Aged Care Occupational Therapy Sydney
Occupational therapy helps older Australians stay safe, independent and at home for longer. We visit you at home for falls prevention, equipment, bathroom safety and daily living support, and we work within the new Support at Home program that started on 1 November 2025.
Aged care funding has changed: Support at Home explained
On 1 November 2025 the Support at Home program replaced Home Care Packages and Short-Term Restorative Care. If you already had a Home Care Package, your funding transitioned automatically. My Aged Care remains the front door for everything.
OT is a clinical support
Under Support at Home, services are grouped into clinical supports, independence, and everyday living. Occupational therapy sits in the clinical supports category, which under current settings does not attract a participant contribution. That makes OT one of the most accessible services in your quarterly budget.
Eight funding levels
Support at Home has eight ongoing classification levels, up from four package levels, assigned through the Single Assessment System. Budgets are managed quarterly, so therapy can be planned across the year rather than crammed into one block.
Equipment and modifications
The Assistive Technology and Home Modifications (AT-HM) Scheme funds equipment and home modifications separately from your quarterly budget. An OT assessment identifies what you need and provides the supporting evidence. See our assistive technology and home modifications pages.
Restorative Care Pathway
Replacing Short-Term Restorative Care, this pathway funds a short, intensive block of allied health, up to around 16 weeks, to rebuild strength, confidence and independence after a setback such as illness, hospital stay or a fall.
CHSP continues for now
The Commonwealth Home Support Programme continues as a separate entry-level program and is not scheduled to move into Support at Home before 1 July 2027. If you receive CHSP services, nothing changes for you yet.
Had a Home Care Package?
Existing package holders moved to a transitioned classification that preserves their funding level, and “no worse off” contribution protections apply to many long-standing clients. Your provider can confirm your individual arrangements.
How our aged care OT helps at home
Falls prevention
A whole-of-home falls risk assessment covering rails, steps, lighting, bathrooms, footwear and daily habits, with practical changes that reduce risk without turning your home into a hospital. Read our falls prevention guide.
Equipment that fits
Prescription of walkers, shower chairs, rails, beds, recliners and transfer aids matched to your body, home and routines, including trials before anything is purchased.
Bathroom and home safety
Assessment and recommendations for grab rails, step modifications, ramps and bathroom changes, with reports that support AT-HM Scheme funding applications.
Staying independent with dementia
Practical strategies, routines and environmental changes that help people living with dementia stay engaged and safe at home, and support the people caring for them.
Reconditioning and recovery
Under the Restorative Care Pathway or privately, we rebuild confidence and capability after hospital stays, falls or periods of decline.
Reports and reviews
Clear functional reports for assessment teams, providers and families, including evidence for reassessment when needs have changed. See our guide to what an aged care OT assessment involves.
How to access aged care OT
Through My Aged Care
Call My Aged Care or apply online. The Single Assessment System determines your classification, then your chosen provider coordinates services including occupational therapy.
Through your provider
Already with a Support at Home or CHSP provider? Ask them to refer you to Youcentric for OT, or have your care partner contact us directly.
Privately
No assessment or waiting period; book directly and be seen quickly. Many families choose a private OT review while government processes are underway.
We come to you
Every assessment happens in your own home, because that is where the risks and the routines actually are. We respond to referrals within 24 hours.
Aged care OT: your questions answered
Is occupational therapy covered by Support at Home?
What happened to Home Care Packages?
How does equipment or a bathroom rail get funded now?
Can OT help after a hospital stay or a fall?
I am on CHSP. Does anything change for me?
Can I just pay privately instead?
Aged care program details are current as at July 2026. Programs, contributions and funding tiers change; confirm your individual situation with My Aged Care on 1800 200 422 or your provider.
Help an older adult stay safe at home
We respond to every referral within 24 hours and visit homes across Liverpool, Western Sydney and Greater Sydney.
Aged care assessments follow the same method we use across every service. Read our full assessment methodology, including the evidence standard every recommendation is written to.
Three levers, and none of them is “accept less”
Every assessment we write for an older person works the same three levers, in the same honest order.
Change the task
Pacing, sequencing, technique and energy conservation: the same day, done in a way the body of today can sustain. Often the cheapest lever, and the most overlooked.
Change the environment
Equipment through the AT-HM scheme, rails, lighting, layout and home modifications: making the house fit the person instead of asking the person to outperform the house.
Rebuild the capacity
Where a setback took function that can return, restorative work goes after it deliberately, and where it cannot return, we say so honestly and let the other two levers carry the load.
Every recommendation names the evidence it rests on, says where that evidence came from, and states what happens without the support: our published assessment methodology.
Where to go next on this site
The specific aged care doors, each with its own page and its own funding logic.
What our time costs
For Support at Home participants, occupational therapy sits in the clinical care category, which is fully government funded with no participant contribution under current settings, billed through your registered provider under our associated-provider arrangement. Privately, we charge fixed packages rather than open-ended hours: the Home Safety Assessment Package is $450 (home visit, prioritised written plan, phone follow-up) and the Comprehensive Assessment and Funding Report Package is $850 (longer visit, measurements, full evidence report for equipment or modification funding, supplier or builder liaison). Travel is included across Greater Sydney, and Medicare (GP chronic condition management plan) rebates are explained before booking.
Referrals are acknowledged within 2 business days, and reports are usually delivered within 2 to 3 weeks of the visit.
We are not a registered aged care provider: Support at Home services are delivered under associated-provider arrangements with registered providers. Funding settings are current as at August 2026, are indexed, and change with ongoing aged care reform; confirm current settings with your provider or My Aged Care before relying on them.