How occupational therapy funding can work

There are four options for OT funding, find the one that applies to you — if you’re not sure call us and we’ll work it out together.

Live Free Health works with NDIS participants, older Australians funded through Support at Home, people referred by their GP under Medicare, and private clients paying for themselves. Occupational therapy is fully government funded for Support at Home clients, and is funded from Capacity Building or Capital Supports budgets for NDIS participants.

NDIS

We support self-managed, plan-managed and NDIA-managed participants. You don’t need a GP referral to see an occupational therapist under the NDIS — you or your coordinator can contact us directly.

Capacity Building — Improved Daily Living

Funds assessments, reports and therapy: functional capacity assessments, capacity building therapy, care plans, and training linked to a participant’s needs.

Capital Supports

Funds the physical things: assistive technology and equipment, and home modifications. These require an OT prescription before they can be approved.

We’ll always give you a written service agreement and price estimate before starting, covering assessment time, travel and report writing, charged in line with the NDIS Pricing Arrangements.

Support at Home (aged care)

Support at Home replaced Home Care Packages and Short-Term Restorative Care on 1 November 2025. Under it, occupational therapy sits in the Clinical Care category — which is fully funded by the Australian Government, with no client co-contribution, regardless of your income or assets.

What that means for you

  • You pay nothing towards clinically approved occupational therapy

  • Funding is delivered in quarterly budgets across eight classification levels

  • Equipment and home modifications come from a separate stream — the Assistive Technology and Home Modifications (AT-HM) scheme, with tiers up to around $15,000

  • Home modifications in the higher tiers must be prescribed by an occupational therapist

  • If you held a Home Care Package on or before 12 September 2024, “no worse off” protections apply to your contributions

How to start

  • If you don’t have funding yet, begin with a free assessment through My Aged Care — online, by phone or in person

  • Once you have a Support at Home classification, ask your provider to include occupational therapy in your care plan

  • Then contact us, or have your provider or care manager contact us directly

Aged care funding settings change regularly. We’ll confirm what applies to your situation before we start.

Medicare

If you have a chronic or complex health condition, your GP can refer you for allied health services under a chronic disease management plan. This covers a limited number of subsidised sessions each calendar year, with a gap payment.

Speak to your GP about whether you’re eligible, or call us and we’ll explain how the referral works. Medicare-funded sessions suit shorter pieces of work rather than full assessments and reports.

Private

Anyone can engage us privately, with no referral and no waiting for funding approval. This is common for NDIS access reports, where there’s no plan to draw on yet, and for people who simply want something sorted quickly.

Private work is charged at an hourly rate covering assessment, travel and report writing. We provide a written price estimate before starting, and an invoice you can claim against private health insurance where your policy allows it.

Common questions about funding

  • Not for NDIS or private work — you can contact us directly. A GP referral is only required if you want to access sessions subsidised through Medicare.

  • Yes. As a mobile service, travel is charged in line with the relevant pricing arrangements. We’ll set out exactly what’s charged in your service agreement before we start, and we schedule efficiently to keep it down.

  • Yes. Report writing is clinical work and is charged as time. Your quote will separate assessment, travel and report time so you can see exactly what you’re paying for.

  • Live Free Health currently supports people aged 14 and over.

  • Let us know as early as you can. Cancellation terms are set out in your service agreement and follow the relevant pricing arrangements for short-notice cancellations.

  • Call us on 1300 921 406. Working out someone’s funding pathway is a five-minute conversation, and we don’t charge for it.