How do you get NDIS or aged care allied health support in Western Australia?

In Western Australia, Bloom Healthcare delivers allied health to you rather than asking you to come to a clinic. Clinicians travel to homes, schools, day programs and community settings across Perth metro and the surrounding region, including Baldivis, Canning Vale, Ellenbrook, Joondalup, Mandurah, Midland, Osborne Park, Perth and Rockingham, as well as Fremantle. Support is funded either through an NDIS plan or through the Commonwealth aged care system, and which one applies to you comes down mainly to your age and how you were assessed. To start, call 1300 771 465, email hello@bloom-healthcare.com.au, or use the referral form.

This section covers what the page above does not: who qualifies, which funding pays, what travel costs do to your budget, what documents get produced, and what the first few weeks actually look like.

Which funding stream applies to you

There are two separate systems, and you are usually in one or the other rather than both.

The NDIS is for people with a permanent and significant disability who applied before turning 65. Under the National Disability Insurance Scheme Act 2013 you need to be an Australian citizen, a permanent resident, or the holder of a Protected Special Category Visa, and you need to be living in Australia. Eligibility is decided on how your disability affects everyday functioning, not on the diagnosis by itself. Two people with the same diagnosis can get very different plans because their support needs differ.

Aged care is the pathway for people aged 65 and over, or 50 and over for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, who need help with daily tasks, mobility, health or wellbeing. Since 1 November 2025 the Australian Government's Support at Home program has replaced the Home Care Packages Program and the Short-Term Restorative Care Programme. The Commonwealth Home Support Programme still runs separately as an entry-level service.

Children have their own route. Under the NDIS early childhood approach, a child younger than 6 with developmental delay can be supported without a formal diagnosis, and children younger than 9 with a permanent disability are covered. The approach was widened from under 7 to under 9 on 1 July 2023. Families are supported by an Early Childhood Partner rather than a standard local area coordinator, and early connections can give you access to some supports before an NDIS decision is made.

If you are not sure which system you belong in, say so when you call. Getting this wrong at the start is the most common reason a WA family loses months.

Applying for the NDIS from Western Australia

The NDIS is a national scheme and the access process is the same in WA as anywhere else in Australia.

1. Make an access request. Contact the National Disability Insurance Agency on 1800 800 110 and ask for an Access Request Form. For a young child, contact your Early Childhood Partner instead.
2. Gather evidence. The NDIA wants documentation of the nature and functional impact of the disability. That usually means medical reports or specialist letters confirming the condition and its permanence, allied health assessments, a functional capacity assessment covering self-care, self-management, mobility, learning, communication and social functioning, and for children any educational or developmental assessments and hearing and vision checks.
3. Submit and wait for a decision. The NDIA can ask for more information or arrange further assessment before deciding.
4. Plan meeting. If you are found eligible, you meet an NDIA planner or Local Area Coordinator to build your first plan.

One thing that catches people out: the cost of the evidence you gather for an access request is generally borne by the applicant, because there is no plan yet to claim it against. Bloom offers an NDIS Access Readiness Package for this stage, which pairs a consultation with a brief functional capacity assessment report covering the NDIS eligibility domains and includes funding recommendations for a first plan. Current pricing and what is included are confirmed with you before you book. Call 1300 771 465 to ask.

Applying for aged care in Western Australia

1. Register with My Aged Care at myagedcare.gov.au or on 1800 200 422. You will need your address, date of birth and Medicare number.
2. Get assessed. My Aged Care refers you to an Aged Care Assessment Team or a Regional Assessment Service. Your GP or a community health centre can also refer you.
3. Support plan. The assessor looks at physical health, emotional wellbeing and social needs, then sets out which services suit you.
4. Choose a provider and attend a planning meeting where you can name the specific allied health you want, such as physiotherapy, occupational therapy or exercise physiology.

Under Support at Home, services sit in three groups. Clinical supports, which include physiotherapy and nursing, are fully funded by the government. Independence services and everyday living services may require a contribution depending on your circumstances. A "no worse off" principle applies to people who were receiving, waiting for, or assessed as eligible for a Home Care Package on or before 12 September 2024, so they should pay the same or less than they would have under the old program.

Worth preparing before you call: proof of identity such as a Medicare card, passport or driver licence; your health history, diagnoses and medications; income and asset information; and any power of attorney or guardianship papers.

