NDIS Occupational Therapy 2026: What an OT Does, What It Costs, and How to Get It Funded

If you have ever been told “you need to see an OT” and had no idea what that actually involves, you are in good company. NDIS occupational therapy is one of the most commonly funded supports in the Scheme and one of the most commonly misunderstood. Participants often arrive at their first appointment expecting help finding a job, because of the word “occupational”, and leave with a plan for shower rails and meal preparation instead.

This guide covers the full picture for 2026: what an occupational therapist actually does under the NDIS, what it costs under the new pricing schedule that took effect on 1 July 2026, which part of your plan pays for it, what happens in an assessment, and how to get OT funded if it is not in your plan yet. Every dollar figure is verified against the NDIS Pricing Schedule 2026-27 published by the NDIA.

Quick summary: NDIS occupational therapy in 2026

• An occupational therapist helps you do everyday tasks. “Occupation” here means the ordinary occupations of living: washing, dressing, cooking, working, studying, getting around your community. It does not mean employment.
• The 2026-27 national price limit is $193.99 per hour. This rate has now been held for an eighth consecutive year.
• Funded from Capacity Building, Improved Daily Living, usually as a stated support, meaning the money is locked to therapy and cannot be spent elsewhere.
• Billing changed on 1 July 2026. Each therapy discipline now has six separate claim items rather than bundled billing: direct service, cancellation, non-face-to-face, provider travel, NDIA requested reports, and telehealth.
• Provider travel is capped at $97.00 per hour, exactly 50 per cent of the service rate, and it comes out of your therapy budget.
• Telehealth is charged at the full $193.99 per hour, but removes travel costs entirely.
• Remote loadings apply: $271.59 per hour in remote areas, $290.99 per hour in very remote areas.
• Therapy assistants cost far less. A Level 1 assistant is $56.16 per hour and Level 2 is $86.79 per hour, working under your OT’s supervision.

What Is an Occupational Therapist Under the NDIS?

An occupational therapist is a university qualified allied health professional registered with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA). Under the NDIS, their job is functional rather than medical. They are not treating your diagnosis. They are working on what you want to be able to do, and what is currently getting in the way.

The NDIA lists occupational therapy in the pricing schedule under Schedule 4: Therapy and Professional Supports, with the primary support item described as:

“Therapy – Occupational Therapist – Direct Service”, support item number 01_661_0128_1_3, charged per hour.

That item number matters more than it looks. When you read your plan statement or check a provider invoice, this is the code that tells you the claim was for OT face to face time rather than travel, reports, or telehealth.

The Five Things an NDIS OT Usually Works On

1. Daily living skills. Personal care routines, meal preparation, cleaning, laundry, shopping and money handling. The goal is usually greater independence, or reduced reliance on paid support workers over time.

2. Functional capacity assessment. An OT can assess how your disability affects your daily functioning and write a report describing what you can do, what you need help with, and what supports would make a practical difference. This report is one of the most common pieces of evidence the NDIA relies on at plan reassessment.

3. Assistive technology. OTs prescribe and trial equipment: shower chairs, wheelchairs, pressure care mattresses, communication devices, kitchen aids and sensory equipment. For most assistive technology above the low cost threshold, the NDIA expects an OT assessment before it will fund the item. Our guide to NDIS assistive technology explains how that funding works.

4. Home modifications. Ramps, grab rails, bathroom modifications, widened doorways and stair lifts all require an OT assessment. For complex modifications the OT works alongside a builder and the NDIA to design and cost the work.

5. Sensory and regulation strategies. Many autistic participants and people with sensory processing differences work with an OT on sensory regulation. This often runs alongside positive behaviour support, and the two practitioners should be coordinating rather than working in isolation.

NDIS Occupational Therapy Rates (2026-27)

The NDIA sets a maximum price a provider can charge. Providers can charge less, never more. These are the national price limits effective 1 July 2026.

Source: NDIS Pricing Schedule 2026-27, Schedule 4, Table 22 (Occupational Therapist), effective 1 July 2026. Current as at July 2026.

An Eighth Year at the Same Rate

The $193.99 hourly limit has now been held for an eighth consecutive year. Allied health peak bodies have argued consistently that a frozen rate against rising wage and operating costs is squeezing provider viability, particularly outside metropolitan areas.

