On 13 October 2025, the NDIA published their guideline on therapy supports (the Therapy Guideline).
The Therapy Guideline outlines how the NDIA makes decisions about therapy supports for children aged 9 years and older. But it contains some guidance for therapists working with younger children, too.
NDIS providers – registered and unregistered – need to review the guide to ensure they comply with it (see link below).
Numbers in brackets below refer to page numbers of the Therapy Guideline.
Things to do now:
- Review the NDIA’s special meaning of “evidence-based” therapy supports (2-3): For example, it includes whether the therapy uses the “most up-to-date and reliable research studies” and whether it is “value for money compared to the supports available from other mainstream systems, like health or education”.
- Review your outcomes measures (4, 18, 20): The requirement to measure and report therapy outcomes is a recurring theme in the Therapy Guideline.
- If you are providing early childhood supports to children younger than 9, review the National Best Practice Framework for Early Childhood Intervention (6) (see link): Pay special attention to guidance on professionals working together as a team to support young children and their families.
- Confirm all your therapists are qualified allied health professionals for the purpose of the Therapy Guideline (6-7, 8-14): Check they are AHPRA registered, or accredited by a recognised peak body referred to in the Therapy Guidelines (8-14). For example, speech pathologists must be Certified Practising Speech Pathologists approved by Speech Pathology Australia (14).
- Make sure you are not claiming NDIS funds for work done by allied health students on unpaid student placements (8): You can claim for some of the supervising therapist’s time supervising the student’s delivery of therapy to a participant – but only with the agreement of the participant. (It’s not entirely clear which supervision costs you can claim, but we assume they must be related to the therapy delivered to the relevant participant.)
- Check that your therapy supports meet the NDIS funding criteria specific to the type(s) of therapy you provide(8-14): This includes taking steps to…
- …Ensure all your services to participants are NDIS supports (15-16, 19): In addition to staying on top of the current definition of NDIS Supports (see link below), pay close attention to any:
- Group programs (16, 19): In principle group sessions may be OK (19), but make sure there is enough evidence they are effective (e.g. the NDIA does not consider Lego therapy, yoga, art and music lessons, and drama groups to be effective therapy supports).
- Home programs or ‘therapy in a box’ and kits (16): The NDIA does not consider therapy kits or therapy-at-home programs, once-off or ongoing subscriptions, or programs posted out by allied health practices to be NDIS supports because they are not individually tailored or evidence-based programs, and they are not overseen or delivered by a qualified therapist with a measurable outcome.
- Check that your client-participants aren’t working on the same goal with you and another therapist (17): The NDIA won’t fund two therapists working on the same goal.
- Review your assessment report templates and practices (17, 18): They need to include recommendations for NDIS supports, dosage (including how often they are delivered), and rationales. They also need to include information about how gains or expected outcomes will be measured, and expected timeframes to achieve goals.
- Review your therapy planning tools (19): For example, do they contain strategies and recommended supports to help participants build or maintain skills, that participants might want to share with other providers and informal supports?
- Review progress report templates and practices (19-20): For example, progress reports should include the information referred to in pages 19-20 of the Therapy Guideline, including any measurable, functional gains, and best-practice recommendations for further therapy (if relevant).
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