AI Receptionist for Occupational Therapists — Capture Every NDIS Intake, Paediatric Enquiry, and FCA Request, 24/7
Steve, your Aussie AI OT receptionist, answers every call your practice gets. He captures NDIS intake calls, books paediatric and adult therapy sessions, scopes functional capacity assessments, books home and school visits, and routes plan-managed, DVA and Medicare CDM enquiries to your intake team. AHPRA + NDIS-aware by design — Steve never gives clinical advice, never assesses a child or adult over the phone, never discusses NDIS plan eligibility or item codes, and never comments on developmental milestones. Splose, Cliniko, Halaxy, Nookal and Power Diary ready.
Live demo · Splose / Cliniko / Halaxy / Power Diary ready · AHPRA + NDIS-aware
No card. OT-specific configuration.
Quick Answer
Can an AI receptionist work for an Australian occupational therapy practice? Yes — and OT is one of the strongest fits, particularly for NDIS-heavy paediatric and adult practices. Steve answers every intake call 24/7, books NDIS initial assessments, paediatric and adult therapy sessions, home and school visits, functional capacity assessments, sensory profile captures, home modification and assistive technology assessments, and routes plan-managed, self-managed, NDIA-managed, DVA and aged care enquiries to your intake team. He's purpose-built for Australian OT — he never gives clinical advice, never recommends therapy goals or session counts, never discusses NDIS plan eligibility or item codes, and never assesses a child or adult over the phone. He captures, qualifies, books, and dispatches structured email and SMS to your intake team within five seconds of call-end.
From $297/month. 14-day free trial. 24-business-hour setup. Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) compliant, hosted on AWS Sydney for Australian data sovereignty, TLS 1.3 in transit, AES-256 at rest, NDB Scheme aligned, ISO 27001 framework-aligned (certification on roadmap). Aligned with AHPRA's Code of conduct for registered health practitioners, the Occupational Therapy Board of Australia's regulatory framework, the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission's NDIS Code of Conduct, and the Therapeutic Goods Advertising Code.
A Real Aussie Story (Illustrative Composite)
Hannah runs a four-therapist paediatric OT practice in Indooroopilly, Brisbane. Roughly 80% of her caseload is NDIS — split across plan-managed, self-managed, and NDIA-managed children — with the remaining 20% private and Medicare-funded. Average session fee benchmarks against the current NDIS price guide for therapeutic supports; functional capacity assessments are a one-off line item that can sit between $1,500 and $3,000 depending on complexity.
Hannah's wait list was 14 weeks long. That wasn't the problem. The problem was the intake calls. Parents — often desperate, sometimes mid-crisis — would ring, hit voicemail, ring back two days later, and by week three of unreturned calls, find a different provider. The OT industry's chronic workforce shortage means a 14-week wait is normal. But a 14-week wait plus an unanswered phone is a guaranteed no-show.
A six-week call audit showed Hannah's practice was receiving an average of 42 new-intake calls per week, with the front desk able to handle around 24 of them. Of the 18 missed calls, only 7 came back. The rest assumed the practice was full or didn't care.
Steve went live on a Tuesday. By the following Monday, every intake call was being answered — first ring. Steve captured the NDIS plan management type, child or adult, area of presenting concern in parent-led language, plan dates, plan manager contact (where known), and current waitlist position. Each intake landed in the practice manager's inbox as a structured email with the parent's preferred contact times.
Month one: 71 intake calls captured against a previous baseline of around 28 handled. Wait list grew (which Hannah expected) — but so did her funded billings, because previously-lost intakes were now sitting in queue with verified plan details ready for the next opening.
Hannah's Indooroopilly story is an illustrative composite based on common patterns we see with Australian paediatric and adult OT practices. No individual OT or practice is depicted. Real named AAA customers with permission to publish include Line Marking Australia and Dinar Exchange. Steve does not provide clinical, therapy, or NDIS plan advice under any circumstance — he qualifies and books only.
Watch how Steve works in an OT practice
A 90-second walkthrough of Steve handling three OT call types — a parent enquiring about paediatric OT for their child (captured without diagnostic framing), a plan-managed NDIS participant rescheduling a home visit, and a support coordinator asking about functional capacity assessment availability routed to the intake team. Full transcript below.
Read full transcript — three OT call types in 90 seconds
Call 1 — Paediatric OT enquiry (parent intake)
Caller: “Hi, my son's OT said we need to get him in for some sensory and fine motor stuff. He's six. We've just had his first NDIS plan approved.”
