NDIS Future Generations Bill: Submission deadline extended to 1 June

Major changes to the NDIS are currently being considered by Parliament – and OTA is urging occupational therapists, participants, families, providers and supporters to make their voices heard before the submission deadline – extended to Monday 1 June. 

You do not need to write a formal submission. A short email sharing your experience, concerns or perspective can help decision makers understand the real-world impact these proposed changes could have on people’s lives. 

We have prepared an easy guide to help you make a submission to Parliament before the deadline. Read the guide here. 

And if you have not yet signed up to our No OTs, No NDIS campaign, now is the time. Join more than 3,000 supporters and receive updates, advocacy resources and opportunities to take action as these reforms continue to unfold. 

Sign up to the campaign here.

Advocacy in Canberra

This week, OTA’s CEO Samantha Hunter met with Senators and MPs in Canberra, including Senate Opposition Whip Senator Wendy Askew and Independent MP Dr Monique Ryan, to launch our No OTs, No NDIS campaign and advocate for the critical role occupational therapists play in the NDIS. These conversations reflect growing interest and support, helping build awareness and strengthen backing for the campaign across Parliament. 

We are pushing for amendments to the NDIS Bill to protect participants’ access to essential occupational therapy services and we will continue to meet with parliamentarians in the weeks ahead to ensure the voice of the profession is heard as reforms progress. 

A strong, sustainable OT workforce is essential to the future of the NDIS. Members and supporters are encouraged to back our No OTs, No NDIS campaign.

IHACPA release 2026–27 Support at Home pricing

Today, the Independent Health and Aged Care Pricing Authority (IHACPA) released Support at Home pricing advice for 2026–27. OTA can confirm an all-inclusive $230.31 per hour rate for occupational therapy services performed on a normal working week day. In addition, the hourly rate for fees charged outside normal working hours will sit at $257.16, while weekend hourly rates are $319.79, and public holidays can now be charged at $498.74. OTA will consult further with members around the Support at Home pricing update and make further public comment as appropriate. Full IHACPA pricing advice can be found here.

OTA represented at NACA and UARC

OTA represented the profession at two key aged care sector forums in May. We attended the National Aged Care Alliance (NACA) meeting on 21–22 May, and we were also invited to attend the UTS Ageing Research Collaborative’s (UARC) Support at Home innovation and design policy round table on 26 May.  

NACA, held in Melbourne over two days, saw powerful advocacy around better cultural competence in the Support at Home program, an address on regulatory strategy approaches by the Aged Care Commissioner Liz Hefren-Webb, and a powerfully articulate and warmly received state-of-the-sector focused address on Allied Health settings and policy within the Aged Care sector by Dr Chris Atmore, attending her last meeting as chair of Allied Health Professions Australia (APHA).   

The CHSP Alliance also gave a welcome update on their ongoing advocacy around retention of the Commonwealth Home Support Program as a discrete program next to Support at Home. The long-standing and extremely well-regarded contribution of OTA’s Professional Practice Advisor (Aged Care) Christina Wyatt was also warmly acknowledged.

UARC, held at University of Technology Sydney, saw high-level aged care policy-makers and stakeholders contribute to UARC’s research around aged care policy settings in the home, comprising an address from the Productivity Commissioner Martin Stokie and panel with providers Bolton Clarke and HammondCare, and digital platform Mable. OTA were the sole allied health stakeholder at UARC. We were successful in ensuring that gaps that exist around baseline quality indicators in at-home care, and at sector level the ongoing lack of dis-aggregation of allied health professions in the data analysis, were included in foundational material for a research paper to be advanced and published by the body in coming months. 

NDIS Operational Reforms – OTA Ideas

OTA is preparing a submission to the Joint Standing Committee on the NDIS for the Annual Report No. 2 of the 48th Parliament. As part of the submission OTA is looking for feedback from members on ideas for NDIS operational reforms. For example, many OTs have often suggested we could make improvements to assessments, assistive technology, environmental modifications and skill building within the scheme. If you have any ideas to share, then please submit them via email to policy@otaus.com.au by 20 June.