Exercise Physiologists in Australia: Find an AEP

Where can I find an exercise physiologist near me?

Exercise and Sports Science Australia’s public register lists every Accredited Exercise Physiologist in the country, and the NDIS Provider Finder shows registered practices, but neither tells you who does home visits or who actually answers new inquiries. The ranked list above filters to exercise physiologists with current suburb coverage and measured response times on the Carevo platform, so “near me” means a practitioner who will come to your address, not a clinic across town with a waiting list.

What is in-home exercise physiology?

In-home exercise physiology is delivered by university-qualified Accredited Exercise Physiologists (AEPs) accredited through Exercise and Sports Science Australia, who design and supervise exercise programs for chronic disease, injury recovery and disability management in your own home rather than a clinic. Under the NDIS Pricing Schedule 2026-27, sessions are billed against a national price limit of 161.99 an hour. The discipline is clinical exercise, not personal training: an AEP uses movement as structured treatment for a diagnosed condition, works from your medical history, and builds measurable capacity over weeks and months rather than chasing a workout.

How to choose a provider for this service

The list above is ranked using the criteria explained in the methodology above it. A few checks matter most when you compare exercise physiology providers yourself.

Registration. Confirm the exercise physiologist holds current ESSA accreditation and, for NDIS-funded sessions, that the practice appears on the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission provider register.

Response time. Check the response time by state table further down this page before you book, since demand for allied health home visits often outpaces slow-to-reply providers.

Pricing transparency. Ask for a written quote against the 161.99 hourly cap under the NDIS Pricing Schedule 2026-27, and confirm whether travel is billed as a separate line item.

Coverage. Carevo lists 1,662 exercise physiologists nationally, but availability is uneven; ask whether the practitioner actually visits your suburb rather than a nearby one.

What is the difference between an exercise physiologist and a physiotherapist?

In plain terms: a physiotherapist diagnoses and treats, an exercise physiologist trains and manages. A physio assesses injuries and acute problems and uses hands-on treatment such as manual therapy alongside exercise. An AEP works almost entirely through exercise, usually once a diagnosis already exists, and builds capacity over a longer program. A workable rule of thumb: new pain or a fresh injury starts with physiotherapy; a long-term condition, general deconditioning or a strength and falls program belongs with an EP. Many people use both in sequence, physio early, then an EP for the months that follow. Under the NDIS both sit within therapy supports with different hourly caps: 183.99 for physiotherapy and 161.99 for exercise physiology.

What does in-home exercise physiology cost?

NDIS-funded sessions are capped at 161.99 an hour, with provider travel billable at an agreed travel charge where your service agreement allows it. Under Support at Home, allied health is a clinical support and fully government funded once you are assessed, with no participant contribution (Department of Health and Aged Care, 2025). Under a Medicare GP Chronic Condition Management Plan, the rebate covers part of each of up to five allied health visits a year and most practices charge a gap. Privately funded sessions are set by the practice, so ask for the home-visit rate in writing, including travel, before the first appointment.

Which funding pays for exercise physiology, and who qualifies?

NDIS participants can fund exercise physiology under Capacity Building - Improved Daily Living (Therapeutic Supports, registration group 0128) or Improved Health and Wellbeing (registration group 0126), provided a goal in their plan supports physical capacity or health management (NDIS Pricing Schedule 2026-27). Support at Home clients can access exercise physiology as a clinical/allied health support once assessed under the Single Assessment System, most commonly for falls prevention, post-hospitalisation deconditioning and chronic disease management (Department of Health and Aged Care, 2025). Outside these programs, a GP Chronic Condition Management Plan gives a Medicare rebate for up to five allied health visits a year for an eligible chronic condition.

How does exercise physiology help older people?

Strength and balance respond to training at every age, and progressive resistance and balance work is a mainstay of falls prevention for older people. An EP grades the program to the person: sit-to-stand from a firm chair, step-ups, supported balance holds, carrying tasks that mirror daily life. The same approach rebuilds capacity after hospital deconditioning, where a week in a bed can undo months of independence; see post-hospital care for the wider recovery picture. For clients assessed under the Support at Home program, falls prevention and restorative programs are among the most common referral reasons (Department of Health and Aged Care, 2025).

What does a home exercise physiology program look like?

The first visit is an assessment: medical history, medications, baseline measures such as sit-to-stand count, grip strength, balance time and walking speed, plus a look at the spaces the program will use. From there the EP writes a program around what the home already contains, a bench, a hallway, a resistance band, and progresses it visit by visit with short self-directed sessions in between. For chronic disease the program is treatment in its own right: regular structured activity is part of standard management for type 2 diabetes and stable heart disease, and an EP tracks the numbers that show it is working. Visit frequency usually tapers as confidence and independence build.

Availability across Australia

Carevo lists 8,918 suburbs with provider coverage nationally, with exercise physiologists concentrated most heavily in New South Wales and Victoria. If your needs are primarily injury or movement-related rather than chronic disease management, compare physiotherapy, or see the full allied health disciplines guide if you are unsure which practitioner fits your goals.

Get matched with someone who can help with exercise physiology

Exercise physiologist or physiotherapist: which do you need?

Both are university-qualified and both prescribe exercise, so the distinction is genuinely unclear to most people.

A physiotherapist assesses and treats injury and acute problems, uses hands-on techniques, and is AHPRA-registered. The right choice for pain, an acute injury, post-surgical rehabilitation, or where manual therapy is part of the treatment.

An accredited exercise physiologist (AEP) specialises in exercise as treatment for chronic conditions. No hands-on therapy; the intervention is a prescribed, progressed exercise program. The right choice for managing type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, obesity, chronic pain that has moved past the acute phase, and building strength and function over months.

Exercise physiology is not AHPRA-registered. The credential is accreditation with Exercise and Sports Science Australia, which is what Medicare, the NDIS and Support at Home fund. Ask for the AEP number and check the ESSA register rather than looking for AHPRA registration that will not exist.

Many people see both in sequence: a physiotherapist for the acute problem, then an AEP to build capacity so it does not recur.

What in-home exercise physiology costs and who funds it

Medicare. A GP Chronic Condition Management plan covers up to five rebated allied health visits a year across all disciplines. People with type 2 diabetes can access additional group services under a separate item, which is the one route to more than five sessions.

The NDIS. Capped at $161.99 an hour in 2026-27, billed from Capacity Building under Improved Health and Wellbeing (NDIS Pricing Schedule 2026-27), with travel for home visits charged separately.

Support at Home. A clinical support for people 65 and over, with no participant contribution once approved in a care plan (Department of Health and Aged Care, 2025).

DVA. Available to eligible veterans on GP referral.

The case for the home over a gym is specific: the program has to be done on the days the AEP is not there, and a program built around your actual chair, stairs, hallway and available equipment gets done. One built around gym machines you do not have does not. Ask for a written home program with progression rules, and ask what to do on a bad pain or fatigue day, because that is when adherence breaks.

How this page is compiled

The provider rankings and figures on this page come from Carevo platform records, including provider registrations, measured response times and coverage, together with the cited official sources. Carevo is an Australian platform that connects families with NDIS and aged care providers. Carevo does not deliver care itself.

Funding sources and checks

Check the current NDIA pricing arrangements and Support at Home program rules for the proposed service. Funding depends on the approved support and available budget; a Carevo listing is not approval. Confirm availability and a start date directly with the provider.