Steve: “That's great — congratulations on getting the plan through. So I won't go into the clinical side here on the phone, I'll get one of our paediatric OTs to do that properly in the first session. Can I grab your name and your son's first name and age?”
Caller: “I'm Mel. He's Hugo, six.”
Steve: “Beautiful. And is the plan plan-managed, self-managed, or NDIA-managed?”
Caller: “Plan-managed. Our plan manager is My Plan Manager.”
Steve: “Got it. Plan start and end dates if you have them handy? And would you prefer clinic, home, or school sessions?”
Caller: “Started March, runs twelve months. Clinic to begin with.”
Steve: “Perfect. Our intake team's going to call you back within one business day to walk you through the initial assessment booking and where Hugo sits on our paediatric waitlist. Best mobile and best time to call?”
Within 5 seconds: structured intake email to the practice manager — child Hugo, age 6, presenting concern “sensory and fine motor (parent language)”, plan-managed via My Plan Manager, plan dates captured, clinic preference noted, parent preferred contact time logged. SMS confirmation to Mel with next-step expectation. No diagnostic language. No developmental milestone commentary.
Call 2 — Plan-managed NDIS adult rescheduling a home visit
Caller: “Hi it's David Nguyen, I've got an OT home visit booked Thursday morning but I've got to move it.”
Steve: “No worries David — I can see your visit. Want to try Friday morning or next Monday afternoon?”
Caller: “Monday afternoon.”
Steve: “Got it. Same address? Same accessibility considerations for the OT?”
Caller: “Same address, yes. Same everything.”
Steve: “Done. SMS confirmation coming through. Anything else?”
Splose updated, original slot released, patient SMS sent, OT's run schedule updated with the home-visit change. Plan management context preserved on the booking — no eligibility commentary, no item-code discussion.
Call 3 — Support coordinator FCA enquiry
Caller: “Hi I'm a support coordinator — I've got a participant with a plan review coming up in eight weeks and we need a functional capacity assessment. Do you have capacity?”
Steve: “Thanks for getting in touch. FCAs are a specific service we offer — I'll route this to our intake team to scope properly with you rather than book a standard appointment. Can I grab the participant's plan management type, plan review date, and your best contact?”
Caller: “Plan-managed, review in eight weeks, my mobile's 0412...”
Steve: “Beautiful. Lodging this with our intake lead now — you'll get a callback within one business day to confirm timing and scope. Is this for SDA application support, plan review evidence, or general functional capacity report?”
Caller: “Plan review evidence.”
Structured email to intake lead: FCA scoping request, plan-managed, plan review in 8 weeks, evidence purpose noted, support coordinator contact captured, callback committed for next business day. Steve does not book the FCA himself or quote line items — the practitioner scopes the assessment and the intake lead confirms timing.
The 5-second OT workflow
- Phone rings. Steve answers on ring one, identifies as your practice's reception, asks how he can help.
- Intent captured. New intake? Reschedule? NDIS plan question? Home visit? FCA request? Steve identifies in the first 10-15 seconds.
- Detail captured. For new intakes: child or adult, area of presenting concern (parent-led or participant-led), NDIS plan management type, plan dates, plan manager or support coordinator contact, preferred location (clinic, home, school, telehealth), current provider history.
- Email + SMS dispatched. Within five seconds of call-end, a structured email lands in the intake team inbox AND an SMS goes to the practice manager. Caller receives an SMS confirmation with the next-step expectation.
- Escalation if needed. Anything clinical, child safety, mental health distress, or NDIS plan eligibility question gets flagged for callback within your defined SLA. Steve never makes clinical or eligibility judgements.
Why Australian OT practices are choosing AI reception
The OT phone reality
Australian OT practices — particularly in paediatric and disability — operate in a state of chronic over-demand. The NDIS funded therapy market combined with Medicare-eligible OT presentations has produced sustained wait lists in nearly every metro market. Workforce supply has not kept pace.
This makes the intake call a uniquely high-stakes interaction. A missed intake isn't just lost revenue — it's a vulnerable family or NDIS participant left without an OT pathway. The brand cost of unanswered intake calls compounds: support coordinators stop referring, plan managers warn their participants away, GPs find another paediatric service.
Steve answers every intake call. Captures every plan detail. Lands every enquiry in your intake queue. Your therapists treat. Your intake team prioritises. Nobody falls through the gap.
What Steve does in an OT practice
- NDIS intake calls — Captures parent or participant name, child age (where relevant), plan management type (plan-managed, self-managed, NDIA-managed), plan start and end dates, plan manager or support coordinator contact details, current funding line items, presenting concern in lay language.
