Aged care · Home and residential visits
Aged care physiotherapy
Home based physiotherapy for older Australians, at home or in residential aged care, built around what you want to keep doing.
Most people know their own body better than anyone else does. When the stairs start taking longer or the shower feels less certain, they notice first, and often keep it to themselves for a while.
Physiotherapy is most useful while those changes are still small. Our physiotherapists come to you, so there is no clinic to get to and no day to rearrange around an appointment.
The short version
Nothing about this requires you to already be mobile, confident or pain-free. We start from where you are today.
A home visit aged care physiotherapist removes that entirely, which for a lot of people is the difference between having treatment and intending to.
Your hallway, your step, your bathroom floor. Assessing movement where it actually happens finds causes a clinic never sees.
Back to the garden, standing up without a hand, walking a grandchild to the gate. We ask before we assess, and the programme follows from the answer.
We work with Medicare, WorkCover, DVA and NDIS funding, alongside Support at Home and CHSP.
What a physiotherapist does in aged care
A physiotherapist is a university-qualified allied health professional registered with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA). Physiotherapy treats problems with movement, pain and function, and it is the one allied health service on our team that includes hands-on treatment.
The role covers far more than running through a set of exercises. It spans assessment, treatment, prevention, education, and keeping the wider care team in step.
If you aren’t sure whether physiotherapy is the right fit for a particular situation, ask us. We will tell you either way.
What aged care physiotherapy covers
- Mobility and strength assessment
- establishing what is safe and comfortable now, and where the gaps are
- Individual exercise programmes
- for strength, flexibility and endurance, scaled to ability and adjusted over time
- Falls risk assessment and prevention
- balance retraining, gait correction, and flagging hazards in the home or facility
- Rehabilitation after surgery
- hip and knee replacements, fractures and spinal procedures
- Pain management
- for arthritis, chronic back and neck pain, and joint stiffness
- Gait retraining and walking aid prescription
- making sure frames and sticks are set up correctly and suit the person using them
- Neurological physiotherapy
- stroke recovery, Parkinson’s, MS and other conditions affecting movement and coordination
- Hands-on treatment
- for stiffness, pain and soft tissue problems
- Education for families and carers
- safe transfers, handling technique, and supporting exercises between visits
- Coordination
- with GPs, nursing teams, and our own occupational therapists and exercise physiologists
How aged care physiotherapy is funded
Almost everyone qualifies through at least one pathway. There are two tracks, and knowing which one you’re on saves a lot of time.
The aged care track: My Aged Care, CHSP and Support at Home
My Aged Care
My Aged Care is the Australian Government’s single entry point for aged care. You register once, an assessment follows, and the outcome decides which programme funds your physiotherapy.
Commonwealth Home Support Programme (CHSP)
The entry-level programme, assessed by a Regional Assessment Service. CHSP funds allied health and therapy at home under a reablement model, which is the same thing home based physiotherapy is for: rebuilding function rather than working around its loss. Clients contribute a modest fee toward sessions. CHSP continues to run alongside Support at Home and is expected to fold into it no earlier than July 2027.
Support at Home
Replaced the Home Care Packages Program and Short-Term Restorative Care on 1 November 2025. Assessed by an Aged Care Assessment Team and funded across eight classifications rather than the old four package levels, with the budget released quarterly.
The part that matters most here: Physiotherapy sits in the clinical supports category, which carries no participant contribution. Where it is part of your assessed support plan, the government funds it in full, whatever your income or assets. Under a Home Care Package, therapy competed with cleaning and personal care for the same pool of money. It no longer does.
If you already held a Home Care Package, you moved across on a transitioned level and keep your existing funding. Nothing needs redoing.
The Restorative Care Pathway
Also new under Support at Home, and the part most people haven’t heard of. Up to 16 weeks of intensive allied health and reablement, funded separately from your ongoing budget and available twice in a twelve-month period. It exists for exactly this: a concentrated block of physiotherapy after a fall, a hospital stay, or a sudden drop in function. Ask us or your assessor whether it applies to you.
Everything else
Medicare, through a GP chronic condition management plan
Still widely called an EPC or CDM plan. Your GP writes it, and it covers five subsidised allied health sessions a calendar year. Useful, but limited: those five are shared with podiatry, dietetics and every other allied health service on the plan, and a gap fee usually applies. For pensioners and concession card holders it is often the simplest place to begin.
Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA)
Gold and White Card holders may have physiotherapy funded in full, home visits and travel included, once DVA approves the referral. We lodge the claims and follow them up, so there is no paperwork at your end.
National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS)
Funded under Improved Daily Living, and the relevant track for participants under 65 or those who entered the scheme before turning 65. Self-managed, plan-managed and agency-managed all welcome.
