NDIS Exercise Physiology: A Practical Guide for Participants and Support Coordinators

Exercise physiology can help NDIS participants build strength, endurance, balance and confidence with movement, so they can take part more fully in everyday life. But it is not the same as general fitness, and NDIS funding depends on the participant's individual needs and goals.

The short answer: the NDIS can fund exercise physiology as a therapy support when it meets NDIS funding criteria and is linked to disability-related functional goals. Personal training and gym memberships are not funded as therapy.

This guide explains what an Accredited Exercise Physiologist (AEP) does, how NDIS funding for exercise physiology works, how it differs from physiotherapy and personal training, who may benefit and what a good referral includes.

What is an Accredited Exercise Physiologist?

What can exercise physiology support?

Depending on the participant, exercise physiology may target:

• strength and endurance

• balance and falls prevention

• mobility and physical capacity

• confidence with movement

• the ability to participate in everyday or community activities

The program should be individualised to the participant's disability, functional goals, risks and current capacity. In practice, this might mean building leg strength so a participant can manage stairs at home, or improving endurance so they can complete a weekly shopping trip without needing to stop and rest.

Learn more about CARED's Exercise Physiology service.

Does the NDIS fund exercise physiology?

The NDIA lists exercise physiology among the therapy supports that can be funded where the support meets NDIS funding criteria. Funding is individual. A participant does not automatically receive exercise physiology simply because they have a disability or would benefit from exercise.

The key question is whether the support is an appropriate, evidence-based disability support connected to functional needs and goals. The NDIA also considers whether the support is better provided by another system, such as health, and whether it represents value for money.

NDIS rules about therapy supports are being reviewed as part of broader NDIS reform, so it is worth checking current NDIA guidance or speaking with your Support Coordinator or plan manager about how exercise physiology fits within a participant's plan.

Exercise physiology vs physiotherapy

Exercise physiology and physiotherapy are related, but their emphasis is usually different.

• Physiotherapy often has a stronger focus on assessment and treatment of movement and physical function, including mobility, transfers, balance, pain and rehabilitation.

• Exercise physiology commonly focuses on structured exercise programs to build or maintain physical capacity over time.

There is overlap, and some participants may benefit from a staged approach where physiotherapy addresses immediate movement issues and exercise physiology supports longer-term conditioning. For example, a physiotherapist might work on safe transfers after a hospital stay, then an exercise physiologist might build the strength and endurance needed to maintain that progress.

Exercise physiology vs a personal trainer

An Accredited Exercise Physiologist is an allied health professional with university-level training and accreditation requirements. Personal training is not the same as allied health therapy.

Current NDIS guidance distinguishes evidence-based therapy supports from general gym memberships and personal training. The NDIA's therapy supports guidance lists personal training and gym or swimming pool memberships among the things it cannot fund as therapy.

This does not mean exercise in a gym or pool is never part of a participant's program. An AEP may use these settings as part of a therapy program designed around the participant's disability-related goals. The difference is the clinical purpose, assessment and oversight behind the program.

Who may benefit from NDIS exercise physiology?

Exercise physiology may be relevant for participants whose disability affects strength, endurance, balance, mobility or capacity to participate in daily activities.

Examples can include neurological, physical, developmental or psychosocial disabilities where exercise-based intervention has a clear disability-related functional purpose. For example, exercise physiology may help a participant:

• maintain mobility with a progressive neurological condition

• reduce falls risk by improving balance and lower limb strength

• build the stamina needed to attend work, study or community activities

• develop confidence and routines for being physically active safely

What should a referral include?

What should progress look like?

Progress should be connected to function. Instead of focusing only on kilograms lifted or minutes exercised, reporting may consider whether the participant can:

• walk further or more safely

• tolerate community activities for longer

• complete transfers more safely

• sustain activity for longer periods

• maintain physical function over time

For participants with progressive conditions, maintaining function can be a meaningful outcome in itself. Clear, function-focused progress reports also help when a participant's plan is reassessed. Read more in What Evidence Do You Need for an NDIS Plan Reassessment in 2026?

Next step

This article is general information rather than individual clinical or NDIS advice. Whether exercise physiology is appropriate, and how it is funded, depends on the participant's needs, goals and plan.

Refer to a CARED Exercise Physiologist for disability-related functional goals, or contact our team to discuss whether exercise physiology, physiotherapy or another service is the right starting point.