QUESTIONS PARENTS ASK
The things families want to know first
Referrals, waiting times, what an assessment involves, what it costs and how funding works. If your question is not here, phone James on 0478 122 344 and ask him directly.
SCHEDULE OF FEES
What a session costs, and what is in it
Every service at FIRST Occupational Therapy is billed against a single hourly rate, and each appointment is billed as the time with your child plus the time spent on them outside the room: planning the session, preparing and printing the home learning folder, writing clinical notes, and the short calls and emails that come up between appointments. Clinic appointments carry a little more of that, because the room is set up and reset around each child.
A clinic appointment is billed at 1.6 hours: 75 minutes with your child plus about 20 minutes. A mobile or telehealth appointment is billed at 1 hour: 45 minutes with your child plus 15 minutes. Travel is charged for the time actually travelled, so a short trip costs less than a long one. Invoices are issued on the day of service and payment is due within seven days, by direct bank transfer or credit card.
IN-CLINIC SESSION
TIME WITH CHILD
75 Minutes
BILLED AS
1.6 hours
FEE
$320.00
NDIS PLAN MANAGED
$310.38
MOBILE SESSION - HOME OR SCHOOL
TIME WITH CHILD
45 Minutes
BILLED AS
1 hour, plus travel
FEE
$200.00 + travel
NDIS PLAN MANAGED
$193.99 + travel
TELEHEALTH SESSION
TIME WITH CHILD
45 Minutes
BILLED AS
1 hour
FEE
$200.00
NDIS PLAN MANAGED
$193.99
INITIAL ASSESSMENT
TIME WITH CHILD
2 X 60 minutes
BILLED AS
3.5 hours
FEE
$700.00
NDIS PLAN MANAGED
$678.97
REPORTS / REVIEWS
TIME WITH CHILD
Not Applicable
BILLED AS
Time Taken
FEE
$200.00 / Hour
NDIS PLAN MANAGED
$193.99 / Hour
TRAVEL - MOBILE SESSIONS
TIME
One direction, capped at 30 min
BILLED AS
Time actually travelled
FEE
$100.00 / Hour
NDIS PLAN MANAGED
$97.00 / Hour + $1.00 / KM
RATES AS OF 2027
Travel applies to mobile sessions only and is charged for the time actually travelled in one direction, capped at 30 minutes, so it adds at most $50.00 to a session and a short trip costs less than a long one. There is no travel charge for clinic or telehealth. Fees are confirmed with you in writing before anything begins.
The hourly rate rises to $210 on 1 January 2027 and to $220 on 1 July 2027, then by 5 per cent each July. Families already on the books are told a full term ahead of any change. NDIS rates follow the price limits set by the NDIA and change when those do.
NDIS
FIRST Occupational Therapy is not a registered NDIS provider. That means we can work with participants whose plans are self-managed or plan-managed, but not with participants whose funding is NDIA-managed, sometimes called agency-managed. If you are not sure how your child's plan is managed, your plan or your plan manager will tell you.
The NDIS price limits apply to plan-managed claims, so plan-managed participants are billed at the NDIS price limit for occupational therapy, currently $193.99 an hour, with travel at $97.00 an hour for the time actually travelled and $1.00 a kilometre for the distance actually driven. Those limits do not apply to self-managed participants, who are billed at the standard rate. Fees are confirmed with you in writing before anything begins.