How NDIS Physiotherapy Funding Works (2026–27)

If you’ve ever stared at an NDIS plan trying to work out whether it covers physiotherapy, you’re in good company. The plans aren’t written for humans. Here’s the plain-English version, current for 2026–27.

Funding categories, price limit rules and travel caps in this article were checked for accuracy on 18 July 2026. The NDIS updates its Pricing Arrangements each year, usually from 1 July.

Which part of your plan pays for physio

Physiotherapy almost always comes out of the Capacity Building (Improved Daily Living) budget. Your plan may show it as “Improved Daily Living Skills”. If your plan has funding in that category, you can generally use it for physiotherapy. You don’t need physio named specifically in the plan.

Two other places physio can appear:

• Capital budget: not for sessions, but physio assessments often support applications for equipment like walkers and wheelchairs funded here.
• Core budget: occasionally used for therapy assistants working under a physio’s program, but sessions themselves usually sit in Capacity Building.

If you’re not sure what’s in your plan, ask your support coordinator, or bring it to your first appointment and we’ll go through it together.

Self-managed, plan-managed, agency-managed: what actually changes

The difference is purely about who pays the invoice and which providers you can use. The therapy itself is identical.

• Self-managed: you pay the invoice, then claim it back through the NDIS app or portal. You can use any provider, registered or not.
• Plan-managed: your plan manager pays our invoices directly. You never handle money or paperwork. You can also use any provider.
• Agency-managed (NDIA-managed): the NDIS pays providers directly, but only registered providers can claim. This is the one arrangement Shine Alliance can’t currently work under, as we are not a registered provider at this stage. If you’re agency-managed and want home-visit physio, ask your coordinator about your options at your next plan review, because plenty of participants switch to plan management for exactly this reason: it opens up your choice of providers.

What physio costs under the NDIS

Providers who follow the NDIS Pricing Arrangements (we do) charge up to the published price limit for physiotherapy. The limit is the same whether you’re self, plan or agency managed. Your service agreement should state the exact rate before your first session. If a provider won’t put pricing in writing up front, be cautious.

How travel billing works, honestly

This is the bit that surprises families, so let’s be direct. The NDIS lets providers charge for the time spent travelling to you, at your session rate, up to a capped number of minutes each way. The cap depends on your area’s classification, and most of the Gold Coast is a standard metro zone with a 30-minute cap.

What that means in practice with us:

• Travel charges are agreed in writing in your service agreement before we start, never invented afterwards.
• We schedule visits suburb-by-suburb, so actual travel time (and cost) is usually well under the cap.
• If two participants are in the same area on the same day, travel time is split between them, not double-charged.

A provider charging fair travel isn’t doing anything wrong. Home visits genuinely cost travel time, and it’s why you don’t have to organise transport to a clinic. But you should always know the number in advance.

How to get started

1. Check your plan for Improved Daily Living funding (or ask your coordinator).
2. Refer yourself or your participant. Our online form takes about three minutes, and no GP referral is needed.
3. We confirm funding, send the service agreement with all pricing in writing, and book the first home visit.

Questions about your specific plan? Contact us or call. We talk families and coordinators through this every week, with zero obligation to book.