Fee schedule
WorkSafe Victoria exercise physiology fee schedule 2026-27
From 1 July 2026 WorkSafe Victoria pays $131.12 for an initial exercise physiology consultation (EX021), up 23.2 per cent on the $106.44 paid under the 1 July 2025 schedule, a far bigger jump than the roughly 2.35 per cent indexation applied elsewhere. The standard consultation (EX022) only rose 2.35 per cent, to $72.64. Providers must be ESSA accredited.
Last checked 25 Sep 2026 against the sources listed at the end of this page.
- Payer
- WorkSafe Victoria
- Effective from
- 1 Jul 2026
- Official schedule
- Source document
What changed this year
- The initial consultation (EX021) rose 23.2 per cent, from $106.44 to $131.12, far above the roughly 2.35 per cent indexation applied to most other WorkSafe allied health items in 2026. The standard consultation (EX022) got only the standard 2.35 per cent rise, to $72.64.
- The restricted consultation (EX023), group consultation (EX012), return to work case conference (EX040) and both travel rates (EX031, EX032) all rose by the same roughly 23 per cent as the initial consultation, not the 2.35 per cent baseline.
- The new EX021 rate of $131.12 now matches the standard restricted or extended consultation fee paid to several other allied health disciplines under WorkSafe Victoria in 2026, including physiotherapy's restricted consultation, occupational therapy's extended consultation, and chiropractic and osteopathy's initial consultation, suggesting WorkSafe aligned exercise physiology's longer consultation items to the same benchmark rather than simply indexing them.
- Metro travel (EX031) rose from $1.76 to $2.50 per km, a 42 per cent increase, and regional travel (EX032) rose from $1.23 to $1.56 per km, a 27 per cent increase.
All 10 exercise physiology items
| Item | Description | Fee | Previous |
|---|---|---|---|
| EX021 | Initial consultation, approximately 45 minutes | $131.12 | $106.44 |
| EX021T | Telehealth, initial consultation, approximately 45 minutes | $131.12 | $106.44 |
| EX022 | Standard consultation, approximately 30 minutes | $72.64 | $70.97 |
| EX022T | Telehealth, standard consultation, approximately 30 minutes | $72.64 | $70.97 |
| EX023 | Restricted consultation, subject to agent approval | $131.12 | $106.44 |
| EX023T | Telehealth, restricted consultation, subject to agent approval | $131.12 | $106.44 |
| EX012 | Group consultation, exercise physiologist supervising, 1 to 6 patients | $29.14 | $23.67 |
| EX031 | Metro travel, subject to agent approval | $2.50 per km | $1.76 per km |
| EX032 | Regional travel, subject to agent approval | $1.56 per km | $1.23 per km |
| EX040 | Return to work case conference, exercise physiology | $109.27 | $88.71 |
This year's rise is not ordinary indexation
Most of WorkSafe Victoria's 2026 allied health fee schedules rose by around 2.35 per cent, a routine indexation move. Exercise physiology did not follow that pattern. The initial consultation (EX021) jumped from $106.44 to $131.12, a rise of 23.2 per cent, and the restricted consultation (EX023), group consultation (EX012), return to work case conference (EX040) and both travel rates moved by roughly the same amount. The one exception is the standard consultation (EX022), which got the ordinary 2.35 per cent rise, from $70.97 to $72.64.
The new $131.12 rate for EX021 is not an arbitrary number. It matches the fee several other WorkSafe allied health disciplines now pay for their own longer or restricted consultation items in 2026, including physiotherapy's restricted consultation and chiropractic and osteopathy's initial consultation. That points to a deliberate realignment of exercise physiology's longer consultation fee to the same benchmark used elsewhere in the 2026 schedules, rather than a simple CPI-style adjustment.
Travel moved even further
Metro travel (EX031) rose from $1.76 to $2.50 per km, a 42 per cent increase, and regional travel (EX032) rose from $1.23 to $1.56 per km, a 27 per cent increase. Both remain subject to agent approval before they are billed. A clinic running home or workplace exercise physiology visits should check these two rates specifically rather than assuming the small percentage change seen on the standard consultation applies across the board.
Who can bill this schedule
Exercise physiology sits outside the AHPRA framework that covers physiotherapy, psychology, occupational therapy, chiropractic and osteopathy. WorkSafe requires a provider to be a fully accredited member of Exercise and Sports Science Australia (ESSA), not registered with a National Law board. An initial consultation (EX021) can only be billed once per provider, clinic or clinical group for a given episode, with an exception for cases like a hospital admission or a long treatment gap, and a restricted consultation (EX023) needs prior written approval that the treating exercise physiologist requests only after an earlier consultation has already been delivered.
