Fee schedule
WorkCover Queensland chiropractic fees 2026-27
From 1 July 2026 WorkCover Queensland pays chiropractors $137 for an initial consultation (item 500021) and $108 for a subsequent one (500006), both flat rate and excluding GST. These are maximum fees under the Allied Health Services Table of Costs. The first five consultations, including the initial, are pre-approved if the injury has not been treated before.
Last checked 25 Sep 2026 against the sources listed at the end of this page.
- Payer
- WorkCover Queensland
- Effective from
- 1 Jul 2026
- Official schedule
- Source document
What changed this year
- Most chiropractic fees rose from the 1 August 2025 schedule to the 1 July 2026 schedule. The initial consultation (500021) moved from $132 to $137 and the subsequent consultation (500006) from $104 to $108, both about 3.8 per cent.
- The rise was not uniform across the table. Spine x-ray fees (558100 to 558115) moved by roughly 2.5 to 2.9 per cent, while communication item 300079 moved by just over 4 per cent. Incidental expenses (300094) did not change, staying capped at $85.
- No new item numbers or fee basis changes for chiropractic this year. All 18 items on the 1 July 2026 sheet carry the same item numbers and units (flat rate, per hour, or per hour with a maximum) as the prior schedule.
All 18 chiropractic items
| Item | Description | Fee | Previous |
|---|---|---|---|
| 500021 | Initial consultation. One-on-one, first visit for the injury or a new episode of care. Flat rate | $137.00 | $132.00 |
| 500006 | Subsequent consultation. First 5 consultations (incl. initial) pre-approved if not previously treated. Flat rate | $108.00 | $104.00 |
| 500055 | Reassessment or program review, at 6 weeks or on a change in status. Flat rate, submit a Provider Management Plan after | $137.00 | $132.00 |
| 558100 | X-ray, cervical spine. Must be clinically justifiable | $145.00 | $141.00 |
| 558103 | X-ray, thoracic spine. Must be clinically justifiable | $119.00 | $116.00 |
| 558106 | X-ray, lumbosacral spine. Must be clinically justifiable | $166.00 | $162.00 |
| 558112 | X-ray, any two regions of the spine. Must be clinically justifiable | $209.00 | $204.00 |
| 558115 | X-ray, any three regions of the spine. Must be clinically justifiable | $237.00 | $231.00 |
| 500226 | Independent case review by a chiropractor other than the treating one, requested by the insurer. Per hour | $289.00 | $279.00 |
| 300079 | Communication with the insurer, 3 to 10 minutes. Flat rate | $38.50 | $37.00 |
| 300100 | Communication with the insurer, over 10 minutes. Flat rate | $77.00 | $75.00 |
| 300082 | Case conference involving the insurer and treating or other parties. Per hour | $231.00 | $223.00 |
| 300086 | Progress report, a brief summary of the worker's recovery and return to work. Flat rate | $77.00 | $75.00 |
| 300088 | Standard report covering treatment plan, status and barriers. Flat rate | $196.00 | $189.00 |
| 300090 | Comprehensive report for extensive insurer questions. Per hour, maximum 3 to 5 hours billable | $231.00 | $223.00 |
| 300092 | Travel for treatment away from your normal practice. Per hour, prior approval needed over 1 hour | $171.00 | $165.00 |
| 300093 | Copies of patient records relating to the claim. Flat fee plus $1 per page | $32.00 | $31.00 |
| 300094 | Incidental expenses the worker takes home (not consumables used in the consultation). Up to $85 total per claim without prior approval | $85.00 | $85.00 |
What changed on 1 July 2026
WorkCover Queensland republished its Allied Health Services Table of Costs effective 1 July 2026, replacing the version that had applied since 1 August 2025. For chiropractic, every dollar figure in the 18-item sheet moved, though not by the same amount. The two fees clinics bill most, the initial consultation (500021) and subsequent consultation (500006), rose from $132 to $137 and from $104 to $108. Spine x-ray fees rose by a smaller margin, roughly 2.5 to 2.9 per cent, while report and communication items moved by closer to 3.5 to 4 per cent.
Nothing else about how chiropractors bill WorkCover Queensland changed with this release. Item numbers, units (flat rate, per hour, per person per hour) and the descriptions attached to each item are the same as the prior schedule.
