Skip to content
Disability and movement

Exercise support for people with disability

How personal training, exercise physiology and support workers differ, including the NDIS funding distinction.

This page has been corrected. The earlier version treated personal training, physiotherapy and disability therapy as if they were the same service. They are not, and NDIS funding depends on the purpose and evidence for the support.

Start with the person's goal

One person may want help using a community gym. Another may need an exercise program that addresses the functional impact of a disability. A third may need a support worker present so they can take part safely. The job title and funding pathway should match that goal.

Personal trainer

A personal trainer can coach general strength, fitness and exercise habits. Experience with disability, communication needs and exercise modification can be valuable, but personal training is not automatically a clinical therapy service.

Current NDIS guidance lists personal training among supports that cannot be funded as therapy. A support connected with gym participation may still be considered in another category when it is directly related to disability needs, so participants should check their plan and current NDIS guidance rather than relying on a provider's marketing.

Exercise physiologist or physiotherapist

Exercise physiology and physiotherapy are allied health services with different scopes. They may assess function, risk and disability-related goals and provide an evidence-based program. The NDIS says a therapy support needs evidence that it will produce functional outcomes related to the participant's disability.

Questions to ask a provider

  • What qualification and registration does the provider hold?
  • Is the service general fitness, a therapy support or assistance to participate?
  • How will progress relate to the participant's goals?
  • Who will manage medical restrictions, medication effects and emergency planning?

Read the NDIS page on therapy supports. For general fitness coaching outside a therapy claim, compare providers carefully and ask for relevant disability experience.

Return to the health and condition hub.