OT vs Physiotherapy vs Exercise Physiology: Who Should You Refer To?

Occupational therapists, physiotherapists and exercise physiologists can all work with NDIS participants, and their work sometimes overlaps. That overlap is why referrals so often land with the wrong discipline first. The simplest way to tell them apart is to start with the participant’s functional goal, not the diagnosis.

Occupational therapy: doing everyday life

Occupational therapy (OT) focuses on participation in meaningful everyday activities. This can include personal care, domestic tasks, routines, sensory needs, cognition, community access, assistive technology, home modifications and functional capacity assessments.

Physiotherapy: movement and physical function

Physiotherapy commonly addresses movement, mobility, transfers, balance, posture, physical function and pain, as well as preventing or managing functional decline where appropriate.

Exercise physiology: building and maintaining physical capacity

Accredited exercise physiologists use prescribed exercise to build or maintain physical capacity, strength, endurance and function. For NDIS participants, exercise physiology should be linked to disability-related functional outcomes rather than general fitness alone.

A practical referral guide

Match the participant’s main difficulty to the discipline most likely to lead:

• Difficulty showering because the bathroom set-up is unsafe: OT may lead.

• Difficulty transferring because of impaired movement or strength: physiotherapy may lead.

• Needs a structured exercise program to build endurance for community participation: exercise physiology may lead.

• Needs a wheelchair or home modification assessment: OT is commonly central.

• Needs a gait or balance assessment: physiotherapy may be central.

When more than one discipline is appropriate

A participant regaining function after a neurological injury may need OT for daily activities, physiotherapy for mobility and exercise physiology for longer-term conditioning. What matters is coordination, so the participant isn’t paying three practitioners to work on the same goal in three slightly different ways.

Ask each practitioner which goal they are leading on, and agree how progress will be shared between them. One clear lead per goal keeps the plan focused and the funding working harder.

Avoid diagnosis-only referrals

“Participant has cerebral palsy, please provide physio” tells the practitioner very little. “Participant wants to transfer more safely, walk short distances at home and reduce falls risk” gives the referral a functional destination.

What to include in a referral

A strong referral helps the practitioner prepare and reduces back-and-forth before the first session. Where you can, include:

• The participant’s goals, in their own words where possible

• The everyday activities they find difficult, and where (home, community, work or school)

• Any recent changes, such as a hospital stay, a fall or new equipment

• Other practitioners already involved, and what each is working on

• Relevant reports or assessments the participant is happy to share

• Upcoming deadlines, such as a plan reassessment

How CARED can triage multidisciplinary referrals

CARED provides occupational therapy, physiotherapy and exercise physiology alongside other allied health disciplines, so a referral can start with the participant’s problem and goals rather than a guess at the right discipline. Our team can then help work out which service is the most appropriate first step, and whether a coordinated approach across disciplines would help.

[CARED INSIGHT: add one real example of how intake triages a multidisciplinary referral, such as the questions asked or how a lead discipline is agreed.]

Learn more about CARED Occupational Therapy, Physiotherapy and Exercise Physiology or contact our team.

Next step

Tell CARED the participant’s functional goal and we can help identify the right discipline.