18/06/2025
Dear Community,
Meaningful Movement Physio is a small business with three hard-working, experienced and passionate physiotherapists. Our role is incredibly meaningful yet demanding, creative yet complex, fulfilling yet exhausting. We have undertaken extensive additional training to work in our field and Lauren has journeyed with some of our clients for over a decade.
Every year we get to celebrated life-changing, functional improvements that have added insurmountable quality and capacity to clients lives. We also are there to support clients and their care teams through the lowest times- hospitalisations, set backs, carer burnout and even funerals. Next week I am preparing to be a fall bearer at the funeral of a young client who tragically passed away last week. This experience, while incredibly heartbreaking, highlights the profound impact that our physiotherapists at Meaningful Movement Physio have on the lives of our clients.
Unfortunately, three days ago, the NDIA announced significant pricing changes that are set to take effect on July 1st—just two weeks away. These changes are so drastic that they threaten the viability of many community allied health businesses, including ours, and have a direct impact on every client on the NDIS.
The hourly billable rate that a physiotherapist can charge in SA will be reduced by $40 per hour (a 20% decrease), and the reimbursement for travel will be cut by 50%. Physiotherapists will now be among the lowest paid of all allied health professionals under the NDIS, despite often incurring the highest overheads and engaging in some of the most physically demanding work, which limits the number of clients per week we can effectively serve.
This billable rate must cover essential costs such as insurances, staff professional development, administration, therapy equipment, leave, superannuation, facility usage, bookkeeping and more.
The NDIA asserts that they have benchmarked physiotherapy prices against the MBS (Medicare Benefits Schedule) and PHI (Private Health Insurance), which primarily serve musculoskeletal physiotherapists. They have compared short private consults fees to the hourly rate for NDIS, which is inaccurate and grossly misleading. In addition, musculoskeletal physiotherapy clinics often also impose significant gap fees, which our NDIS clients simply cannot afford.
Furthermore, the travel fee for allied health staff providing home and community services will now only be reimbursed for 50% of the time required for one-way travel. This, combined with the substantial reduction in the ordinary rate, may restrict our ability to deliver services outside of a small area, ultimately reducing choice and control for NDIS clients.
We encourage you to take a moment to write to the NDIA and your local member of parliament regarding the value of physiotherapy and other allied health services.
Please also see the Australian Physiotherapy Association’s statement on this issue, sign the petition and stay informed on their social media page.
Thank you for your support
https://australian.physio/media/ndis-cuts-threaten-vulnerable-australians-and-push-sector-beyond-breaking-point