No, in-hospital psychiatric care does not have the 12-month waiting period like other hospital service categories. 

Police Health only requires you to wait 2 months to claim in-hospital psychiatric care for mental health conditions. These include, but are not limited to; 

• Depression 
• Anxiety 
• Bipolar mood disorder 

If you are transferring from another fund and have hospital cover which provides psychiatric care with restrictions, you can upgrade without having to serve the 2-month waiting period to access higher benefits for psychiatric care in a private hospital. 

This exemption applies only once per lifetime and can only be accessed if you have already completed an initial two months of membership on any level of hospital cover. 

Also, like all health insurers Police Health requires you to serve a 2 month waiting period for rehabilitation and palliative care, even if pre-existing.