The Australian Physiotherapy Association (APA) is extremely disappointed to see the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) price limits for physiotherapy supports remain unchanged for the fifth consecutive year, disregarding the pressures of rising operational costs, and leaving providers to make difficult decisions around the viability of their practices.

Since 2019, the costs of delivering physiotherapy services have increased significantly. The June 2022 NDIS price guide update included indexation of price limits for nursing supports, in line with the Wage Price Index (WPI) and Consumer Price Index (CPI), ignoring physiotherapists who deliver the high-quality treatment NDIS participants need.  

The annual pricing review (APR) has followed suit once again this year, acknowledging the cost-of-living impact on providers by providing an assessment and a subsequent CPI adjustment to our fellow allied health practitioners in psychology. While this is a pleasing outcome for the mental health needs of NDIS participants, the APA is alarmed the APR’s methodology is not applied consistently and physiotherapy has once again been overlooked.

The APA requested in the submission to the APR that the price limits for physiotherapy supports be indexed in line with the WPI and CPI starting 1 July 2024. This adjustment is crucial to align with the increasing costs and ensure the sustainability of physiotherapy services for NDIS participants.  

Earlier this year and as part of the APA’s submission to the APR, the APA conducted a survey collating qualitative evidence of physiotherapists ceasing to provide supports to NDIS participants, and in some cases, choosing to deregister because of the impact of the NDIS pricing caps on the viability of their practice.  

The APA also provided alternate opportunities in their submission and consultation to the APR to help reduce the impact if indexation was not granted, calling for a one-off increase of 10 per cent to partially offset the cost increases since July 2019, or a one-off increase of 4.1 per cent to account for the CPI increase in the calendar year 2023. Neither of these recommendations were accepted by the APR.

Physiotherapists provide critical, life-changing support to NDIS participants, and it is imperative that the pricing framework reflects the true cost of delivering these essential services. Physiotherapists are movement and participation experts in disability, who work in multidisciplinary and transdisciplinary teams, providing expertise in improving function, participation and capacity building for functional and participation outcomes for all participants. Physiotherapy supports will often occur in natural environments such as homes, day care, workplaces and in the community, in order to achieve participation outcomes; one of the pillars of NDIS’s insurance-based approach.

It is concerning to see the APR take this path for the fifth consecutive year, particularly when the access our NDIS participants have to the practitioners they want and need is the most heavily impacted.  

The APA will continue to advocate on behalf of the profession and work towards a better future for NDIS participants and practitioners alike.