- Adult OT intake calls — Captures funding source (NDIS, DVA, private, Medicare CDM), area of functional concern, referring GP or specialist, current living situation, mobility considerations.
- Functional capacity assessments (FCAs) — Routes to a practitioner scoping call rather than booking a standard appointment slot. Captures plan and referral context, plan review date, SDA application or AT prescription drivers, and dispatches to the assessing OT's scoping queue.
- Paediatric assessment and therapy bookings — Books sensory profile assessments, school-based OT visits, clinic sessions. Captures parent availability and child's school timetable considerations.
- Home and school visit bookings — Captures address, primary contact, child's classroom teacher or NDIS coordinator details, accessibility considerations for the OT's visit run.
- Home modification and assistive technology scoping — Captures the home-mod or AT enquiry, routes to the appropriately-skilled OT for assessment scoping. Steve never quotes item codes or AT recommendations.
- Capacity Building — Improved Daily Living — Recognises CB-IDL terminology and routes through normal NDIS intake without commenting on funding appropriateness.
- Plan-managed billing enquiries — Captures the question and routes to the practice manager. Steve never quotes session rates against an NDIS plan or discusses item codes.
- Rescheduling and cancellations — Handles same-day reschedules, applies your cancellation policy, offers nearest alternative slots.
- Multi-therapist routing — Routes by therapist specialty (paediatric, adult, hand therapy, mental health endorsed) per caller request — never on his own judgement.
- After-hours intake — Steve takes the call, sends confirmation, dispatches the intake email for next-business-day review.
AHPRA & NDIS awareness — what Steve does not do
Occupational therapy is a registered profession in Australia under AHPRA, and OT practices delivering NDIS services are bound by the NDIS Code of Conduct. Steve respects both frameworks. He is not a registered occupational therapist and never holds himself out as one.
1. Steve never provides clinical, therapy, or developmental advice
If a parent asks “is this normal for his age?” or “should I be worried about her handwriting?” — Steve does not assess. He books the consult so your OT can assess in the room or on the home/school visit, or escalates to a registered practitioner for callback under your defined SLA.
2. Steve never assesses a child or adult over the phone
Developmental screening, sensory profile observations, functional capacity judgements, and ADL assessments are all in-person OT activities. Steve captures presenting concern in lay language and books the appropriate assessment — he does not pre-screen.
3. Steve never discusses NDIS plan eligibility, item codes, or session rate appropriateness
Questions like “will my plan cover this?” or “how many sessions am I funded for?” get routed to the plan manager or intake team. Plan eligibility is an NDIA, plan manager, and practitioner decision — never Steve's.
4. Steve never recommends therapy goals, session frequency, or treatment intensity
Decisions about therapy goals, session cadence, and when to step down or discharge belong to your registered OT and the participant's broader support team. Steve books the visit; the OT and the team decide the plan.
5. Steve never makes statements about outcomes, recovery trajectories, or developmental milestones
Outcome predictions, milestone commentary, and trajectory claims are clinical statements. Steve does not make them — and he does not let generic marketing language about outcomes leak into a booking call. This is exactly where most generic answering services breach the rules.
6. Steve never engages in Therapeutic Goods Advertising Code violations
Steve is configured against the Therapeutic Goods (Therapeutic Goods Advertising Code) Instrument. No prohibited representations, no unverified testimonials, no comparisons that imply therapeutic superiority over other allied health modalities. He books; he doesn't advertise.
7. Steve handles child safety and distress signals with hard escalation
If a parent describes a child safety concern, or a mental health OT participant signals distress, Steve does not attempt to assess or advise. The call is flagged for immediate practitioner callback and, per your configured script, Steve can refer the caller to Kids Helpline (1800 55 1800), Lifeline (13 11 14), Beyond Blue (1300 22 4636), 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732), or 000 in an emergency.
This is by design. AHPRA's Code of conduct for registered health practitioners, the Occupational Therapy Board of Australia's regulatory framework, and the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission's NDIS Code of Conduct all frame clinical and eligibility communication as a practitioner activity. Steve captures and books. Your OT treats. Your intake team manages plans. Always.
