Sophie Scamps (Mackellar, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

I recently hosted a round table with allied health providers in my electorate of Mackellar. They had written to me with serious concerns about the NDIA's pricing review changes that were introduced on 1 July. They told me that these changes are already having a significant impact on both their ability to provide care and the wellbeing of their NDIS clients. A key concern was the lack of consultation with the sector before the changes were implemented. Physiotherapists and occupational therapists explained that the new pricing structure doesn't reflect the real cost of running a clinic or mobile practice. Rising expenses, including fuel, rent, wages and insurance, are not being matched by pricing adjustments.

Allied health professionals are delivering complex, high-quality care, yet many now earn less than unqualified support workers. The sector feels undermined by pricing decisions that favour growth in the support workforce while devaluing qualified clinicians, and that this has been done without adequate evaluation of the long-term impacts on participant outcomes or cost benefits.

One of the most damaging changes has been the cut to travel allowances. Mobile services are already reducing coverage or shutting down, particularly in areas where services are limited. I was told that mobile allied health services are already being withdrawn from my electorate on the northern beaches of Sydney, leaving scant coverage. This means thousands of participants will be forced to travel to clinics, which is often impractical, inappropriate and likely to cost the NDIS more.

The changes also ignore the importance of delivering therapy in homes and community settings. Early sector analysis suggests that without home based physiotherapy, nearly 30 per cent of participants may require hospitalisation. There is also concern that the pricing review relied on inappropriate comparisons to Medicare and private health insurance, systems that don't reflect the complexity, duration or structure of NDIS funded consultations. Added to this is the inconsistency in how and when plans are reviewed and the delay in rolling out foundational supports. Some participants have already had funding withdrawn, despite no replacement foundational services being in place.

This is causing immense distress and disrupting therapeutic continuity.

The allied health sector wants to work constructively with the government to fix these problems, including restoring travel allowances, setting clinically informed pricing, consulting meaningfully on foundational supports and ensuring genuine co-design with providers and participants.

See this speech in context