Fee schedule
NSW workers compensation physiotherapy fees 2026-27
From 1 February 2026 SIRA's Workers Compensation (Physiotherapy, Chiropractic and Osteopathy Fees) Order 2026 pays $148.90 for a standard initial consultation (PTA001) and $100.90 for a subsequent one (PTA002), GST free, up about 4.6 per cent on last year. The same order and the same maximum fees also cover chiropractors (CHA codes) and osteopaths (OSA codes).
Last checked 25 Sep 2026 against the sources listed at the end of this page.
- Payer
- SIRA (State Insurance Regulatory Authority, NSW)
- Effective from
- 1 Feb 2026
- Official schedule
- Source document
What changed this year
- Every fee on the Physiotherapy, Chiropractic and Osteopathy Fees Order rose by roughly 4.5 to 4.8 per cent from the schedule effective 1 February 2025 to the one effective 1 February 2026. The standard initial consultation (PTA001) moved from $142.40 to $148.90 and the standard subsequent (PTA002) from $96.50 to $100.90.
- This is one order, one gazette notice and one fee table for three professions. Physiotherapy uses PTA item codes, chiropractic uses CHA codes and osteopathy uses OSA codes, and the three columns sit side by side in the schedule with identical dollar amounts for matching services.
- Group or class intervention (PTA006) is the one fee that did not move this year, staying at $65.50 per participant.
- No rule changes accompanied the indexation. Pre-approval thresholds, consultation definitions and the invoicing requirements are unchanged from the prior order.
All 20 physiotherapy items
| Item | Description | Fee | Previous |
|---|---|---|---|
| PTA001 | Consultation A, Initial, in rooms | $148.90 | $142.40 |
| PTA301 | Consultation A, Initial, via telehealth | $148.90 | $142.40 |
| PTA002 | Consultation A, Subsequent, in rooms | $100.90 | $96.50 |
| PTA302 | Consultation A, Subsequent, via telehealth | $100.90 | $96.50 |
| PTA003 | Consultation B, Initial: two distinct areas or complicated hand injuries, in rooms | $216.90 | $207.40 |
| PTA004 | Consultation B, Subsequent: two distinct areas or complicated hand injuries, in rooms | $149.40 | $142.90 |
| PTA005 | Consultation C: complex pathology, 3+ areas, major hand injury (AHTA hand therapist), burns, or complex conditions. Per 5 minutes, max 1 hour | $19.60 | $18.70 |
| PTA006 | Group or class intervention. Per participant | $65.50 | $65.50 |
| PTA007 | Consultation A, Initial, home visit | $148.90 | $142.40 |
| PTA008 | Consultation A, Subsequent, home visit | $117.20 | $112.10 |
| PTA009 | Consultation B, Initial: two distinct areas or complicated hand injuries, home visit | $216.90 | $207.40 |
| PTA010 | Consultation B, Subsequent: two distinct areas or complicated hand injuries, home visit | $182.10 | $174.10 |
| PTA011 | Consultation C, home visit: complex pathology and presentations as for PTA005. Per 5 minutes, max 1 hour | $19.60 | $18.70 |
| PTA014 | Travel costs, requires insurer pre-approval. Private vehicle rate | $0.88/km | $0.88/km |
| PTA015 | Case conference. Over 2 hours per practitioner needs pre-approval. Per 5 minutes, plus GST | $19.60 | $18.70 |
| PTA016 | Report writing, requires pre-approval and must be requested by the insurer. Per 5 minutes, max 1 hour, plus GST | $19.60 | $18.70 |
| PTA020 | Incidental expenses (strapping tape, theraband, exercise putty). Over $110 per claim needs pre-approval. Cost price | cost price | |
| WCO005 | Copies of clinical notes and records held electronically, all records requested | $71.30 | $68.20 |
| OAS003 | Submission of an initial Allied Health Treatment Request (AHTR), per claim | $46.10 | $44.10 |
| OAS004 | Submission of the first subsequent Certificate of Capacity (physiotherapist only), per claim | $46.10 | $44.10 |
One order covers physiotherapy, chiropractic and osteopathy
SIRA sets NSW workers compensation fees for physiotherapy, chiropractic and osteopathy in a single instrument, the Workers Compensation (Physiotherapy, Chiropractic and Osteopathy Fees) Order 2026, gazetted 23 January 2026 and effective from 1 February 2026. The maximum fee for a given type of consultation is identical across the three professions. A standard initial consultation is $148.90 whether it is billed as PTA001 by a physiotherapist, CHA001 by a chiropractor or OSA001 by an osteopath. If you searched for NSW workers compensation chiropractic or osteopathy fees and landed here, this is the right document, just swap the item prefix for your profession.
The fees apply to services delivered on or after 1 February 2026, regardless of when the injury happened, and they also apply to exempt workers (police, paramedics, firefighters, coal miners and some emergency volunteers) and to injured workers treated outside NSW.
