NDIS Occupational Therapy
What NDIS occupational therapy involves, the current hourly price limits, and how sessions are claimed.
Occupational therapy is about the tasks that fill a day: showering, dressing, cooking, writing, working, getting around the house. An occupational therapist watches how you do those tasks, works with you on techniques and routines, and recommends equipment or home changes where a tool does the job better than effort alone.
Under the NDIS, occupational therapy is billed by the hour against a Support Catalogue item, with a separate early-childhood item for younger participants. Occupational therapists also sit at the centre of the assistive technology process: the Pricing Arrangements name them among the qualified assessors whose evidence supports mid-cost and high-cost equipment requests.
Does the NDIS fund occupational therapy?
The NDIS funds supports it decides are reasonable and necessary for your goals. The same item can be approved for one participant and not another, so no list or website can tell you what your plan will include.
Occupational Therapy appears under Improved Daily Living (Capacity Building) in the current NDIS Support Catalogue. Whether occupational therapy supports can be claimed depends on your individual plan, your goals, and how your funding is managed. Your plan manager or support coordinator can confirm what applies to you.
If you intend to claim, check with your plan manager or support coordinator before purchasing.
NDIS occupational therapy rates: current price limits
Each price limit below is the most a provider can charge for that item under managed arrangements. The agreed price in your service agreement can sit anywhere up to it.
| Item code | Support item | Unit | National limit | Remote (MMM 6) | Very remote (MMM 7) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
15_617_0128_1_3 | Therapy - Occupational Therapist - Direct Service | per hour | $193.99 | $271.59 | $290.99 |
15_617_0118_1_3 | ECI Professional - Occupational Therapist - Direct Service | per hour | $193.99 | $271.59 | $290.99 |
Source: NDIS Support Catalogue, effective . Price limits are GST-exclusive per the Pricing Arrangements.
How occupational therapy is claimed
Supports are billed against the item codes above, at or below the price limit, under a service agreement that records the agreed price, how provider travel is charged, and the cancellation terms. Invoices quote the item code, the date, the quantity, and the rate - which is what plan managers check before paying.
How your plan is managed - self-managed, plan-managed, or agency-managed - changes who you can buy from and how invoices are paid. Your plan documents state which applies to you. Agency-managed participants generally need to purchase through registered NDIS providers. Self-managed and plan-managed participants can buy from any suitable supplier.
| Claiming rule | What the Pricing Arrangements say |
|---|---|
| Provider travel time | Up to 30 minutes each way per worker in MMM 1-3 areas; up to 60 minutes in MMM 4-5; no time limit in Remote (MMM 6) and Very Remote (MMM 7) areas. |
| Travel price limit | Travel time is claimable at up to 50% of the item's hourly price limit, plus non-labour costs (e.g. per-kilometre vehicle costs) per the PAPL worked examples. |
| Short-notice cancellation | Notice window: 7 days for disability support worker supports; 2 clear business days for other supports. A late cancellation or no-show can be billed at up to 100% of the agreed fee if the provider could not find other billable work (and pays the worker); providers may waive the fee. Terms must be documented in the service agreement. |
| Remote loadings | National price limits carry a 40% loading in Remote (MMM 6) areas and a 50% loading in Very Remote (MMM 7) areas, as the loaded columns in the rates table show. |
Source: NDIS Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits (claiming rules narrative, published ), via ndis.gov.au pricing arrangements. Read .
Provider registration
Occupational therapy items sit in registration group 0128 (Therapeutic Supports), one of the professional registration groups in the Pricing Arrangements. Registration itself is handled by the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission, with lower-risk professional supports assessed through a desktop verification audit.
Invoices and agreements for occupational therapy
Two documents carry the admin: the service agreement sets the price, travel billing, and cancellation terms before supports start, and the invoice quotes the item code and rate so the claim goes through first time.
Find occupational therapy providers
Our occupational therapy directory breaks the market down by state and local area, with NDIA participant data for each location. Whoever you shortlist, verify their registration status on the NDIS Commission's public register before signing an agreement.
NDIS occupational therapy FAQs
How much can an occupational therapist charge under the NDIS?
The Support Catalogue publishes an hourly price limit for occupational therapy - the table above shows the current national, remote, and very remote figures. A price limit is the most a provider can charge under managed arrangements; the actual price is agreed with you in a service agreement.
Does the NDIS fund occupational therapy?
The NDIS funds supports it decides are reasonable and necessary for your goals. The same item can be approved for one participant and not another, so no list or website can tell you what your plan will include. If you intend to claim, check with your plan manager or support coordinator before purchasing.
Do I need an occupational therapist for equipment funding?
Higher-cost assistive technology usually needs a quote and an assessment from an occupational therapist or another qualified assessor before the NDIS will consider it. The Pricing Arrangements list occupational therapists among the qualified assessors, which is why equipment requests and occupational therapy reports travel together so frequently.
Which budget does occupational therapy come from?
Occupational therapy appears under Improved Daily Living (Capacity Building) in the current NDIS Support Catalogue. Whether occupational therapy supports can be claimed depends on your individual plan, your goals, and how your funding is managed. Your plan manager or support coordinator can confirm what applies to you.
How do I find an occupational therapist near me?
Start with our occupational therapy directory, which breaks providers down by state and local area alongside NDIA market data for each location. Whoever you shortlist, you can verify their registration status on the NDIS Commission's public register before signing a service agreement.