The Federal Government has announced patients in lockdown will receive up to 20 Medicare-funded psychological services as Victorians grapple with the enforcement of tough new restrictions.

The extra MBS psychology services will be available until April 2021 to any patient in Australia living in a declared lockdown area and anyone ordered into isolation or quarantine.

To be eligible, patients must have a current GP mental health treatment plan — although details on the reviews which doctors will have to make to trigger the additional sessions are still unclear.

Minister for Health Greg Hunt announced the revamp of the Better Access scheme on Sunday after a state of emergency was declared in Victoria in response to the increasing number of coronavirus cases.