Consultation types: A, B and C
SIRA structures physiotherapy consultations into three tiers rather than a flat initial and subsequent split. Consultation A is the standard initial or subsequent visit. Consultation B applies where the worker has two distinct injured areas or a complicated hand injury, and pays more. Consultation C is reserved for complex pathology: three or more distinct areas, a major hand injury treated by an Australian Hand Therapy Association accredited therapist, extensive burns, or complex neurological, orthopaedic, pain, cardio-respiratory or lymphoedema conditions, billed per 5 minutes up to a one hour maximum.
Each tier has its own home visit and telehealth variants, with home visits generally paying a higher subsequent consultation fee than rooms or telehealth to reflect travel time (PTA008 home is $117.20 against $100.90 for PTA002 in rooms).
Indexation, not reform
Unlike some other jurisdictions, this year's change to the NSW allied health fees orders was pure indexation. SIRA's news release describes it as the annual increase applied across the physiotherapy, chiropractic, osteopathy, exercise physiology, psychology, counselling and massage therapy fee orders effective 1 February 2026. Every dollar figure moved by roughly 4.5 to 4.8 per cent, consultation definitions and pre-approval rules stayed the same, and no new item codes were added or retired.
The practical risk for clinics is the same one every year: if your practice software still has last year's PTA prices loaded, every claim goes out at the old, lower figure until someone notices and every invoice under-recovers.
Claiming notes
- Insurer pre-approval covers face-to-face and telehealth services, with limited exceptions: up to 8 consultations without pre-approval for a new injury not previously treated, treated within 3 months; up to 3 consultations if treatment starts more than 3 months after the injury and it was not previously treated; and single-consultation exceptions for a new episode of care or a change of practitioner.
- The Allied Health Treatment Request (AHTR) is the form used to seek pre-approval and to communicate with the insurer about treatment and timeframes. The initial AHTR per claim attracts a fee (OAS003); later AHTR submissions do not.
- Physiotherapy, chiropractic and osteopathy treatment provided to a worker is GST free. Non-treatment items, case conferences, report writing, travel costs, and the AHTR and Certificate of Capacity fees, are subject to GST on top of the listed maximum.
- Invoices must reach the insurer within 30 calendar days of the service, and must include the worker's name and claim number, your ABN, your SIRA approval number where applicable, your AHPRA number, the SIRA payment classification code, the service cost and the dates of service and invoice.
- A Certificate of Capacity can only be issued by a SIRA-approved physiotherapist, and only the first subsequent one after the doctor's initial certificate attracts a fee (OAS004). This code does not exist for chiropractors or osteopaths.
- Group or class intervention is capped at 6 participants per session, more than the 8 person cap on WorkCover Queensland's equivalent item.
- Both the Fees Order and the SIRA Workers Compensation Guidelines are legally binding; this summary is drawn from SIRA's own practice requirements document, but the Fees Order itself is the ultimate source if the two ever conflict.
Load these fees into your practice software
- Cliniko supports bulk import of billable items under Settings, then Data & docs, then Data imports, choosing Billable items.
- Add a GST tax type first if you have not already. Leave Taxable blank for PTA and OSA/CHA treatment items (GST free) and set it for case conference, report writing, travel and AHTR/CoC items, which carry GST on top of the schedule fee.
- Build a CSV with Item code, Name, Price (ex. tax), Taxable and Item type. Name each item with SIRA and the code, for example "SIRA PTA001 Consultation A Initial", so reception can tell rooms from home visits and telehealth at a glance.
- PTA020 (incidental expenses) has no fixed fee, it is cost price. Either skip it in the import and add the actual cost on the invoice, or load it at $0 as a placeholder.
- Update prices each 1 February when SIRA republishes the Fees Order: export existing billable items as a CSV, keep the Item ID column, update only the price column, then re-import with just the price field enabled. Keep the original export, Cliniko has no undo for a bulk price update.
Sources
- From 1 February 2026 SIRA's Physiotherapy, Chiropractic and Osteopathy Fees Order pays $148.90 for PTA001/CHA001/OSA001 (Consultation A, Initial) and $100.90 for PTA002/CHA002/OSA002 (Consultation A, Subsequent), excluding GST. State Insurance Regulatory Authority (SIRA), checked 25 Sep 2026.
- Under the schedule effective 1 February 2025, PTA001 was $142.40 and PTA002 was $96.50. State Insurance Regulatory Authority (SIRA), checked 25 Sep 2026.
- Physiotherapy, chiropractic and osteopathy treatment provided to a worker is GST free; case conferences, report writing, travel costs and the AHTR/Certificate of Capacity fees are subject to GST on top of the listed maximum. State Insurance Regulatory Authority (SIRA), checked 25 Sep 2026.
- Invoices for relevant services must be submitted within 30 calendar days of the service being provided. State Insurance Regulatory Authority (SIRA), checked 25 Sep 2026.
- Up to 8 consultations may be provided without insurer pre-approval where the injury was not previously treated by a physiotherapist, chiropractor, osteopath or accredited exercise physiologist and treatment begins within 3 months of the injury. State Insurance Regulatory Authority (SIRA), checked 25 Sep 2026.
- Cliniko's data import tool can create billable items from a CSV with the fields Item code, Name, Price (ex. tax), Taxable and Item type. Cliniko, checked 25 Sep 2026.