NDIS Provider Survey extended

There’s still time to share your experience of working in the NDIS, with our survey now extended to midnight Friday 4 September. More than 600 OTs responded last year, helping shape OTA’s submissions, government advocacy and No OTs No NDIS campaign. The confidential survey takes around 15 minutes. The more OTs who respond, the stronger our evidence to advocate for the profession and the people you support. 

Complete the survey here.

Fair Work Commission lifts vehicle allowance for care sector workers

OTs who travel between clients using their own vehicle should be aware of a temporary change to award rates that will provide some relief from rising fuel costs. The Fair Work Commission has increased the vehicle allowance from $1.01 to $1.05 per kilometre for employees covered by the Aged Care Award 2010 and the Social, Community, Home Care and Disability Services Industry Award 2010 (SCHADS Award).

The increase applies from 1 September 2026 to 28 February 2027.

For OTs working in community and disability settings, particularly those covering outer-suburban, regional or rural areas, this may mean a small increase to reimbursements for travel between participants or clients.

The Commission has confirmed the increase is temporary and will not affect future calculations of expense-related allowances. Employers should update payroll systems to reflect the new rate for the relevant pay period.

Members employed under either award and using their own vehicle for work should check with their employer that the updated rate has been applied.

NDIA opens consultation on NDIS Reforms

The NDIA is seeking feedback on proposed changes to the NDIS. This is an important opportunity for occupational therapists to help shape the rules that will govern the scheme. The rules being developed will directly affect how participants access support and how providers deliver services.

Consultation is open on a wide range of issues, including new framework planning rules, a new eligibility process to determine access to the NDIS, and market reforms for capacity building activities, among others.

OTA will be submitting to this consultation and we want to ensure we reflect the real experiences and concerns of occupational therapists working across the sector. If there are particular views, examples or evidence you would like us to include, please email us at policy@otaus.com.au.

You may also make your own submission. The more OTs who contribute, the stronger the sector’s voice will be in shaping these reforms. A submission doesn’t need to be long or complex: a brief email outlining your experience and views is enough to make a difference. Visit this website to learn more.

OTA responds to Inclusive Communities Fund consultation

OTA has submitted to the first consultation run by the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing, representing members’ interests as NDIS reforms continue to reshape the sector.

The submission focuses on the Inclusive Communities Fund. OTA welcomes the Fund, but raises concerns it is being introduced alongside planned cuts to participant budgets and eight years without an increase to the NDIS occupational therapy price limit. We argue that a time-limited capability-building fund cannot substitute for adequate individual supports.

OTA’s six recommendations call on the Department to:

• Confirm the Fund complements, not replaces, individual NDIS funding
• Explicitly recognise occupational therapists as expert advisers and trainers
• Allow grant recipients to engage and pay private occupational therapists as project partners
• Ensure people with psychosocial disability, including invisible or fluctuating disability, are explicitly included
• Require evaluation that captures genuine, sustained participation, not just attendance figures
• Support flexible, equitable partnership models for regional, rural and remote communities

You can read our full submission here.

Thriving Kids update

Thriving Kids begins rolling out from 1 October, but occupational therapists are still not explicitly included in the model. Help strengthen our call for OTs and the broader allied health workforce to be meaningfully included.

Take two quick actions today:

• Email your MP: It takes just 30 seconds to ask your state and federal MPs to protect children’s access to occupational therapy. See more here.
• Sign the NSW petition: More than 2,800 people have already signed. Add your name by 3 October and help demonstrate the strength of support for OTs to be included. Sign the petition here.

Every email and signature strengthens the message to government: Thriving Kids needs OTs.

Last week OTA attended the ACT and Victorian Thriving Kids briefings, and OTA is leading work on developing a model for low-cost assistive technology within Thriving Kids. If you wish to share any ideas, please contact: policy@otaus.com.au.

Call for feedback: CHSP and DEX data

If you're an OT working in the Commonwealth Home Support Program (CHSP), we'd like to hear feedback about DEX data.

OTA has received anecdotal member feedback indicating that DEX data collected for CHSP is no longer capturing:

• indirect time clinicians spend on clinical work, which was previously captured
• travel time
• the time of multiple clinicians delivering group services, with only one clinician’s time captured for a group delivery instance.

OTA has written to the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing to seek clarification on these questions and will advise members of the nature of any confirmed change (and any supporting context provided).

As recently confirmed by Minister Butler, CHSP will no longer be rolled into Support at Home from 1 July 2027 and will be extended at least two more years. OTA will advocate for members as part of ongoing program reform and member feedback will inform our approach.

If you have feedback about DEX data collection you'd like to share with OTA, please email policy@otaus.com.au.

DVA remote travel code update

In last week's OTA Weekly, we advised members that DVA codes OT30 (Aids Assessment – Extended Consultation – Home) and OT34 (Aids Assessment – Extended Consultation – Private Hospital and RACF) had been corrected on the DVA website to reflect correct fee levels.

We can now further update members regarding the OT80 code (Remote Area Allowance for distances travelled over 50km), which had been previously incorrectly published at $0.00. Software vendor files (i.e. XML and XLSX files) at this link now reflect the correct price of $1.15 per km (over 50km).

Members should continue to refer to the Software Vendor files for DVA codes as these have been confirmed by the Department of Veterans’ Affairs to reflect correct pricing.