ADHD diagnosis prompt clinicians to consider other conditions.

For what living with both can look like, see our guide to AuDHD and having both ADHD and autism.

• Book a longer GP appointment. Tell your GP you would like to be assessed for ADHD and autism. Autism CRC suggests adults start with a GP or another primary health care provider, who looks at your experiences from childhood to now and your health and wellbeing. Bringing notes, school reports or someone who knew you as a child can help.
• Get a referral. If you are under 25, your GP refers you to a paediatrician or psychiatrist, who can use the Medicare items for complex neurodevelopmental conditions and refer you for allied health assessments. If you are 25 or over, your GP can refer you to a psychiatrist, who can assess and diagnose under standard Medicare items. You can also go to a private psychologist without a Medicare-rebated referral and pay their fee.
• Ask whether one clinician assesses both. Some psychiatrists and clinical psychologists assess both conditions, and some only one. If you are seen by two clinicians, ask them to share reports, with your consent.
• Go through each assessment. The autism assessment covers how you function day to day, a medical evaluation and a diagnostic evaluation. Autism CRC notes that assessments include in-person consultation, though some parts can be done by telehealth. The ADHD assessment covers your symptoms across settings, your developmental, mental health and medical history, and reports from people who know you.
• Get your report and a feedback meeting. The report should explain each diagnostic decision and suggest next steps for support. An assessment can end without one or both diagnoses, and the report should still explain what was found.

If your GP is trained to diagnose ADHD in your state, they may be able to handle the ADHD side while you are referred on for autism.

• Raise your concerns early. Talk to your GP, child health nurse or your child's early childhood educator. They can help you work out what your child might need.
• Ask for a paediatrician referral. A paediatrician often leads the assessment for children, either privately or through a public child development service. Under 25, a GP referral to a paediatrician or psychiatrist opens the Medicare items for autism diagnosis and up to eight allied health assessments.
• Look into free public services. Several states run free child development services with their own age and area rules. Our autism assessment cost guide lists them by state.
• Get help while you wait. Children younger than 6 don't need a diagnosis for the NDIS early childhood approach. See our guide on the NDIS and autism assessment.
• Share school or childcare input. Both assessments use information from more than one setting, so teacher or educator observations are usually asked for.

Our guide to ADHD assessment for children covers the ADHD side in more detail.

The two conditions are covered by different Australian guidelines, and they describe who can diagnose in different ways.

For autism, the guideline describes two ways to reach a diagnosis. In a Lead Practitioner Diagnostic Evaluation, one qualified clinician makes the diagnosis with input from at least one other practitioner. A Consensus Team Diagnostic Evaluation brings in several practitioners and is suggested when the picture is complex, including when more than one diagnosis may apply.

Speech pathologists and occupational therapists can be part of a consensus team for autism but do not lead the diagnosis on their own.

States are changing whether GPs can diagnose ADHD and start treatment, and each has its own training program, age range and timing. Our state guides set out the current rules:

• GP ADHD diagnosis in Queensland
• GP ADHD diagnosis in NSW
• GP ADHD diagnosis in South Australia
• GP ADHD diagnosis in Victoria
• GP ADHD diagnosis in Western Australia
• GP ADHD diagnosis across Australia

None of these programs change who can diagnose autism, so if you are being assessed for both, expect a referral for the autism assessment even where your GP can diagnose ADHD.

You can be assessed for both conditions in one process or one after the other. A combined assessment shares the history-taking and background questionnaires, while separate assessments let you see a specialist in each condition. If you already have one diagnosis, take your existing report to the new assessor so they can build on it. Our combined ADHD and autism assessment guide covers how clinics run combined assessments.

On cost, Medicare rebates for autism assessment are much broader for people under 25. See our autism assessment cost guide and our ADHD assessment cost guide.

A diagnosis report should come with recommendations for support. Our guide to support and treatment when you have AuDHD sets out what Australian guidelines and published research say when both conditions are present. If you are considering the NDIS, our guide on the NDIS and autism assessment explains what your report needs.