How plan management affects your choice of provider in WA

How your NDIS plan is managed changes the paperwork, not the therapy.

• NDIA-managed. You must use NDIS registered providers. The provider claims directly through the NDIS portal, so you see no invoice.
• Plan-managed. A plan manager pays invoices on your behalf. You can use registered providers and the plan manager handles the claiming.
• Self-managed. You can choose any suitable provider. You pay the invoice and claim it back from the NDIS.

Bloom Healthcare is a registered NDIS provider, which means all three arrangements work. If you are NDIA-managed, registration is not optional for you, so check it before signing with anyone.

What mobile delivery actually gives you

Home and community delivery is not just convenience, although in a spread-out state that matters. It changes what the clinician can see and work on.

• A physiotherapist assessing you at home can see the real transfers, the real steps and the real falls risk, not a version of them staged in a clinic.
• An occupational therapist can assess the actual bathroom, doorway or kitchen that is causing the problem, and recommend against that specific layout.
• Speech pathology and psychology strategies can be set up in the room where they need to be used, and taught to the people who are there.
• School-based sessions let a therapist work with teachers on classroom participation, social skills and task completion in the setting where the difficulty appears.
• Walking programs can be built around real destinations near you, and meal preparation practice can happen in your own kitchen.

Telehealth by video or phone is available where it is clinically appropriate, and some people use a mix of in-person visits and telehealth with a written home program that a carer or family member runs between sessions. Bloom's primary delivery method in WA is in the community. Clinic-based appointments are considered case by case, so ask if that suits you better.

Travel costs and what they do to your budget

This is the part most people find out about too late, so it is worth understanding before your first appointment.

When a clinician comes to you, both the session and the clinician's travel to you are charged against your plan. Under the NDIS Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits, the amount of travel time a provider can claim is capped, and the cap is higher for regional locations than for metropolitan ones. There are also non-labour travel costs, which cover the distance driven and out-of-pocket items such as parking and tolls, and these are generally shared across the participants a clinician sees on the same trip.

The practical consequences for a WA participant:

• If you are in an outer suburb or outside the metro area, travel will take a larger share of your budget than it would for someone in inner Perth.
• Booking appointments on the same day as other participants in your area reduces the travel share allocated to you.
• Telehealth sessions carry no travel cost at all, so a mixed model can stretch a plan further.
• Clinic-based sessions, where available, also avoid travel charges.

The exact rates Bloom charges, the notice period for changing or cancelling an appointment, and how travel is calculated for your address are all set out in your service agreement, within the limits of the NDIS Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits. Ask for these in writing before you sign, or call 1300 771 465 and ask the intake team to walk you through them. Do not rely on figures quoted on any other website.

What happens after you make a referral

Bloom accepts referrals from participants, families, nominees, guardians, support coordinators, plan managers and health professionals.

When you refer, have ready: the person's age and contact details, the main concerns and functional difficulties, any existing clinical reports or medical history, the top three goals, the NDIS number if there is one, and a preferred location for sessions. If you are referring as a nominee or guardian, say so and be clear about your role.

What follows:

1. The referral is triaged so it goes to a clinician with the right discipline and the right coverage area.
2. A team member contacts you within 24 hours of the referral. A primary clinician also makes contact to discuss your needs, and becomes your main point of contact.
3. A welcome pack goes out, containing an intake form that needs to be completed before the first meeting. The intake form feeds your individual action plan and starts the risk assessment.
4. A risk management plan is completed to identify safety considerations before services start.
5. A service agreement is signed. It sets out the services, the agreed hours and tasks, how the services are funded, and the responsibilities on both sides.
6. The first appointment is an assessment and a goal-setting conversation, aligned to the goals written in your plan.

Intake for WA runs Monday to Thursday 7:30 am to 6:00 pm, Friday 7:30 am to 5:00 pm, and Saturday by appointment.

Evidence, reports and your next plan review

The reports your clinicians write are the currency of your next plan. A functional capacity assessment is the main one. It evaluates physical ability, cognition and emotional functioning, communication, self-care, mobility, daily living tasks, social and community participation, and work and leisure. The report sets out findings, support needs, evidence of how the disability affects daily activity, and recommendations tied to your goals.