For participants the practical effect is real: some OTs have stopped taking NDIS clients, and waitlists in some regions have lengthened. If you are told there is a six month wait, it is worth asking whether the provider offers telehealth, or whether a therapy assistant could begin work sooner under supervision.

What Changed on 1 July 2026

The NDIA restructured how therapy is claimed. Where previous pricing documents bundled several activities together, each therapy discipline is now set out as six separate support items. For occupational therapy these are direct service, cancellation, non-face-to-face, provider travel, NDIA requested reports, and telehealth.

This matters to you in one specific way. Your statement now shows exactly what each claim was for. If you are plan managed or self managed, it is worth checking that non-face-to-face and travel claims look proportionate to the therapy you actually received.

Which NDIS Budget Pays for Occupational Therapy?

Occupational therapy is funded from Capacity Building, Improved Daily Living. That sits in the Capacity Building part of your plan, not Core Supports, and two rules follow.

Capacity Building funding is not flexible between categories. You cannot move money from Improved Daily Living into Core Supports for extra support worker hours, and you cannot take money out of Core to buy more therapy. Our guide to NDIS Capacity Building supports sets out all nine sub-categories and how the rules differ between them.

Therapy is usually a stated support. The plan names the amount for therapy, and it can only be spent on therapy. This protects the funding, but it also means unspent therapy money cannot be redirected to something else you need.

One thing people frequently assume incorrectly: the equipment an OT recommends is not paid from your therapy budget. Assistive technology comes from Capital Supports. The OT assessment comes from therapy funding, the wheelchair or shower chair comes from Capital. If you are unsure how the three budget types work together, our guide to NDIS funding walks through it.

What Happens in an Occupational Therapy Assessment

A first OT appointment usually runs 60 to 120 minutes. The therapist will talk with you about what a typical day looks like, what you find difficult, and what you would like to change. Depending on your goals they may observe you doing specific tasks, measure things like grip strength or range of motion, look at your home layout, or use standardised assessment tools.

After the assessment the OT writes a report. A functional capacity report typically sets out your functional strengths and limitations, recommended supports and equipment, recommended therapy hours, and the outcomes they expect.

Be aware that report writing time is billable as non-face-to-face work at the same $193.99 per hour. A detailed functional capacity assessment report can consume several hours of your therapy budget. This is legitimate and often necessary, but it is worth asking your OT at the start roughly how many hours the assessment and report will use, so the number does not surprise you later.

How to Get Occupational Therapy Funded in Your NDIS Plan

Therapy is not automatically included in a plan. The NDIA funds supports that meet the reasonable and necessary test set out in section 34 of the National Disability Insurance Scheme Act 2013. In practice this means the support must relate to your disability, represent value for money, be likely to be effective, and be a support the NDIS is responsible for rather than the health system.

If You Are Preparing for a Planning Meeting or Reassessment

1. Get written evidence before the meeting. A report from an OT, physiotherapist, GP or specialist describing your functional difficulties carries far more weight than a verbal description on the day.
2. Tie the therapy to a goal. The NDIA funds supports that pursue plan goals. “I want to prepare my own meals safely” is a goal an OT can work toward. “I want occupational therapy” is not a goal, it is a request for a service.
3. Ask for a specific number of hours. Requesting “OT” is vague. Requesting “40 hours of occupational therapy over 12 months to build kitchen safety and independent transport skills” is concrete, costable, and much harder to reduce arbitrarily.
4. Bring an indicative quote if the therapy is significant. If you need a large block of therapy, a quote helps the planner build a realistic budget rather than guessing.

Our guide to the NDIS plan reassessment covers how to assemble the whole evidence pack, not just for therapy.

If Your Plan Was Approved Without OT

You have two paths. You can request a plan reassessment if your circumstances have changed, or you can seek an internal review of the decision if you believe the plan does not reflect your needs. Both processes have time limits, so act early rather than waiting for the plan to end. A support coordinator can help assemble the evidence and lodge the request correctly.

Occupational Therapy and Therapy Assistants

Not every hour of an OT program needs to be delivered by the OT. Under supervision, a therapy assistant can deliver much of the repetitive practice work at a fraction of the cost.

Source: NDIS Pricing Schedule 2026-27, Tables 22, 34 and 35, effective 1 July 2026.

For a participant working on kitchen safety or transport skills, an OT might do the assessment and design the program, then a therapy assistant runs weekly practice sessions with the OT reviewing progress monthly. The same budget buys considerably more contact time. It is worth asking your OT directly whether part of your program could be delivered this way.

