How Does NDIS Funding Work for Occupational Therapy? A Parent’s Guide

If your child has an NDIS plan and you're considering Occupational Therapy, you may be wondering whether their funding can be used for OT, what types of supports may be included and how the process works.

Occupational Therapists support children to participate more independently in everyday activities. Depending on the child's individual needs, this might include self-care, sensory processing, fine and gross motor skills, school participation, play and daily routines.

Whether Occupational Therapy can be funded through a particular NDIS plan depends on the participant's individual circumstances, goals, approved supports and available funding.

This guide explains some of the key things families may want to understand when considering NDIS-funded Occupational Therapy.

Can NDIS Funding Be Used for Occupational Therapy?

NDIS funding may be used for Occupational Therapy when the support relates to the participant's disability-related needs and is consistent with the supports funded within their NDIS plan.

Every NDIS participant's circumstances are different, so families should check their current plan or speak with their plan manager, support coordinator or the NDIA if they're uncertain about how their funding can be used.

Grow & Tell works with self-managed and plan-managed participants accessing NDIS Occupational Therapy in Sydney.

What Can NDIS Occupational Therapy Support?

For children and young people, Occupational Therapy can address a broad range of functional skills and everyday activities.

Depending on the individual child, this may include self-care and daily living skills, fine and gross motor development, sensory processing, emotional regulation, play and social participation, school participation and independence within everyday routines.

The specific focus of therapy should reflect the child's individual strengths, needs and goals rather than following the same therapy program for every participant.

You can read more about what an NDIS Occupational Therapist can help with in our guide to paediatric NDIS OT.

How Do NDIS Goals Relate to Occupational Therapy?

NDIS goals generally describe broader outcomes that are important to the participant.

For a child, these may relate to becoming more independent, participating at school, completing everyday activities, developing functional skills or participating more fully in family and community life.

An Occupational Therapist can consider these broader goals alongside the child's functional needs and work with the family to develop meaningful therapy goals.

For example, a broader goal around independence might translate into Occupational Therapy goals involving dressing, personal care, organising belongings or completing daily routines.

The focus should remain on skills that are useful and meaningful in the child's everyday life.

What Is the Difference Between Self-Managed and Plan-Managed NDIS Funding?

How services are paid for depends partly on how the participant's relevant NDIS funding is managed.

With self-managed funding, the participant or their nominee manages payments for NDIS supports themselves.

With plan-managed funding, a plan manager manages provider invoices and payments on behalf of the participant.

Grow & Tell provides Occupational Therapy for both self-managed and plan-managed NDIS participants.

If you're unsure how your child's funding is managed, check their current NDIS plan or speak with their plan manager or support coordinator.

Does Grow & Tell Work With NDIA-Managed Participants?

Grow & Tell currently provides NDIS Occupational Therapy to self-managed and plan-managed participants.

If your child's relevant funding is NDIA-managed, you should confirm that a provider can deliver services under that funding arrangement before booking.

This is particularly important when changing providers or beginning a new type of support.

Can NDIS Funding Be Used for an Occupational Therapy Assessment?

Occupational Therapists use assessment to better understand how a child participates in everyday activities and where additional support may be needed.

Depending on the reason for referral, assessment may involve parent consultation, observation, standardised assessment tools, review of existing information or assessment within an everyday environment.

Whether a particular assessment can be funded will depend on the participant's individual NDIS plan, needs and circumstances.

Your Occupational Therapist can explain why an assessment is being recommended and what it is intended to investigate.

What About Functional Capacity Assessments?

Some NDIS participants may require a more comprehensive assessment of their everyday functioning.

A Functional Capacity Assessment examines how a person's disability affects their ability to complete everyday activities and participate across different areas of life.

Depending on the participant, this can include areas such as self-care, mobility, learning, communication, social participation and daily activities.

Grow & Tell provides Functional Capacity Assessments completed by Occupational Therapists for children and young people where appropriate.

An FCA is different from routine Occupational Therapy assessment or ongoing therapy, so it isn't something every child receiving NDIS OT will require.

Can NDIS Occupational Therapy Take Place at Home or School?

Occupational Therapy doesn't always have to occur within a clinic.

Depending on the child's needs and goals, therapy may sometimes be useful within the environments where everyday activities occur.

For example, an Occupational Therapist working at school may be able to observe classroom routines or participation directly. A home-based session may allow the therapist to work with the child and family on self-care or household routines in the environment where they actually happen.

Grow & Tell provides mobile Occupational Therapy at homes, schools and early learning settings across selected areas of Sydney.

Clinic-based appointments are also available.

Can Occupational Therapy Be Provided by Telehealth?

Telehealth may be appropriate for some types of Occupational Therapy support.

For example, it may be useful for parent coaching, reviewing strategies, discussing routines or collaborating with families when an in-person appointment isn't required.

Whether Telehealth is clinically appropriate will depend on the child, their goals and the type of support being provided.

Your Occupational Therapist can discuss whether clinic-based, mobile or Telehealth support is appropriate for the particular situation.

What About Occupational Therapy Reports?

Families accessing NDIS supports may require clinical documentation at different stages.

Depending on what is required, an Occupational Therapist may provide information about the child's functional needs, therapy goals, progress and recommendations.

Reports may also be requested in preparation for an NDIS plan reassessment or another review process.

If you know your child will require a report, discuss this with the Occupational Therapist well in advance so sufficient time can be allocated to prepare appropriate documentation.

Can Occupational Therapists Work With Other Professionals?

Yes. Many children receiving NDIS supports work with more than one professional.

Depending on the child, this might include Speech Pathologists, psychologists, educators, support coordinators or other health and developmental professionals.

With appropriate family consent, collaboration can help different people involved in the child's care understand their functional needs and work towards complementary goals.

Grow & Tell provides paediatric Occupational Therapy and Speech Pathology, allowing clinicians to collaborate where appropriate for children receiving both services.

How Can Families Make the Most of Occupational Therapy?

Regular communication between families and their Occupational Therapist can help ensure therapy remains relevant to the child's everyday needs.

Tell your therapist about changes you're noticing at home or school, activities that are becoming easier or more difficult and any new priorities that arise.

It can also be useful to understand why particular strategies are being recommended and how they can be incorporated into everyday routines.

Occupational Therapy is most meaningful when the skills and strategies developed through therapy are useful beyond the therapy session.

Starting NDIS Occupational Therapy With Grow & Tell

Grow & Tell provides paediatric NDIS Occupational Therapy in Sydney for children and young people with self-managed and plan-managed NDIS funding.

Appointments are available at our Rhodes clinic and St Leonards/Crows Nest clinic, with mobile Occupational Therapy available across selected areas of Sydney.

Our Occupational Therapists work with families to understand each child's strengths, functional needs, current supports and priorities before developing individualised therapy goals.

If you'd like to discuss Occupational Therapy for your child, contact Grow & Tell to speak with our team about current appointment options.

Important Information About NDIS Funding

NDIS plans and funding arrangements are individual and can change. Information in this article is general in nature and isn't confirmation that a particular therapy, assessment, report or other support will be funded under an individual participant's NDIS plan.

Families should refer to their current NDIS plan and seek clarification from their plan manager, support coordinator or the NDIA where required.