A Paediatric Occupational Therapist is a healthcare professional who helps children develop the necessary physical, cognitive, and social skills to effectively engage in daily activities such as self-care, play, and school tasks, promoting their overall development and independence. Through personalized assessments and interventions, they work to address challenges and support children in reaching their full potential.

A formal or medical referral is not required to bring your child to Hope Kids OT unless you are intending to claim a Medicare rebate. Simply contact us to make an inquiry or book an appointment.

The waiting period varies according to your availability and appointment preferences. Families with high flexibility may experience shorter waiting times for a series of appointments, while one-time/fit in assessments or consultations generally have shorter waits compared to waiting for a full term of ongoing sessions.

Upon contacting our administrative team, they will guide you through the procedure. They will either schedule an appointment if a slot is available, or if there's a waiting list for your time & day preference, they will collect your information to expedite the booking process once a vacancy arises. Our scheduling involves weekly or fortnightly appointments, organized on a term-by-term arrangement. An alternative way is to fill up the Contact Us form on our website. When we receive the information, we will put your child on the waiting list and will contact you when an available appointment arises.

Each OT session is 50 minutes includes 1:1 time between your child and the OT as well as providing feedback to the family. Additional time is allocated for preparation & documentation of the session. Parents will receive therapy notes via email after the session.

Email reminders are sent 5 days and 3 days prior to your appointment and mobile text reminders are sent 1 day prior to your appointment. Any notice of appointment changes will be notified via phone call, email or text message.

You may opt for a telehealth session for your child, or parent education session. Effective occupational therapy intervention with children requires a strong therapeutic relationship which cannot be sustained with intermittent visits. Hence, most appointments are scheduled on a regular weekly or fortnightly basis.

Appointments are usually offered on the same time and day to suit family’s commitments. Therefore, we have a 48 hours late cancellation/no show fee policy as we are unable to schedule appointments for families on the waitlist on short notice.

The early childhood approach helps children younger than 6 with developmental delay or children younger than 9 with disability and their families to access the right support when they need it. Children younger than 6 do not need a diagnosis to get support through the early childhood approach where there are concerns about their development.

You can find more information here: https://www.ndis.gov.au/understanding/families-and-carers/early-childhood-approach-children-younger-9

Under the Chronic Disease Management (CDM) or Enhanced Primary Care (EPC) plan, clients are eligible for 5 Allied Health sessions per calendar year and receive a rebate of $58.00 per session. This is organised through your General Practitioner and requires a Team Care Arrangement to be established. The client must need at least two allied health professionals to be eligible for this plan. Children with learning difficulties and motor or developmental delays are often eligible here if they meet the criteria. The sessions can be made up of five of one type of service (e.g. OT) or a combination of different types of service (eg. 1 dietician, 1 speech pathology and 3 OT sessions).

Families may be able to claim a rebate for occupational therapy sessions through their private health insurance. Eligibility and the amount that can be claimed will depend on the type of cover and extras. Families are recommended to contact their own health insurance providers for more information for details of the claiming process.

Hope Kids OT operates as a pay-on-the-day clinic. For our private clients and NDIS self-managed clients, we kindly ask that you settle the invoice upon the completion of your appointment. For sessions conducted offsite ( telehealth, kinder/school visit), we request that the invoice is taken care of within 7 days.