Private health insurance, and self-funded
Extras cover almost always makes physiotherapy claimable, more reliably than most allied health services, though rebates vary by fund and level of cover. We’ll tell you exactly what to ask yours. Or book directly, no referral needed, with the cost in writing before the first appointment.
Ring us if you’re unsure which track you’re on. That conversation is free and carries no obligation. It covers funding and eligibility rather than clinical advice, which needs an assessment.
Who we work with
People living in residential aged care
Moving into residential care changes a great deal. It does not hand your body over to somebody else.
Our physiotherapists work inside the facility and schedule around meals, activities and rest rather than the other way around. We talk directly with nursing and care staff so everyone knows what is being worked on. The focus is what shapes a day: standing up without help, getting in and out of bed, walking to the dining room, sitting comfortably for longer.
Progress here is often quiet. Getting out of the armchair with one hand instead of two, or down the corridor without stopping halfway, are the goals people actually name when you ask them.
Families arranging care for a parent
If you’re the one ringing providers and comparing options, you already know how much of this ends up sitting with one person. A mobile physiotherapist takes one part of it off you.
We visit, we assess, and we build a programme around what matters most to your mum or dad, which may not be what worries you most. Where those differ, it’s worth talking about openly rather than around, and we’re happy to be in that conversation.
A home visit also shows what a phone call cannot. Not because anyone is holding back, but because the height of a step or the grip of a bathroom floor isn’t something you can describe down a phone line. With their agreement, we send a clear update after every session, so you know how things are going even when you can’t be there.
After a fall, or after a hospital stay
Being wary after a fall isn’t irrational. It’s a sensible response to something that actually happened, and it deserves to be treated as sensible rather than talked out of.
The difficulty is what follows. Moving less is reasonable in the short term, but over months it weakens the strength and balance that would prevent the next fall. The weeks straight after a fall or a hospital discharge are when that pattern is easiest to interrupt.
We rebuild confidence in movement before pushing anything, then work through a structured programme that lowers the risk of it happening again. Sessions happen at home or in the facility, so there’s no trip to a clinic while recovery is still fragile.
Support at Home participants
If you have a Support at Home classification, physiotherapy sits within the clinical supports you’re already entitled to, at no contribution to you. We work alongside your provider and care partner so sessions are properly funded, scheduled and consistent with the rest of the support plan.
Because we visit at home, we also notice what a clinic-based physiotherapist never sees: a rug that catches at the edge of the hallway, a bathroom that would be easier with a rail, a bed sitting lower than it needs to. Assessing and prescribing those changes is occupational therapy rather than physiotherapy, and we have occupational therapists on the team, so it’s a conversation rather than a search for another provider. We’ll tell you what we notice. What happens next is your call.
Progressive and chronic conditions
With Parkinson’s, multiple sclerosis, arthritis or recovery after a stroke, the aim changes. Holding onto strength and movement over time is a real goal, not a fallback, and it takes as much work as any other kind of rehabilitation.
We adjust the programme as things change, led by how you are on the day rather than by where a timeline says you should be. Sessions stay predictable: the same physiotherapist, the same setting, the pace you set together.
We also work with the people doing the caring. Safe lifting, transfer technique and practical handling advice protect your own back and shoulders while you’re looking after someone else.
Veterans
DVA Gold and White Card holders may have physiotherapy funded in full, home visits and travel included, subject to approval. We submit the claims directly, so there’s no paperwork and no out-of-pocket cost.
We work with veterans managing service-related conditions, recovering from surgery, and those who simply intend to stay strong and mobile for as long as they can. Every session is at home or in the facility, with the same physiotherapist each visit.
What changes
People usually come to us because something specific has gone wrong. What tends to shift over the following weeks:
Physiotherapy, exercise physiology or occupational therapy?
All three are allied health professions, all three sit under the same roof here, and people are often unsure which they need.
Physiotherapy
Treats the immediate problem: an injury, a painful joint, recent surgery, balance that’s become unreliable. Includes hands-on treatment. It’s where you start when something hurts or has recently gone wrong.
Exercise physiology
Prescribes structured exercise over the longer term, for chronic conditions and for building or holding onto capacity. No manual therapy.
Occupational therapy
Works on the task and the surroundings: showering, dressing, cooking, moving around the house, plus equipment and home modifications.
Getting back on your feet after a fall or a knee replacement is physiotherapy. Staying strong in the years afterwards is exercise physiology. A rail that makes the shower safe is occupational therapy. Plenty of people use two or three, and moving between them here doesn’t mean starting again with a stranger.
One practical note: if a Medicare chronic condition management plan is paying, the five sessions are shared between all of them rather than five of each. Support at Home and CHSP funding has no such split, and under Support at Home clinical supports carry no contribution at all.
What to expect
Before the first session
We take details over the phone: medical history, recent falls or hospital stays, current mobility and medications, and what you’re hoping physiotherapy will help with. Your physiotherapist arrives already across the situation.
