The National Disability Insurance Sheme at Play Therapy Melbourne

Navigating the NDIS can be a complex process, especially with ongoing changes in legislation. We understand the importance of having clear guidance, and we hope the following information provides current and valuable insight into how the NDIS influences and informs the services you recieve at Play Therapy Melbourne.
Paint on textured cardboard

As NDIS Registered Providers, through the successful completion of routine audits, Play Therapy Melbourne maintain continued accreditation to deliver supports to children and families as a Registered Provider’s, in the following NDIS ‘Plan Catagories’:

  • (0110) – Behaviour Support
  • (0118) – Early Childhood Supports
  • (0128) – Theraputic Supports

Which ‘Plan Category’ we bill your services with us from, depends on the types of supports you are receiving at Play Therapy Melbourne, and how old the participant is. Most commonly used at Play Therapy Melbourne are Therapy Supports (0128) and Early Childhood Supports (0118) and within these catagories, there are many different Allied and Mental Health Professionals you can engage with to make the most of your childs plan. Professionals you may be engaged with at Play Therapy Melbourne are:

  • Art Therapists
  • Music Therapists
  • Occupational Therapists
  • Psychologists
  • Social Workers
  • Or, “Other Professionals”, including Key Workers (A person who is not one of the types of professionals listed above but who the provider considers to be an appropriate professional to deliver ‘Disability Health-Related Supports’ in line with the NDIS Quality and Safeguarding Commission’s requirements for the Therapeutic Supports Registration Group, and has who has a Bachelor’s degree or higher in their relevant area and holds current registration or membership with their relevant registration and or professional body).

Regardless of the professional you are engaged with, our therapeutic approach remains grounded in evidence-based practices and the assurance that all interventions are informed by latest research and best practices industry standards.

Furthermore, our unwavering commitment to quality means that every service we provide at Play Therapy Melbourne is designed to align with the NDIS Commission’s NDIS Practice Standards and Quality Indicators for Early Childhood Supports. This ensures that your child and family receive individualised, evidence-based support that actively works towards achieving their NDIS plan goals.

The billing for each session under your child’s NDIS Plan depends on the professional you are engaged with, as different price limits apply to various Allied and Mental Health Professionals. Our supports can be delivered to individuals or groups, following the guidelines outlined in the NDIS Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits. These services may include:

  • Direct Services:
    Such as your child’s weekly therapy sessions
  • Or, Non-Direct Services:
    Such as report writing, support plan development, observations or resource development

All pricing is determined by the NDIS, and Play Therapy Melbourne strictly adheres to the NDIS Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits for all clients, whether NDIS-funded, privately funded, or otherwise supported with the exception of any Giving Back Program clients.

Giving Back Program
Costs & Fee Structure
Our Quality, Qualification & Competency of Skill Assurance

On 3 October 2024, changes to NDIS legislation came into effect. This includes the new definition of NDIS supports, and the allowable NDIS supports list and the professionals of whom can deliver supports.

  • AQF Level 7 or above in Mental or Allied Health
  • Registered with the appropriate governing board
  • Experienced, skilled, and competent working with children and families

At Play Therapy Melbourne, we are dedicated to supporting NDIS participants, their families, and carers in navigating recent changes with clarity and confidence.
We reassure you that all clinicians providing therapeutic services to our clients in our clinics, and in community-based settings at minimum meet, however oftentimes exceed the required Australian Qualification Framework (AQF) of Level 7 or above in a Mental or Allied Health discipline.
Each is a recognised Mental or Allied Health professional, registered with the appropriate governing board.

As a long standing NDIS Registered Providers, we have always prioritised the experience, expertise, and professionalism of our team. These recent changes will not affect the quality or continuity of support you receive, our commitment to excellence remains unchanged.

Each team member at Play Therapy Melbourne is carefully selected to not only satisfy NDIS requirement, but also meet our internal standards, undergoing rigorous screening to deteremine suitability for experience, competency, and care, ensuring they are confidently able to support your child with competency and compassion, and to ensure the highest quality of therapeutic support for every family.

Learn More About Our Team

 

Registered or Un-Registered? Whats the Difference?

