The NDP Allied Health Practitioners Hub is an open access online gateway to information, resources, and connections to support Allied Health professionals delivering services under the NDIS.
Help us keep our information relevant, up-to-date, and useful for the sector by sending in resources that you regularly use or find helpful. Simply email them to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
The Allied Health Professionals Australia (AHPA) is the national voice for Allied Health Practitioners in Australia. Access their resources below:
- Allied Health in Disability resources here.
- Allied Health NDIS Registration support site here.
- Telehealth Guide for Allied Health Professionals here
Capabilities
Connection & Mentoring
"If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go with others."
- African Proverb
Whatever work you do and wherever you do it, you do it better if you have a solid support network behind you. The people who work in our sector are fantastic at supporting others – precisely the type of people you would want in your own support network. The irony here, however, is that your strength in offering support can sometimes mean your own needs get overlooked. Our network of NDP members can enhance your skill-set and complement your networks of support. Connect with them today!
NDIS Clinical Resources
NDIS Business Resources
To operate successfully under the NDIS, practitioners need to be business savvy. Find a number of resources to support you below.
Calculating travel charges for allied health practitioners. Prices for supports included in participant plans are developed and published by the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA). Find out how to calculate travel charges.
Free NDIS training for allied health professionals. Allied Health Professions Australia (AHPA) is pleased to present the Introduction to the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) for Allied Health Professions course, which has been developed by AHPA and its member associations to provide a detailed introduction to the NDIS for allied health professionals. The course consists of four modules covering a range of topics related to delivering services under the NDIS. Access to the training is free for any allied health practitioner for the remainder of 2017.
Working with the NDIS
The Allied Health Professions Australia (AHPA) welcomes you to the Allied Health NDIS registration support website. To start your journey to become an NDIS registered provider, work through the steps on this website.
This illustrates the typical steps and processes that a provider must undertake to become a registered NDIS provider and supply services to NDIS participants.
- Working with the NDIS: your guide to being a registered NDIS provider
- Getting started with the NDIS - Before you apply to become a registered provider, it is important that you read this toolkit, which includes the Guide to Suitability, the NDIA Terms of Business, and your State(s)/Territory(ies)' Quality and Safeguard Working Arrangements.
Supports the NDIS will fund in relation to healthcare. Like all Australians, the Scheme participants are likely to need healthcare services throughout their lives. Participants may also have more complex healthcare needs. This details the type of supports that will be funded by the scheme.
FAQs: Allied Health Practitioner (AHP) Students/Provisional Psychologists, AHP Providers and the NDIS. The NDIA seeks to develop the capacity of participants as consumers to exercise choice and negotiate with providers. Providers should talk with participants about the ways Allied Health Practitioners (AHP), students/provisional psychologists, or Allied Health Assistants (AHA) can contribute to achieving participant outcomes. These are some of the Frequently Asked Questions.
- Is a client eligible for NDIS funding? These questions will help you work out if you could access the NDIS.
ACT NDIS Allied Health Workforce: issues and SolutionsThis paper has been produced by the Disability Workforce Innovation Network (DWIN). The group was set up to collaboratively find solutions to the sector's workforce issues arising from the NDIS roll-out. Allied health was identified at an early stage as an area facing significant workforce issues in the ACT. This paper notes the issues identified at the DWIN allied health group forum and the possible solutions.
Analysis of allied health education and training in the disability sector (September 2014)
This paper explores emerging issues in the areas of academic and practical preparation of allied health students, as well as recruitment and retention of new graduate allied health professionals in the disability sector.
Discipline-Specific Resources
ALL DISCIPLINES
- Transitioning from Health or Aged Care to Disability - Assess your skills gap to develop your disability capabilities
- Telehealth Guide for AH Professionals - Allied Health Professionals Australia have published guidelines to support the move to telehealth in clinical practice
AUDIOLOGY
- Deafness and Education International - The Plan(ner) is Always Changing: Self-directed Funding for Children with Hearing Loss
- Deafness and Education International - Googling NDIS: evaluating the quality of online information about the National Disability Insurance Scheme for caregivers of deaf children
DIETETICS
- Nutrition Support Assistive Technology Assessment Template
- Dietetic Core Standards
- Position of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics extract: nutrition services for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities and special health care needs
EXERCISE PHYSIOLOGY
- ESSA extract - NDIS and the impact for AEPS
OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY
- New free resources to help OT's obtain NDS registration
- Occupational Therapy core standards
- Updates on the NDIS (from OT Australia)
- Australian Occupational Therapy Journal Extract - NDIS and occupational therapy: Compatible in intention and purpose from the consumer perspective
- Australian Occupational Therapy Journal Extract - Relationship-based approaches in early childhood intervention: Are these applicable to paediatric occupational therapy under the NDIS?
