Allied health treatment or workplace rehabilitation: what is the difference?

Treatment services

Treatment services are clinical services directed at the injury or condition: physiotherapy, exercise physiology, occupational therapy for functional recovery, psychology, medical and specialist care. They are normally requested by a treating practitioner and often need a treatment plan or request form under the relevant scheme.

Workplace rehabilitation services

Workplace rehabilitation services are directed at getting the person safely back to work. Typical components include workplace assessment, job task analysis, suitable duties planning, graduated return-to-work programs, workplace-based support and, where a return to the pre-injury employer is not possible, new-employer and retraining services.

These services are usually arranged through the insurer or employer rather than by a GP prescription, and the provider reports back to the insurer against agreed goals.

Using both together

In practice the two run in parallel. A worker may attend physiotherapy twice a week while a rehabilitation consultant negotiates modified duties. The value comes from alignment: the duties should match the capacity described by the treating practitioner, and the treatment goals should reflect the demands of the intended duties.

• Share the certificate of capacity with both services.
• Agree who communicates with the employer.
• Set one shared return-to-work goal and date to review it.
• Avoid duplicate functional assessments where a recent one exists.

Who pays and what needs approval

Both categories are funded through the accepted claim, and both usually require the insurer's approval within the scheme's rules and fee order. Because approval routes differ, a request for one does not authorise the other.

Motor accident claims

Compulsory third party and motor accident schemes use similar concepts, with their own forms, approvals and provider requirements. The distinction between treatment and return-to-work services still applies, but the paperwork does not carry across from workers compensation.

Choosing providers

Where a scheme requires an approved, accredited or panel provider for a service, that status must be checked before the referral. Get Rehab's own quality check is separate from, and does not substitute for, any government or scheme approval.