Therapy supports

What are NDIS therapy supports?

NDIS therapy supports are allied health services, such as occupational therapy, physiotherapy, speech pathology and psychology, funded to help a participant build or maintain the skills they need for daily life. They are mostly funded from the capacity building Improved Daily Living Skills budget. Therapy must relate to the participant's disability and goals; treatment for health conditions is usually funded by the health system instead.

When people say "NDIS therapy", they usually mean a therapist working with the participant (and often their family, carers or support workers) to assess needs, set goals, deliver a program, recommend equipment, and train others to carry the program into everyday life. Therapy is one of the main capacity building supports, because its purpose is to increase independence over time.

Which therapies the NDIS funds

The NDIS pricing schedule 2026-27, effective 24 September 2026, lists therapy items in its Therapy and Professional Supports appendix. The professions include:

• Occupational therapy, physiotherapy and speech pathology
• Psychology and counselling
• Dietetics, exercise physiology and podiatry
• Art therapy and music therapy
• Developmental education, social work and rehabilitation counselling
• Orientation and mobility, audiology, audiometry and orthoptics
• Specialist behavioural intervention (behaviour support), and "other therapy professionals"
• Therapy assistants, at Level 1 and Level 2, who deliver programs designed by a therapist

A separate Early Childhood Supports appendix lists equivalent items for young children supported through the early childhood approach, under registration group 0118. You can browse every profession's items and current price limits in the free NDIS price guide.

How therapy funding works

Most therapy is funded in the Improved Daily Living Skills category (support items starting "15"), delivered under registration group 0128, Therapeutic supports. The schedule also lists therapy items under other categories, such as employment-related therapy (items starting "10"), so use the item that matches the budget in the participant's plan.

Therapy is usually claimed by the hour. In the 2026-27 schedule, each therapy profession has a direct service item plus separate claim-type items, marked by a suffix:

Source: NDIA pricing arrangements and the 2026-27 schedule. Therapy funding in a plan is a budget, not a set number of sessions, so participants and therapists should agree how often sessions happen and how non-face-to-face time, travel and reports will be charged in a service agreement. The NDIS travel calculator and cancellation calculator help check those charges.

Before you start with a new therapist, it helps to ask:

1. How often do you recommend sessions, and for how long before we review?
2. How much of the time will be face-to-face, telehealth or non-face-to-face work?
3. Do you charge for travel, reports and cancellations, and how much notice do you need?
4. Could a therapy assistant deliver part of the program to stretch the budget?
5. How will you train my family or support workers to practise between sessions?
6. When will I get a progress report for my reassessment?

Getting therapy into your plan

Therapy is funded when the NDIA decides it is reasonable and necessary for the participant's disability and goals. The NDIA looks for evidence that therapy will make a real difference to how the person manages daily life, and that it isn't the responsibility of another system.

Useful evidence includes:

• reports from current therapists describing goals, progress and what is recommended next;
• a functional capacity assessment showing how the disability affects daily activities;
• clear NDIS goals that therapy will work towards, such as communicating at school or showering independently; and
• an explanation of how often therapy is needed and for how long, including any training for family or support workers.

Disability or health? The NDIS funds therapy related to the ongoing functional impact of a disability. Therapy to treat a health condition, recover from an acute injury or surgery, or manage a short-term illness is usually funded through Medicare, hospitals or other health services. Some participants use both, for example a psychologist through a Medicare mental health plan and an NDIS-funded occupational therapist for daily living skills.

Changes to therapy budgets from 1 October 2026

From 1 October 2026 the NDIA is reducing support budgets for two categories as plans are created or reassessed, or renewed from 1 February 2027: social, economic and community participation by 50%, and improved daily living skills by 10% (NDIA news, Changes to support budgets from 1 October). Because most therapy sits in improved daily living skills, many participants will see a smaller therapy budget at their next plan.

The NDIA says some supports in these categories are not affected, including employment supports, disability-related health supports, high intensity supports, intensive and complex behaviour supports, customised and wearable technology, and hearing services. The impact is individual, because every plan is based on the participant's own goals and needs. For therapists, this makes clear goals, efficient programs and good progress reports more important than ever.

Therapy vs therapy assistants vs support workers

Therapy can reach further when a therapist designs a program and others help deliver it. The key difference is who is qualified to assess and design, and who carries the program out.

What therapy providers need to know

• Professional registration: occupational therapists, physiotherapists, psychologists and podiatrists are registered with Ahpra; professions such as speech pathology, dietetics and exercise physiology are self-regulated through their professional associations.
• NDIS registration: providers registered for 0128 Therapeutic supports have a verification audit, according to the NDIS Commission's registration groups list. Unregistered therapists can see plan-managed and self-managed participants.
• Check every item after price changes: in the 2026-27 schedule some professions, such as psychology and specialist behaviour support, rose, while others, including art and music therapy and "other professional" items, fell. An agreed price above the new limit can't be claimed.
• Write goal-linked notes and reports: they show progress and are the main evidence for the next plan.
• Follow the NDIS Code of Conduct, which applies to all providers.

Common mistakes and misunderstandings

• "The NDIS pays for all my health care." Therapy must relate to your disability and goals; treatment for health conditions is usually funded by Medicare and the health system.
• "My plan lists a number of sessions." Therapy is funded as a budget. How many sessions you get depends on the price and how time is used.
• "Report writing is free." Non-face-to-face time can be charged where it's agreed and allowed, which reduces the budget for sessions.
• "Therapy assistants are support workers." They deliver programs designed and supervised by a therapist and are claimed under therapy assistant items.
• Ignoring the October 2026 budget changes. Plan therapy with a possibly smaller improved daily living skills budget in mind.