NDIS exercise physiology: goals, accreditation and funding checks

The NDIS and Exercise Physiology: How can you access it?

By Tristram Peters · Originally published 3 February 2022

A person assisting another person who is holding dumbbells

Deeper review: 6 October 2026. The deeper review adds article-specific decisions and audience guidance. Historical passages and their adjacent corrections remain preserved.

Check the proposed purpose rather than only the budget label

With consent, clarify the outcome, practitioner, plan restrictions and service cost. Help keep the therapy recommendation, payment eligibility and availability separate. Review whether the person is receiving useful assistance without promising that a particular program will be approved.

Original article and dated context

Tristram Peters is Head of Participant Engagement at Clickability, helping participants find and connect with service providers. He also co-hosts the Grow Bold with Disability and What Are You Staring At? podcasts.
Exercise physiology is an allied health service that helps you maintain or improve your fitness, health, and independence. Even better, you might be able to use your NDIS Plan to fund it.  
If you’re unsure whether you need an exercise physiologist, or just want to know more about how they work under the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), we’re here to help.
In this post, we’ll look at
  • what an exercise psychologist does
  • how the NDIS funds them
  • how you can find the right one for you.

[Clickability update, October 2026: The list should refer to exercise physiologist. An AEP is an Accredited Exercise Physiologist, not an exercise psychologist. Check ESSA’s explanation of the profession.]

What do exercise physiologists do?

An exercise physiologist can help you with your fitness, health, and wellness. They work alongside you to create an exercise program just for you – to help you achieve your NDIS goals.
But don’t think of exercise physiologists as just personal trainers. Exercise physiologists work in the health sector and have a deep understanding of your disability and how it affects you. They’re similar to other allied health services like occupational therapy, physiotherapy, or speech pathology.
For this reason, exercise physiologists within the NDIS are often called Accredited Exercise Physiologists (AEPs).
Accredited Exercise Psychologists can support people who have

[Clickability update, October 2026: This paragraph refers to Accredited Exercise Physiologists. The original typo is retained only as archival wording, with this correction.]

  • progressive neurological conditions
  • muscular dystrophy
  • acquired brain injury (ABI)
  • spinal cord injuries
  • cerebral palsy
  • and much, much more.
With their disability-specific expertise, they can help you
  • improve your mobility
  • increase your independence
  • become more active in your community
  • better understand and manage your condition
  • improve your physical and mental health and well-being.

How do you ask the NDIS for an exercise physiologist?

If you think an exercise physiologist might be right for you, you can request one in your NDIS planning meeting. At this meeting, you will need to explain how an exercise physiologist will help you achieve your goals and show that it’s ‘reasonable and necessary’.
This means that you must explain how your request for exercise physiology
  • relates to your disability
  • represents value for money
  • is likely be effective
  • and considers your other supports.
If exercise physiology is approved, you will get funding within the Capacity Building budget in your NDIS Plan, specifically the Improved Daily Living and Improved Health and Wellbeing categories.
Check your NDIS Plan for funding within this category. If you do have funds and you believe exercise physiology will help you achieve your NDIS goals, you’re good to go!

[Clickability update, October 2026: A budget balance alone does not authorise a service. Check the actual plan, disability-related functional purpose and qualified practitioner. Use current NDIS therapy-support guidance.]

How can you find the right exercise physiologist for you?

If you’re looking for mobile or home exercise physiology services, you can go straight to our Request Service. Our team will work with you to find your perfect exercise physiologist provider.

Turn an exercise physiology referral into a useful plan

Describe the everyday result you want

Rather than asking only for more exercise, describe the activity that is difficult: standing during a task, getting out into the community or managing a daily routine. Ask the practitioner how they will assess your starting point and decide whether their service fits. An accredited exercise physiologist is distinct from an exercise psychologist or a personal trainer. Check ESSA’s AEP guidance

Choose a result you can discuss again, including whether an activity feels easier, requires less help or remains manageable. Do not accept a guarantee of improvement simply because a program is described as evidence-based.

Ask how safety and changes will be reviewed with you.

Ask what practice between sessions involves

Clarify which instructions the participant wants help remembering and whether anyone needs training. Ask what to do when fatigue, pain or other symptoms change. Keep the program accessible and realistic for the actual home, equipment and support available.

Agree how concerns will reach the practitioner. A worker or family member should not independently increase an exercise prescription because an earlier session went well. Ask when the program will be reviewed and what feedback would change it.

Keep clinical suitability separate from NDIS funding

A practitioner may be able to help a health condition without that treatment being an NDIS-funded disability support. Explain the functional purpose, evidence and proposed costs, including assessment, reports and travel. A support item’s existence does not approve the service for every participant. Read the official guidance

If another therapist is involved, discuss distinct roles with the participant’s consent. Explain how services complement each other and avoid duplicated assessments that do not add useful information. Review the agreed outcomes and the remaining budget before committing to a long series of appointments.

For broader questions about activity and individual guidance, read physical activity with disability.

Questions readers ask

Does spare Capacity Building funding mean any exercise program is eligible?

No. Check the actual functional support and funding criteria. Official guidance

Is an accredited exercise physiologist the same as an exercise psychologist?

No. The article’s historical wording confuses the terms. An AEP is an allied health professional accredited through ESSA. Official guidance

Find an exercise physiologist for your disability-related goals

Tell Clickability the activities you want support with. Compare profiles and reviews, then confirm accreditation, experience and the proposed service.

Find an exercise physiology provider · Browse exercise physiology providers

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