How the pre-approval rule works for chiropractors
WorkCover Queensland pre-approves the first five consultations for a new injury, including the initial consultation, as long as the injury has not already been treated by an allied health provider. Once you reach that limit, or if the injury has already had treatment elsewhere, you submit a Provider Management Plan (PMP) before continuing.
A reassessment or program review (500055) is a separate, specific service, not just another consultation. It applies when a worker has been in active rehabilitation for at least six weeks and further treatment is likely, when new clinical findings emerge, when the worker's status changes quickly, or when there is no response to current treatment. You submit a PMP straight after a reassessment, and you cannot bill it on the same day as an initial or subsequent consultation for the same worker.
The items clinics forget to bill, and the ones they bill twice
Case conferences and communication items (300079, 300100, 300082) only apply to time spent with the insurer, not general chat with the worker about their appointment. Keep a written record of duration for every claim, because WorkCover Queensland can request evidence of the communication at any time.
The most common billing error on this table is double-claiming: you cannot bill an initial and a subsequent consultation for the same worker on the same day, no matter how the visits were structured. The second most common is charging incidental expenses (300094) above the $85 per-claim cap without first getting insurer approval, which risks the excess being clawed back.
Claiming notes
- This is a maximum fee schedule, not a set price. WorkCover Queensland pays up to the listed amount; you set your own fee at or below it.
- Pre-approval: the first five consultations (including the initial) do not need insurer sign-off, provided the injury has not already been treated by an allied health provider. Beyond that, submit a Provider Management Plan (PMP) for more treatment.
- You cannot bill more than one initial consultation, or more than one subsequent consultation, for the same worker on the same day.
- Communication and case conference items only apply where the insurer is directly involved. Talking to the worker about general administrative matters does not attract these fees.
- Reassessment (500055) is for specific triggers: at least six weeks of active treatment, new clinical findings, a rapid change in status, or no response to treatment. Submit a PMP straight after.
- Spine x-rays (558100 to 558115) sit under the chiropractic sheet in the Table of Costs but the same item numbers and fees also appear against other providers in the master item list, so check you are billing the chiropractic rate.
- The Table of Costs is published as an Excel workbook with a separate sheet per discipline (chiropractic, physiotherapy, exercise physiology and more), all dated 1 July 2026 on this release.
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. WorkCover Queensland chiropractic consultation and treatment items are set at the flat, per-hour or per-participant rate shown; GST treatment depends on your own GST registration status rather than the item itself, so confirm with your bookkeeper before you set the Taxable column.
- Build a CSV with Item code, Name, Price (ex. tax), Taxable and Item type. Use the WorkCover item number (for example 500021) in Item code and a name starting with WorkCover QLD so reception can find it fast, for example "WorkCover QLD 500021 Initial consultation".
- For the incidental expenses item (300094), import it at the $85 cap and edit the price down on each invoice to match the actual reasonable cost, since the fee is a maximum, not a fixed charge.
- Upload the CSV, match the columns, then import. Update prices each time WorkCover Queensland republishes the Table of Costs (previous updates have landed in July and August) by exporting existing billable items, editing the price column only, and re-importing.
Sources
- From 1 July 2026 WorkCover Queensland pays $137.00 for chiropractic item 500021 (Initial Consultation) and $108.00 for item 500006 (Subsequent Consultation), both flat rate and excluding GST. WorkCover Queensland, checked 25 Sep 2026.
- Under the schedule effective 1 August 2025, chiropractic item 500021 was $132.00 and item 500006 was $104.00. WorkCover Queensland, checked 25 Sep 2026.
- The first five consultations for a work-related injury, including the initial consultation, are pre-approved provided the injury has not previously been treated by an allied health provider. Further treatment needs a Provider Management Plan. WorkCover Queensland, checked 25 Sep 2026.
- A provider cannot bill multiple initial consultations or multiple subsequent consultations for the same worker on the same day. WorkCover Queensland, checked 25 Sep 2026.
- Incidental expenses (item 300094) are payable up to $85 in total per claim without prior insurer approval; amounts above that need approval. WorkCover Queensland, 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.