The initial assessment
Unhurried, in your own space. We look at how you move through the rooms you actually use, where the risks are, what’s causing pain, and what you most want to hold onto or get back. By the end you’ll have a clear picture of what we’re working on and why.
Your programme
Shaped by your body, your goals, your home or facility, and your pace. We explain what each part is for, because an exercise you understand is an exercise worth doing.
Ongoing sessions
We treat, progress the programme, adjust as circumstances change, and keep working toward the goal, whether that’s walking to the letterbox without thinking twice, getting out of bed unaided, or being in less pain by the end of the day.
Physiotherapy by video call
Not everyone needs a home visit, and not everyone can have one. If you live regionally, if you’re arranging care for a parent from another state, or if getting to appointments is itself the difficulty, sessions with a physiotherapist run by secure video call.
Physiotherapy is the one service here that includes hands-on treatment, and that part doesn’t travel down a video link. Plenty of the rest does: assessment, exercise prescription, technique correction, progression, gait and walking aid review, and coaching carers through safe transfers. If your situation needs hands-on work, we’ll say so and arrange a visit instead.
Many people run both: a home visit to assess and treat, video sessions in between to keep the programme moving.
Why people choose JC Care
Frequently asked questions
Can I use Support at Home or CHSP for physiotherapy?
Yes to both. Under Support at Home, physiotherapy sits in the clinical supports category, which means no participant contribution: where it’s in your assessed support plan, the government funds it in full. CHSP is the entry-level programme and is often the faster route if you don’t yet have a Support at Home classification. Either way it starts with a My Aged Care assessment, and we’ll help you work out which applies.
Does my aged care pay for physio?
Usually yes, and often at no cost to you. Under Support at Home, physiotherapy sits in the clinical supports category, which carries no participant contribution: where it’s in your assessed support plan, the government funds it in full, whatever your income or assets. CHSP funds it too, with a modest client fee. Either way it starts with a My Aged Care assessment. If you’re not sure what’s in your plan, ring us and we’ll help you check.
Does Medicare cover physio for pensioners?
Medicare works the same way regardless of pension status. A GP chronic condition management plan covers five subsidised allied health sessions a calendar year, shared across physiotherapy, podiatry, dietetics and anything else on the plan. Medicare pays a set rebate and the provider decides whether to charge a gap. A pensioner or concession card doesn’t add sessions, though it often makes bulk billing more likely. For ongoing physiotherapy, five a year rarely stretches far, which is why the aged care pathways matter more.
Are pensioners entitled to free physio?
Not automatically, and not through the pension itself. But there are several routes to physiotherapy at no cost, and most older Australians qualify for at least one. Support at Home funds physiotherapy as a clinical support with no contribution. DVA Gold and White Card holders have it covered in full, home visits included. Public hospital outpatient clinics are free, though they usually involve a wait and a trip. What your income and assets affect is contributions to independence and everyday living services, not clinical ones. Ring us and we’ll tell you which route fits.
What do physiotherapists do in aged care?
More than exercises. Assessment of strength, balance and mobility. Hands-on treatment for pain and stiffness. Rehabilitation after surgery, fractures or a fall. Falls prevention and balance retraining. Gait work, and setting up walking frames and sticks correctly. Neurological physiotherapy for stroke, Parkinson’s and MS. Teaching families and carers safe transfer and handling technique. In aged care most of it happens at home or inside the facility, and the goals are practical: standing up unaided, getting to the letterbox, being in less pain by the evening.
Do I need a referral from my GP?
Not to book. Physiotherapy is a primary contact profession, so you can come to us directly. A referral is required for the Medicare pathway and for DVA, and it helps us work from your medical history.
What happens in the first visit?
An assessment, in your own home or room, taking about an hour. We look at how you move through the spaces you use, find what’s causing pain or instability, and agree on what you want to get back. Treatment usually starts in that same session.
Will I see the same physiotherapist each visit?
Yes. You’re matched with one physiotherapist who stays with you, so you’re not re-explaining your history every session.
Can you work with someone in a residential aged care facility?
Yes. We work inside facilities, schedule around meals and activities, and coordinate with nursing and care staff. No approval beyond the facility’s own visitor process is usually needed.
Do you provide equipment or home modifications?
Walking aids yes, including prescribing and setting them up correctly. Rails, ramps and bathroom modifications are occupational therapy, and we have occupational therapists on the team.
Is it too late if the decline has been going on a while?
No. Strength, balance and confidence all respond to training well into later life, and the starting point matters less than starting.
Book aged care physiotherapy
Whether you’re arranging this for yourself, for a parent or for someone in your care, the right physiotherapist changes how you move and how the day feels.
JC Care Pty Ltd acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their Elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.