NDIS Orthoptics
What NDIS orthoptics involves, the current hourly price limits, and how sessions are claimed.
Orthoptics deals with how the eyes move and work together, and what that means for daily function. An orthoptist assesses functional vision - what you can actually use, in real settings - then trains strategies and recommends aids that make the most of it: lighting, contrast, magnification, scanning techniques.
In the Support Catalogue, orthoptics is an hourly professional item at the standard therapy rate, shown below. For vision-related assistive technology, the orthoptist's functional-vision report is the evidence an equipment request is built on.
Does the NDIS fund orthoptics?
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.
Orthoptics appears under Improved Daily Living (Capacity Building) in the current NDIS Support Catalogue. Whether orthoptics 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 orthoptics 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_618_0128_1_3 | Therapy - Orthoptist - 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 orthoptics 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
The item codes above carry registration group 0128 in their item numbers - the group a provider registers for with the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission to deliver this service. The Commission's public register records who holds it.
Invoices and agreements for orthoptics
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 orthoptics providers
The provider directory is where our provider coverage lives, organised by service and state. Whoever you shortlist, verify their registration status on the NDIS Commission's public register before signing an agreement.
NDIS orthoptics FAQs
What is the NDIS rate for orthoptics?
Orthoptics bills hourly at the standard therapy price limit - the current national, remote, and very remote figures are in the table above, straight from the Support Catalogue. Under managed arrangements that limit caps the charge; the agreed session rate belongs in your service agreement.
Does the NDIS fund orthoptics?
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.
What does a functional vision assessment involve?
The orthoptist measures what vision you use in practice - reading distance, contrast sensitivity, visual field, scanning - in the settings where you live and work. The written report translates those findings into strategies and equipment recommendations, and it is billed against the same hourly item as the assessment time.
Is orthoptics different from an optometrist visit?
Yes. Optometry is mainstream health care - eye tests, prescriptions, glasses - and stays with the health system. Orthoptics under the NDIS is disability-related capacity building: training and strategies for using the vision you have, billed against the catalogue item above rather than through Medicare.