Under NDIS billing guidelines a full functional capacity assessment and report is a substantial piece of work, typically costed at around 12 hours across assessment sessions, liaison with other people involved, interpretation and report writing, with individual sessions usually running one to four hours. That is not a single appointment, and it should be budgeted for.

At a plan reassessment, the NDIA looks at whether the supports funded are still reasonable and necessary. Assessment reports and therapy progress reports are what answer that question. A good report explains the therapy approach used, the outcomes achieved, and progress against the goals in the plan. Updated assessments can also support a change of circumstances request between scheduled reviews, for example after a fall, an injury, a medical event, or a documented change in capacity.

If your circumstances change, do not wait for the scheduled review date to raise it.

NDIS or aged care: how the two differ in practice

People confuse these constantly, and the difference matters for anyone in WA approaching 65.

If you already have an NDIS plan when you turn 65, that does not automatically move you into aged care. Which system you stay in depends on your individual situation, so check with your planner or call Bloom on 1300 771 465 before making changes.

Common questions about services in Western Australia

Do I need a diagnosis before I can be seen?

Not always. NDIS eligibility rests on the functional impact of a permanent disability, and for children under 6 developmental delay is enough without a formal diagnosis. But if you are applying for NDIS access, you will need evidence of the condition and its permanence. If you have no plan and no diagnosis, call 1300 771 465 and ask about the access readiness pathway.

I have not applied for the NDIS yet. Can Bloom still help?

Yes. The NDIS Access Readiness Package is built for exactly that point, and produces a brief functional capacity assessment report covering the NDIS eligibility domains along with funding recommendations for a first plan. Costs at this stage are generally paid by the applicant because there is no plan to claim against.

What if I live outside the Perth metro area?

Bloom provides mobile services across Perth metro and the surrounding region, including Fremantle and Mandurah. Coverage in any specific town depends on whether there is a clinician near you, so check the location guide or call 1300 771 465 before assuming. If travel to you is not practical, ask about telehealth.

Will travel eat into my therapy hours?

Some of it will. Clinician travel to your address is charged against your plan within the caps set by the NDIS Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits, and regional locations have a higher cap than metro. Telehealth removes travel cost entirely. Your service agreement sets out how this is applied to you.

What is the notice period if I need to change an appointment?

Notice periods and any charge that applies are set out in your service agreement, within the NDIS Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits. Ask the intake team on 1300 771 465 to confirm the terms that apply to you before you sign.

Can I use Bloom if my plan is self-managed?

Yes. Self-managed participants can use any suitable provider, pay the invoice and claim it back from the NDIS. Plan-managed and NDIA-managed participants are also covered, because Bloom is a registered NDIS provider.

How quickly will someone contact me after a referral?

A member of the team contacts you within 24 hours of the referral being submitted. How soon your first appointment happens depends on the discipline you need and clinician availability in your part of WA.

Can therapy happen at my child's school?

Yes. School-based sessions are a normal part of mobile delivery, and the therapist can work with teachers and families on classroom participation, social skills and task completion. Sessions can also run at day programs and other community settings.

What should I have ready before I call?

The person's age, the main functional difficulties, any existing reports or medical history, the top three goals, the NDIS number if there is one, and a preferred session location. That is enough to triage the referral to the right clinician.

Who can make a referral for someone else?

Family members, nominees, guardians, support coordinators, plan managers, GPs and other health professionals can all refer. If you are a nominee or guardian, be clear about your role and responsibilities to the participant when you submit.

Does Bloom deliver aged care services in WA as well as NDIS?

Yes. Bloom is available to deliver Support at Home services, which cover allied health including occupational therapy, physiotherapy, exercise physiology, speech pathology, psychology and counselling, and dietetics. See aged care for more.

How do I start?

Call 1300 771 465, email hello@bloom-healthcare.com.au, or make a referral online. Intake for Western Australia runs Monday to Thursday 7:30 am to 6:00 pm, Friday 7:30 am to 5:00 pm, and Saturday by appointment.

Information on this page about NDIS access, pricing arrangements and aged care programs comes from the National Disability Insurance Agency, the NDIS Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits, and My Aged Care. Program rules change. Confirm anything that affects a funding decision with your planner, your plan manager, or Bloom on 1300 771 465.