How Occupational Therapy Compares to Other NDIS Therapies

Source: NDIS Pricing Schedule 2026-27, Schedule 4, effective 1 July 2026. See our full NDIS therapy guide for every discipline.

Many participants work with two or three therapists at once. Where that happens they should be coordinating rather than working in parallel, otherwise you can end up paying for duplicated assessments and receiving conflicting advice.

NDIS Occupational Therapy FAQ

How much does occupational therapy cost under the NDIS in 2026?

The national price limit is $193.99 per hour for 2026-27, effective 1 July 2026. In remote areas it is $271.59 per hour and in very remote areas $290.99 per hour. Providers may charge less than the limit but never more.

Which NDIS budget pays for occupational therapy?

Capacity Building, Improved Daily Living. It is usually a stated support, meaning the funding is reserved for therapy and cannot be spent on other categories.

Do I need a referral to see an NDIS occupational therapist?

No. You do not need a GP referral to see an OT under the NDIS. What you need is therapy funding in your plan, and a service agreement with a provider.

Can I use an unregistered occupational therapist?

If your plan is self managed or plan managed, yes. If your plan is NDIA managed, you must use an NDIS registered provider. Our comparison of plan management and support coordination explains how the management type affects your choice.

Does the NDIS pay for my OT to travel to me?

Yes, within limits. Provider travel for occupational therapy is capped at $97.00 per hour nationally, which is 50 per cent of the service rate. Travel is claimed from your therapy budget, so a therapist travelling a long distance uses more of your funding than one who is nearby or offers telehealth.

Is telehealth occupational therapy funded?

Yes. Telehealth is one of the six claim items and is charged at the same $193.99 per hour. For some goals, particularly equipment trials and home layout assessments, an in-person visit will be more useful.

How many hours of OT will the NDIS fund?

There is no set number. The NDIA funds what is reasonable and necessary for your goals and circumstances. A therapist’s report recommending a specific number of hours for a specific outcome is the most effective way to justify the funding you are asking for.

Can a therapy assistant deliver my OT program?

Yes, under the supervision of your occupational therapist. At $56.16 per hour for Level 1 and $86.79 per hour for Level 2, this can significantly extend a therapy budget for repetitive skill practice while the OT retains responsibility for planning and review.

Does the NDIS fund the equipment my OT recommends?

Usually yes, but from your assistive technology budget under Capital Supports, not from your therapy budget. The OT assessment and prescription come from therapy funding.

What is a functional capacity assessment?

It is a structured assessment of how your disability affects your daily functioning, written up as a report. It is one of the most useful pieces of evidence for a plan reassessment because it describes your needs in the functional language the NDIA uses when making decisions.

How Centre of Hope Can Help

Centre of Hope is a registered NDIS provider supporting participants and families across Sydney and all of New South Wales. We do not deliver occupational therapy ourselves, and that independence is useful: we have no reason to recommend one therapist over another except fit and availability.

What our support coordination team does is make the therapy work inside your plan. That means finding an OT with genuine availability and the right specialisation, setting up service agreements, tracking therapy spending so the budget lasts the full plan period, making sure your therapists coordinate with each other rather than duplicating assessments, and assembling the evidence pack at reassessment so hard won therapy funding is not lost.

For participants with complex or multi agency situations, our Level 3 Specialist Support Coordination service takes on the harder coordination work. For participants living with psychosocial disability, our psychosocial recovery coaching team works alongside your clinical supports.

Your goals. Your plan. Our support.

If you would like help getting occupational therapy working properly in your NDIS plan, talk to our team on 0432 250 900 or get in touch here.

Centre of Hope Pty Ltd, ABN 89 669 596 936. Registered NDIS provider supporting participants across New South Wales.

Related Reading

• NDIS Therapy 2026: Every Funded Therapy and Rate
• NDIS Speech Therapy: Funding, Rates and Access
• NDIS Capacity Building Supports 2026: All 9 Categories Explained
• NDIS Assistive Technology: What Is Funded and How to Get It
• NDIS Plan Reassessment: How to Prepare
• NDIS Price Guide: Every Rate Explained

This article is general information, not clinical or financial advice. Price limits are current as at July 2026 and are set by the NDIA, which may revise them. Always check your own plan and the current NDIS pricing schedule before making decisions.