Loading the schedule into Cliniko
Because this year's EX rate changes are not a flat percentage, do not roll last year's Cliniko prices forward with an estimated increase. Re-key each fee from the current PDF into the import CSV (Item code, Name, Price (ex. tax), Taxable, Item type), uploaded from Settings, then Data & docs, then Data imports, then Billable items. Name each item clearly, for example WorkSafe VIC EX021 Initial consultation, so reception can tell it apart from the standard consultation at a glance.
Confirm GST treatment with your accountant, since WorkSafe's own schedule does not mark individual items as taxable or GST-free, only that GST is paid on top where applicable. From next July, Cliniko's export, edit, re-import cycle on the Item ID and price columns is the fast path for a routine indexation year, but given how unevenly the fees moved this year, check each new figure against the published PDF before you trust a bulk update.
Claiming notes
- Registration: exercise physiologists must be fully accredited members of Exercise and Sports Science Australia (ESSA) and hold the required insurance. This is a different accreditation body to the AHPRA boards that cover physiotherapy, psychology, occupational therapy, chiropractic and osteopathy.
- An initial consultation (EX021) can be billed only once by the same provider, clinic or clinical group, with an exception in cases such as a hospital admission or a long gap since prior treatment.
- Restricted consultations (EX023) need prior written approval from WorkSafe, and can only be requested by the treating exercise physiologist where a prior consultation has already been delivered. Approval runs for a maximum of 6 months per application.
- Group consultations (EX012) are capped at a minimum of one and a maximum of 6 participants per class or group session.
- Fees are exclusive of GST. WorkSafe pays the GST component in addition where a service is taxable.
- Invoices go to the worker's managing agent, not to WorkSafe direct, and a claim number missing from the invoice slows processing.
Load these fees into your practice software
- Import billable items in Cliniko from Settings, then Data & docs, then Data imports, then Billable items, Import.
- Use a CSV with Item code, Name, Price (ex. tax), Taxable, Item type. Put the WorkSafe code (for example EX021) in Item code and a name starting with WorkSafe VIC (for example WorkSafe VIC EX021 Initial consultation) so reception is not guessing which item covers which visit type.
- Given the size of the 2026 fee jump on EX021, EX023, EX012, EX031, EX032 and EX040, do not carry over last year's EX prices with a routine percentage bump. Re-key this year's figures from the table above rather than estimating an increase from the 2025 rate.
- Confirm GST treatment with your accountant before setting the Taxable column, since WorkSafe's schedule only states that GST is paid on top of the fee where a service is taxable, without marking items individually.
- Each July, update prices in bulk: export billable items from Data exports, keep the Item ID and price columns, change the prices, and re-import with only the price field enabled. Cliniko gives no undo on an import, so keep the original export.
Sources
- From 1 July 2026 WorkSafe Victoria pays $131.12 for EX021 (initial consultation) and $72.64 for EX022 (standard consultation). WorkSafe Victoria, checked 25 Sep 2026.
- Under the schedule effective 1 July 2025, EX021 was $106.44 and EX022 was $70.97. Metro travel (EX031) was $1.76 per km and regional travel (EX032) was $1.23 per km. WorkSafe Victoria, checked 25 Sep 2026.
- Exercise physiologists must be fully accredited members of Exercise and Sports Science Australia and maintain the requisite insurance, and restricted consultations require prior written approval requested only after a prior consultation has been delivered. WorkSafe Victoria, checked 25 Sep 2026.
- From 1 July 2026 WorkSafe pays $131.12 for PY105 (physiotherapy restricted consultation), OS100 (osteopathy initial consultation) and CR100 (chiropractic initial consultation), the same rate as the 2026 exercise physiology initial consultation. WorkSafe Victoria, checked 25 Sep 2026.
- Maximum fees in WorkSafe Victoria's fee schedules are exclusive of GST, and WorkSafe pays the GST component in addition where a service is taxable. WorkSafe Victoria, checked 25 Sep 2026.
- Cliniko's data import tool creates billable items from a CSV with the fields Item code, Name, Price (ex. tax), Taxable and Item type. Cliniko, checked 25 Sep 2026.
- Cliniko can update billable item prices in bulk by exporting, editing and re-importing a CSV keyed on Item ID, and there is no undo. Cliniko, checked 25 Sep 2026.