Telehealth & Online Occupational Therapy

Online Occupational Therapy via Telehealth

Telehealth occupational therapy - sometimes called online occupational therapy or virtual OT - allows participants across Melbourne VIC and Sydney NSW to access OT services through secure video calls without needing to travel. For many goals, telehealth is just as effective as in-person OT, and it removes practical barriers like transport, mobility, travel cost, and rural distance.

We offer telehealth as an alternative to in-home OT, or as a complementary service - some participants combine the two, with an initial in-home assessment followed by ongoing online sessions. All you need is a device with a camera (phone, tablet, laptop, or desktop) and a reasonable internet connection.

Who Benefits from Telehealth OT

Telehealth occupational therapy works particularly well for:

• Participants in outer suburbs or rural areas beyond our in-home travel radius across Melbourne and Sydney
• Participants with mobility or transport limitations who find travel to a clinic stressful or impractical
• Carer training and consultation - support workers, family carers, and school staff can join sessions from any location
• Skill coaching - cognitive skills, routine building, goal-setting, energy conservation, mindfulness, and self-management strategies
• Plan and progress reviews - when we just need to talk through goals, supports, and next steps
• Older adults with low mobility who want to stay engaged with OT without needing transport
• Working participants who need OT outside school or work hours
• When illness or weather prevents in-person sessions and continuity is important

What Can Be Delivered Online?

Many occupational therapy services translate well to telehealth. Our therapists adapt their approach using screen sharing, visual demonstrations, video walk-throughs, and guided activities. Common examples:

• Goal setting, therapy planning, and progress reviews
• Life skills coaching - meal planning, budgeting, routine building, medication management
• Cognitive strategies - memory aids, fatigue management, attention strategies, anxiety management
• Support worker and carer training on strategies, programs, and therapy techniques
• Environmental assessments using video walk-throughs of the home, especially useful for falls risk screening
• Paediatric OT consultation with parents - coaching parents on strategies they can use day-to-day with their child
• Equipment trials follow-up - reviewing how an item is working after delivery without requiring a home visit
• Return-to-work and study planning, pacing strategies, fatigue management

When In-Person Is Better

Telehealth isn't right for everything. We recommend in-home or in-clinic visits when assessment requires hands-on observation - for example, complex transfers, manual handling assessment, full functional capacity assessments, paediatric play-based sessions with younger children, and detailed home modification measurements. Where these elements are critical, we typically do an initial in-home visit and then move to telehealth for ongoing sessions.

Secure and Private Video Sessions

We use encrypted video platforms that meet Australian health privacy and security standards:

• End-to-end encrypted video calls with no session recording unless specifically agreed
• Compliance with Australian Privacy Principles and health information standards
• Simple session links sent by email or SMS - no software install needed in most cases
• Technical support to help participants and carers connect for the first time

NDIS and Home Care Package Funding

Telehealth occupational therapy is funded under the same NDIS budget as in-person OT (Capacity Building - Improved Daily Living) at the same hourly rate. There is no funding penalty for choosing telehealth. For Home Care Package recipients, telehealth OT is funded from your package alongside other services.

Self-managed and plan-managed NDIS participants can choose telehealth without any prior approval. NDIA-managed participants may need to check their plan, though most plans allow it under standard daily living supports. For information about using your HCP for OT, see our guide.

What You Need to Start

• A device with camera and microphone - phone, tablet, laptop, or desktop computer
• Reasonable internet connection - mobile data, NBN, ADSL, or 4G all work
• A quiet private space - where you can talk freely without interruption
• Optional: a support person - family, carer, or interpreter, who can join from anywhere

We provide a brief test call before the first session if needed, so any tech issues are sorted out before therapy time.

Telehealth OT Across Melbourne and Sydney

We provide telehealth occupational therapy to participants across all of Melbourne VIC and Sydney NSW. Whether you live in inner Melbourne, the Mornington Peninsula, Western Sydney, or anywhere in between, we can connect you with one of our occupational therapists for online sessions. We currently service Melbourne and Sydney only, so we don't take referrals from interstate or remote locations outside these two metro areas.

How to Book Telehealth Occupational Therapy

To book a telehealth session, call us on 0450 874 303 or submit a referral online. If you're not sure whether telehealth is right for you, our intake team will help you decide whether to start with telehealth, an in-home visit, or a combination.