Integrations built for OT workflows
Steve plugs into the practice management software Australian OT practices already run:
| Platform | Integration | Use case |
|---|---|---|
| Splose | Direct API (Complete + Enterprise) | NDIS-focused OT workflow — plan management type, plan dates, support coordinator capture, paediatric and adult intake routing |
| Cliniko | Direct API (Complete + Enterprise) | Real-time intake booking, recall scheduling, multi-therapist routing, presenting concern captured in lay language |
| Halaxy | Direct API (Complete + Enterprise) | Allied-health booking, Medicare and DVA referral capture, paediatric and adult OT routing |
| Power Diary | Direct API (Complete + Enterprise) | Booking, recall, multi-therapist scheduling for OT and broader allied health |
| Nookal | Direct API (Complete + Enterprise) | Practice management, intake workflow, multi-therapist routing |
| Google Calendar / Outlook | Direct | Calendar booking for solo OTs or practices not yet on a PMS |
| NDIS plan managers & support coordinators | Email/SMS bridge | Structured intake forms dispatched per your template; plan-managed billing enquiries routed to your nominated contact |
| Multi-clinic groups | Per-location routing (Enterprise) | Suburb-based routing with head-office consolidated reporting on the home-visit run schedule |
If your platform isn't listed, we'll build the integration during setup. Trusted across industries — Aussie AI Agency clients include Line Marking Australia and Dinar Exchange. The OT build runs on the same Australian-hosted infrastructure with OT-specific intake scripts and AHPRA + NDIS-aware guardrails.
Pricing — straight-up
| Plan | What's included | Monthly |
|---|---|---|
| Essential | Steve answers calls 24/7, email + SMS dispatch, single practice inbox, Google Calendar booking, voicemail-to-text, weekly call reports | $297 |
| Complete | Everything in Essential + Splose / Cliniko / Halaxy / Nookal / Power Diary direct integration, multi-therapist routing, NDIS intake form workflow, custom escalation rules, fortnightly script tuning | $497 |
| Enterprise | Everything in Complete + multi-clinic routing, plan-managed billing workflow, home-visit run scheduling, FCA scoping workflow, outbound reactivation, multi-language receptionist, ISO 27001 framework documentation pack, dedicated account manager | $990 |
All plans include: 24/7 answering, email + SMS workflow, AHPRA + NDIS-aware configuration, custom voice/persona, Australian hosting, Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) compliance, ISO 27001 framework-aligned security (AWS Sydney, TLS 1.3, AES-256, NDB Scheme alignment), 14-day free trial, 24-business-hour setup.
No money-back guarantee — but a 14-day free trial so you can test before you commit. Month-to-month on Essential and Complete; Enterprise is typically a 12-month engagement. See full pricing on the pricing page.
📞 Talk to Niel: 03 4328 3434 · ✉️ info@aussieaiagency.com.au
When Steve is not the right fit
We'd rather tell you upfront than waste your money. Steve is not for your OT practice if —
- You expect Steve to discuss NDIS plan eligibility, session rates, or item codes over the phone. He won't. That's a plan management and practitioner judgement boundary.
- You expect Steve to assess a child or adult over the phone. He won't. That's an OT activity, in person or on the appropriate clinical telehealth setup.
- You run a purely hospital or rehabilitation-attached OT service with internal referral routing. Different beast — talk to us anyway, but Steve is built for community OT flow.
- You don't have a clear intake escalation protocol for child safety or mental health concerns. Steve needs your rules to handle these situations safely.
- You're not willing to invest 60–90 minutes in the discovery call and ongoing script tuning. Steve only sounds like your practice if you tell us how your practice sounds.
If any apply, save your money. If none apply, Steve will pay for himself in the first three weeks — and your intake queue will be cleaner than it has been in years.