Year after year, Play Therapy Melbourne proudly surpass registration and accreditation standards under scrutiny during routine audit, reinforcing our ability to succeed in providing exceptional, evidence-based therapeutic services that families can trust and rely on being responsive to industry and legislative changes.

It can be overwhelming understanding and navigating different service providers. As you explore your options and begin researching to find service providers that suit your family and your childs goals, you may come across both registered and unregistered providers.

While both can deliver high-quality supports, being a Registered Provider means there are key differences in how we operate, how we are regulated, and how we are assessed to meet obligatory standards.

At Play Therapy Melbourne, we have been proud NDIS Registered Providers since 2021.

This means, we undergo costly and lengthy routine audits, where our practices are scrutinised throughout all facets of our organisations operation to ensure we are consistently meeting highest standards, set out by the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) to ensure the quality, professionalism, and importantly, compliance of our service delivery and staff.

Our audits are conducted by an independent quality auditor (QIP: Quality, Improvement, Performance), ensuring that our we consistently meet, and exceed, the industry benchmarks.

NDIS Pricing Arrangements & Limits (2025-2026)

As NDIS Registered Providers, Play Therapy Melbourne follow NDIS Pricing Arrangements & Limits set out in the current published price guide: https://www.ndis.gov.au/providers/pricing-arrangements

The billing for each session under your child’s NDIS Plan depends on the professional you are engaged with, as different price limits apply to various Allied and Mental Health Professionals. Our supports can be delivered to individuals or groups, following the guidelines outlined in the NDIS Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits. These services may include:
  • Direct Services: Such as your child’s weekly therapy sessions
  • Or, Non-Direct Services: Such as report writing, support plan development, observations or resource development
All pricing is determined by the NDIS, and Play Therapy Melbourne strictly adheres to the NDIS Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits for all clients, whether NDIS-funded, privately funded, or otherwise supported with the exception of any Giving Back Program clients.
Costs & Fee Structure
Participant Letter, Code of Conduct, Feedback & Complaints

As a Registered Provider, Play Therapy Melbourne are to uphold standrds, requirements, and compliance set out by the National Disability Insurance Agency, and the NDIS Quality & Safeguards Commission.

See Participant Letter
See Code of Conduct
See Feedback & Complaints
See Quality & Safeguarding Commission Practice Standards

If you ever feel there is something we need to know about your experience, or if there is something we can be doing to improve our services, we encourage you to be as open and honest as possible. We love to know what is working well, and where required learn which areas may not be working so well. This provides us with opportunities for improvements to the service we provide to you, and other valued clients.

Play Therapy Melbourne can be contacted directly for any feedback or complaint, on:
Phone: (03) 9439 2450
Email: enquiries@playtherapymelbourne.com
Main Postal Address: PO Box 485, Eltham 3095

There is an option for your responses to remain anonymous if you wish, and we welcome the engagement of an independent disability advocate whom can help you make sure your voice is heard when you make a complaint. An independant disability advocate can speak, act or write on behalf of a person with disability, and you can rest assured that Registered NDIS Providers must cooperate with advocates and other representatives of people with disability who are affected by complaints or incidents. They are independent of the NDIA, NDIS Commission and all NDIS Providers.

Disability Advocacy Finder:

https://askizzy.org.au/disability-advocacy-finder

Supportive

Directive therapy

Play Therapy Melbourne uses a combination child-centred play therapy techniques with a more directive approach to help facilitate children’s use of play, while fostering their emotional literacy.

Many children with an autism spectrum disorder struggle with more advanced pretend play skills. These advanced play skills are linked with language development, social interaction and emotional regulation (the very areas many children on the spectrum have difficulty with). That’s why it is important to help children develop play skills.

The clinician focuses on pretend play during sessions (also known as imaginative play, symbolic play or make-believe play). Pretend play is the most complex form of play, and occurs when children inject their imagination into their play. For example, they might play with a puppet who is being mean to a friend and hitting them, or they might lay a blue blanket on the floor and pretend it is a river, or maybe they might dress up as a prince who rescues all the soft toy animals from a storm that is on its way.

Pretend play is linked to:

  • language development
  • abstract thought
  • social competence with peers
  • emotion regulation
  • social and emotional wellbeing
  • creativity