The federal government is under pressure to scrap controversial plans to halve the number of annual Medicare-backed psychologist appointments.

NDIS Minister Bill Shorten told Deborah Knight that cutting the amount of psychologist Medicare funded visits is “not the problem”.

“The problem is we don’t have enough psychologists. One in three psychologists is at capacity, so they can’t see new clients,” said Shorten.

“We’re funding five hundred new psychologists positions,” he said.

Hear more highlights from Deborah Knight below: