What hydrotherapy is
Hydrotherapy uses the warmth, buoyancy and resistance of water to make movement easier and exercise more effective. Water supports your body weight, which can make it possible to stand, walk or move joints in ways that are hard on land, while still building strength.
It is often used for people with cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injury, acquired brain injury, muscular dystrophy, arthritis related to disability and chronic pain. Sessions are usually in a heated hydrotherapy pool, one to one or in a small group.
Who can deliver NDIS hydrotherapy
There is no separate hydrotherapy support item. It is claimed under the item for the professional who delivers it, and that person must hold the qualification the NDIS Pricing Schedule sets:
- Physiotherapists registered with AHPRA: up to $183.99 an hour
- Accredited Exercise Physiologists with Exercise and Sports Science Australia: up to $161.99 an hour
- Occupational therapists sometimes use water based therapy for sensory or functional goals: up to $193.99 an hour
- Higher limits apply in remote and very remote areas, and group sessions are split between participants
Pool entry and other costs
The NDIS Supports Transitional Rules list pools, pool heating and maintenance, spa baths and saunas as day to day living costs that are not NDIS supports, so the NDIS will not build or heat a pool at home. Recreational club memberships, venue fees for recreation and general fitness costs are also excluded.
For therapy sessions, ask your therapist before you start whether pool hire or entry is included in their fee or charged to you separately, and get it in your service agreement. If you pay entry yourself, that cost is generally not claimable from your plan.
Which budget pays
Hydrotherapy with a physiotherapist is usually paid from improved daily living skills in your Capacity Building budget. With an exercise physiologist it is often paid from Health and Wellbeing.
Since 1 October 2026, improved daily living skills budgets are reduced by 10% when a plan is created, reassessed or renewed, under a support determination. Health and Wellbeing is not one of the affected groups. Check where your therapy is funded so you can plan sessions across the year.
Hydrotherapy compared with swimming
Swimming lessons and recreational swimming are usually treated as recreation, which the NDIS does not fund in itself. The NDIS may fund a support worker to help you get to the pool and take part, often from social, economic and community participation, which is reduced by 50% at reassessment or renewal since 1 October 2026.
Hydrotherapy is different because a therapist designs and runs it to reach goals linked to your disability, such as walking, strength or reducing pain.
Making a good case
- Ask your physiotherapist or exercise physiologist to explain why water based therapy works better for you than land based exercise
- Link it to plan goals such as mobility, transfers, pain or maintaining function
- Record progress, such as walking distance or range of movement, for your next reassessment
- Ask whether a support worker or family member can be trained to help with a home or community program between sessions
- If you have just had surgery or an injury, early rehabilitation is usually funded by the health system, not the NDIS