Related pages for occupational therapists
- AI Receptionist for Medical Practices — the parent healthcare hub
- AI Receptionist for Physiotherapy Clinics — sibling allied-health page
- AI Receptionist for Podiatrists
- AI Receptionist for Chiropractors
- AI Receptionist for Osteopaths
- AI Receptionist for Psychologists — Better Access / mental health framing
- AHPRA-Compliant AI Receptionist — the compliance framework explained
- NDIS-Compliant AI Receptionist — NDIS Code of Conduct framing
- Pricing & plans
Related Services
Common questions about AI receptionists for occupational therapists
Quick Facts: AI Receptionist for Australian Occupational Therapists
- Best fit:
- OT practices with NDIS-heavy caseload, paediatric or adult, after-hours intake demand, Splose / Cliniko / Halaxy / Nookal / Power Diary workflow
- NOT a fit:
- Practices expecting clinical advice or plan eligibility commentary, hospital-attached internal-referral services, OT teams without a clear child safety escalation protocol
- NDIS intake capture:
- Plan management type, plan dates, plan manager / support coordinator, presenting concern in lay language, preferred service location
- AHPRA + NDIS boundaries:
- No clinical advice, no developmental milestone commentary, no plan eligibility or item-code discussion, no therapeutic claims
- Child safety handling:
- No assessment by Steve — flags for immediate practitioner callback, refers caller to Kids Helpline, Lifeline, 1800RESPECT, or 000 per your script
- Mental health distress handling:
- Steve provides Lifeline / Beyond Blue / Kids Helpline numbers immediately where configured; never screens for risk; routes to practitioner
- Regulator awareness:
- AHPRA, Occupational Therapy Board of Australia, NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission, NDIA, TGA Advertising Code, OAIC (Privacy Act)
- Integrations:
- Splose, Cliniko, Halaxy, Nookal, Power Diary, Google Calendar, structured email for plan managers / support coordinators / DVA
- Service types handled:
- Paediatric and adult intake, FCA scoping, sensory profile bookings, home and school visits, home modification / AT scoping, CB-IDL enquiries
- Pricing:
- $297 / $497 / $990 per month — 14-day free trial
- Setup time:
- 24 business hours from discovery call
- Hosting & security:
- AWS Sydney, TLS 1.3 in transit, AES-256 at rest, Privacy Act 1988 + NDB aligned, ISO 27001 framework-aligned (certification on roadmap)
- Author:
- Niel Bennet, Founder of Aussie AI Agency
Sources: AHPRA, Occupational Therapy Board of Australia, Occupational Therapy Australia, NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission, NDIA, TGA Advertising Code, OAIC, Services Australia, Department of Veterans' Affairs, Department of Health and Aged Care, 2026.
Ready to get Steve answering your OT practice phone?
14-day free trial. Live in 24 business hours. Splose / Cliniko / Halaxy / Nookal / Power Diary configured during onboarding. Month-to-month on Essential and Complete. Cancel anytime.
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Or call us direct: 03 4328 3434 · Email info@aussieaiagency.com.au
Sources & disclosures
Health practitioner regulation:
- AHPRA — Code of conduct for registered health practitioners
- Occupational Therapy Board of Australia
- Occupational Therapy Australia (OTA)
- TGA — Advertising therapeutic goods (Therapeutic Goods Advertising Code)
NDIS & disability:
Funding & aged care:
- Services Australia — Medicare for health professionals
- Department of Veterans' Affairs — Allied health providers
- Department of Health and Aged Care — Aged care
Privacy & consumer protection:
- Privacy Act 1988 — OAIC
- Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA)
- Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC)
Real customer references: Line Marking Australia and Dinar Exchange with permission. Hannah's Indooroopilly story is an illustrative composite based on common patterns across Australian paediatric and adult OT practices. No individual OT or practice is depicted.
Composite disclosure: The four-therapist Indooroopilly paediatric OT story — the 14-week wait list, the 42 weekly new-intake calls, the 24 handled, the 18 missed (only 7 returning), the 71 month-one captures against the 28 baseline — reflects typical patterns we observe across Australian NDIS-heavy OT practices. The $1,500–$3,000 FCA range and the 80% NDIS caseload split are illustrative estimates benchmarked against the NDIA-published NDIS Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits — current pricing should be verified against the official NDIA document. Individual practice results vary by specialisation, location, plan-management mix, and referral pattern. Steve does not provide clinical, therapy, or NDIS plan advice under any circumstance — he qualifies and books only.
Pricing, hours, and integration claims are accurate at publish date and may change with notice to existing customers. Steve does not provide occupational therapy clinical advice, does not hold an OT registration, and does not make therapeutic claims. Aussie AI Agency is not affiliated with AHPRA, the Occupational Therapy Board of Australia, Occupational Therapy Australia, the NDIS, the NDIA, the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission, the TGA, Services Australia, the Department of Veterans' Affairs, the Department of Health and Aged Care, the ACMA, the ACCC, or any other government or regulatory body referenced. References to these bodies are for informational and compliance-context purposes only.
Security & data handling: Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) compliant. Hosted on AWS Sydney for Australian data sovereignty. TLS 1.3 in transit. AES-256 at rest. Aligned with the 13 Australian Privacy Principles and the Notifiable Data Breaches (NDB) Scheme. ISO 27001 framework aligned (formal certification on roadmap).
Not legal, clinical or compliance advice. For specific compliance questions about OT registration, AHPRA Code of Conduct application, NDIS Code of Conduct, Therapeutic Goods advertising, NDIS/DVA/Medicare CDM claim handling, or scope of practice, consult AHPRA, the Occupational Therapy Board of Australia, Occupational Therapy Australia, the NDIS Commission, or specialist health-law counsel.
Conflict of interest disclosure: Aussie AI Agency sells AI receptionist services. We benefit financially when readers become customers.
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