- Play and Leisure Practice Guide for Occupational Therapists who Support People with Disability (October 2015)
PHYSIOTHERAPY
PSYCHOLOGY
- Psychology core standards
- Australian Psychological Society - NDIS information (member-only) - The changing face of disability services: the National Disability Insurance Scheme
PROSTHETICS AND ORTHOTICS
SPEECH PATHOLOGY
- Speech Pathology core standards
- Updates on the NDIS (from Speech Therapy Australia)
- SpeechBite - Speech Pathology Database
SOCIAL WORK
- Social workers and the NDIS: A guide for becoming a registered provider
- Scope of Social Work Practice - Social Work in Disability
- A National Disability Insurance Scheme—Challenges for Social Work
Peak bodies providing additional resources for practitioners:
- Allied Health Professions Australia (AHPA)
- Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW)
- Australian Physiotherapy Association
- Australian Psychological Society
- Australian Rehabilitation & Assistive Technology Association (ARATA)
- Developmental Educators Australia Inc. (DEAI)
- Exercise and Sports Australia (ESSA)
- Occupational Therapy Australia
- Rehabilitation Counselling Association of Australasia (RCAA)
- Speech Pathology Australia
- The Australian, New Zealand and Asian Creative Arts Therapies Association (ANZACATA)
- The Dietitians Association of Australia (DAA)
Allied Health in the Disability Sector Resource
Access all the resources from our Allied Health in the Disability Sector virtual conference here.
List of Practitioners
Not sure who is operating in the ACT market, or their area of specialty? Use the links below to discover new connections!
Professional Associations
The Australian, New Zealand and Asian Creative Arts Therapies Association (ANZATA) is the professional body that represents arts therapists in Australia, New Zealand and Singapore. The arts therapies are a form of psychotherapy utilising creative modalities, including visual art-making, drama, and dance/movement, within a therapeutic relationship to improve and inform physical, mental and emotional well-being.
Audiologists work with clients to help them to preserve, manage and improve their hearing, their ability to process and understand sounds, and their balance. Audiologists help clients of all ages - from infants to older adults - and clients with complex needs improve their ability to communicate and interact in all situations.
Accredited Practising Dietitians (APDs) are university-qualified professionals that undertake ongoing training and education programs to ensure that they are your most up-to-date and credible source of nutrition information. They translate scientific health and nutrition information into practical advice, and practice in line with the Dietitians Association of Australia Professional Standards.
Accredited Exercise Physiologists (AEP) – use exercise to help manage chronic conditions and injuries; Accredited Exercise Scientists (AES) – use exercise to improve health, well-being and fitness; Accredited Sports Scientists (ASpS) – use exercise to improve sporting performance and Accredited High Performance Managers (AHPM) – manage a range of performance services for elite sport.
A Registered Music Therapist is a practitioner who has completed an accredited tertiary course in music therapy and who then maintains their skills through continuing professional development as approved by Australian Music Therapy Association.
The primary goal of occupational therapy is to enable people to participate in the activities of everyday life. Occupational therapists achieve this outcome by working with people and communities to enhance their ability to engage in the occupations they want to, need to, or are expected to do, or by modifying the occupation or the environment to better support their occupational engagement.
Optometrists detect, diagnose, treat and eye health and vision conditions that affect vision. They can also identify general health conditions that are first detected via an eye exam, provide referrals to eye surgeons (ophthalmologists) and often help manage post-eye-surgery health.
Orthotist/prosthetists are tertiary qualified Allied Health Professionals who assess and treat the physical and functional limitations of people resulting from illnesses and disabilities, including limb amputations. Orthotist/prosthetists are trained to prescribe, design, fit and monitor orthoses and prostheses.
The Australian Physiotherapy Association (APA) is the peak body representing the interests of Australian physiotherapists and their patients. Using advanced techniques and evidence-based care, physiotherapists assess, diagnose, treat and prevent a wide range of health conditions and movement disorders. Physiotherapy helps repair damage, reduce stiffness and pain, increase mobility and improve quality of life.
A podiatrist is an allied health professional who must meet the professional registration requirements of the Podiatry Board of Australia. A podiatrist must have a Bachelor of Podiatry. A Podiatrist is trained to assess, diagnose and treat foot and lower limb problems. These may include skin and nail problems, foot and ankle injuries, foot complications related to diabetes and other medical conditions and problems with gait or walking.
Rehabilitation Counsellors are allied health professionals with tertiary qualifications in rehabilitation counselling. Rehabilitation Counsellors work with individuals experiencing disability, injury or social disadvantage, in partnership with their families, organisations and other health professionals, to deliver work, life and career solutions. The core skills and expertise of Rehabilitation Counsellors include: vocational assessment, job preparation and placement services, and career development; adjustment to injury counselling, rehabilitation and return-to-work services (including suitable duties programs) and workplace assessment, disability prevention and management.
A psychologist could help you, your friends, family or colleagues lead a happier, more meaningful life. Psychologists provide their expertise by assessing and diagnosing a range of problems, developing strategies and treatments, and offering guidance and support. The Australian Psychological Society is the leading organisation for psychologists in Australia.
Social workers build on the strengths and resources of people in the context of their physical, social and cultural environments. Sometimes this means supporting people as they discover, develop or remember their strengths and resources and, at other times, helping them develop or access resources. Social workers also advocate for resources that have been denied.
Speech pathologists study, diagnose and treat communication disorders, including difficulties with speaking, listening, understanding language, reading, writing, social skills, stuttering and using voice. They work with people who have difficulty communicating because of developmental delays, stroke, brain injuries, learning disability, intellectual disability, cerebral palsy, dementia and hearing loss, as well as other problems that can affect speech and language. People who experience difficulties swallowing food and drink safely can also be helped by a speech pathologist.
General Directories
The ACT Community Directory is an online portal which helps you find services, community organisations and support groups in the Canberra Region. Organisations and service providers can promote themselves and share information on their services, activities and upcoming events. The Directory is a free community resource provided by Volunteering and Contact ACT and funded by the ACT Community Services Directorate.
Would you like to add your professional association or membership directory to this list? Email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Education & Events
Access a range of educational webinars and networking events:
