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PODCAST

OT Unplugged: Community of Practice Insights

Sarah Collison, Nikki Cousins and Alyce Svensk

OT Unplugged is a space for you to connect, reflect and stay up to date on OT practice and the evolving world of the NDIS.

health & fitness

All Episodes

55:42

S9E01 - NDIS Reset Explained: Breaking Down The...

OT Unplugged: Community of Practice Insights ·

2026/04/22

The National Disability Insurance Scheme is entering a major reform phase, with sweeping changes designed to improve long-term sustainability. These updates will reshape how people access the scheme, how funding is allocated and how services are delivered.While some reforms aim to strengthen consistency and reduce misuse, others introduce significant shifts that will directly impact participants and the clinicians who support them. For Occupational Therapists, understanding the direction

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52:51

S8E10 - Leave, Leadership and Letting Go

OT Unplugged: Community of Practice Insights ·

2026/04/01

Taking time away from work sounds simple in theory. In practice, many OT business owners know it can feel anything but simple.Whether it’s a short holiday, a family trip or parental leave, stepping away often raises the same questions. Who makes decisions while you’re gone? What happens to client care? How much should you stay across emails? And how do you protect your team, your clients and your own wellbeing at the same time? For OTs in private practice, these questions sit within a

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46:25

S8E09 - Supporting New Grad OTs in Today’s NDIS...

OT Unplugged: Community of Practice Insights ·

2026/03/26

Starting out as an Occupational Therapist is both exciting and overwhelming. The transition from university into practice brings a steep learning curve, shifting expectations and uncertainty about what good support should actually look like.Across the profession, there is a growing concern that new graduates are being expected to perform beyond their level of experience without the foundations required to do so safely and confidently. Why new grads are not workforce ready There is a

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43:21

S8E08 - Fuel, Funding and Future Risk: Navigating...

OT Unplugged: Community of Practice Insights ·

2026/03/18

Why rising fuel costs are changing service delivery...Fuel costs directly impact how Occupational Therapy is delivered. Home, school and community visits all rely on travel, and when those costs increase quickly, the effect is immediate. This is particularly significant in regional areas where long distances are unavoidable, but metropolitan services are also feeling the strain. What was once a manageable expense is now influencing margins, service reach and day-to-day decision making. For

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42:52

S8E07 - The Hidden Load Many OTs Carry

OT Unplugged: Community of Practice Insights ·

2026/03/11

The Occupational Therapy sector is navigating a period of significant change. Reforms to the NDIS planning system, growing uncertainty around early childhood supports and the proposed Thriving Kids framework are creating questions for therapists, service providers and families alike.At the same time, many clinicians are managing the everyday realities of leadership, clinical work and family life. For a profession that is predominantly female, these pressures often sit alongside the

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41:01

S8E06 - When Illness Disrupts the Diary: How OTs...

OT Unplugged: Community of Practice Insights ·

2026/03/05

When sickness hits, how OTs and business owners keep care movingNasty bugs, surprise migraines, sick kids, even the occasional adult case of chickenpox – illness has a way of arriving exactly when the diary is full. For Occupational Therapists, being unwell rarely affects just one person. It impacts appointments, client safety, rescheduling, team capacity and the financial stability of a service. In allied health, illness is never just personal. It sits at the intersection of duty of care,

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43:13

S8E05 - Assessing Need Or Navigating Policy? The...

OT Unplugged: Community of Practice Insights ·

2026/02/26

When assessment tools and NDIS policy don’t line upAs NDIS reforms gather pace, OTs are being pulled in two directions at once. On one side, we’re being told to simplify, reduce “extra” evidence and focus on structured assessment pathways. On the other, the tools we’re expected to use still rely on clinical reasoning, collateral information and transparent justification to be considered valid. That tension is not theoretical. It’s playing out in everyday report writing, accreditation

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50:25

S8E04 - When OT practice ownership gets real

OT Unplugged: Community of Practice Insights ·

2026/02/19

In this week’s episode, Sarah and Alyce go off-script (in the best way) and unpack the realities of practice ownership and employment in OT - from unexpected knock-backs and “rejection” moments, to the high-stakes responsibilities that come with employing staff. They explore psychosocial hazards, trauma exposure, and why psychological safety isn’t a “nice to have” - it’s a core part of running a business and supporting a workforce working in complex systems like the NDIS. The episode also

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45:01

S8E03 - Building a Calmer OT Practice: Delegation,...

OT Unplugged: Community of Practice Insights ·

2026/02/12

When the work piles up, your brain does the weirdest thingsThere’s a particular kind of overload that shows up after a big push. You sit down, finally pause, and realise your brain hasn’t caught up with your body. You misplace simple things. You forget obvious tasks. You feel scattered, even though you’re technically “on top” of everything. For many OTs, this isn’t about poor organisation. It’s about cumulative cognitive load. Between clinical work, leadership responsibilities and life

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36:27

S8 E02 – When Policy Shifts Hit Practice: An OT...

OT Unplugged: Community of Practice Insights ·

2026/02/05

Featuring honorary member: Muriel Cummins!The disability landscape is changing fastAcross the NDIS, early childhood and broader disability policy, reform is moving quickly and in multiple directions at once. For Occupational Therapists, these changes aren’t theoretical – they shape who can access support, how plans are built and what day-to-day practice will look like in the near future. When so much shifts at once, clarity matters. Without it, uncertainty spreads through families,

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51:10

S8E01 – New Year, New Pressures: What the Pricing...

OT Unplugged: Community of Practice Insights ·

2026/01/29

Many OT teams are feeling the same mix right now – strong referral demand alongside shifting rules and inconsistent NDIA decision making. It’s hard to plan services, hard to train early career clinicians and hard to give participants confidence when the system keeps changing.At the same time, participants are increasingly experiencing funding reductions rather than exits from the scheme. That shift raises the stakes for functional evidence, because strong documentation can be the difference

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46:39

S7E10 - Sarah, Nikki & Alyce signing off for 2025

OT Unplugged: Community of Practice Insights ·

2025/12/18

The “slow crawl” quite a few of us are feeling End-of-year fatigue looks different depending on your role. For some clinicians, cancellations start rolling in and caseloads thin out. For others, it’s the opposite – back-to-back sessions, “just one more appointment”, families trying to squeeze everything in before Christmas, and calendars that don’t breathe until January. Both experiences can feel unsettling. If your workload drops, it can trigger anxiety about income, targets or whether you

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43:58

S7E09 - Fairness at Risk: How New Planning Reforms...

OT Unplugged: Community of Practice Insights ·

2025/12/11

As the year winds down, many OTs are crawling toward the finish line rather than gliding over it. Last-minute calls for urgent functional assessments, section 100 reports and crisis planning keep landing on already full caseloads. The expectation that we can simply “bump it to the top” ignores the reality that there are only so many clinical hours available. Saying yes to every urgent request often means saying no to people who are already on our books and relying on us.What is changing in

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44:32

S7E08 - Inconsistency, Delays and Risk: The NDIS...

OT Unplugged: Community of Practice Insights ·

2025/12/04

As the year comes to a close, many OTs are feeling stretched. Illness, client demand, school schedules and end-of-year fatigue all shape the workload long before the NDIS is even factored in. When you add shifting guidelines, slow processes and decisions that seem to change without warning, it’s clear why many practitioners are questioning how to keep their work sustainable.A new NDIA inquiry and why it matters A parliamentary inquiry into the administration of the NDIA has been announced,

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50:56

S7E07 - Crunch Time Again: Inside the New Pricing...

OT Unplugged: Community of Practice Insights ·

2025/11/27

Navigating sector uncertainty and what OTs need to know right nowThe disability sector continues to shift rapidly, with new reports, pricing discussions and workforce pressures influencing how providers operate. For many OTs, the mix of policy noise, business demands and day-to-day practice pressures can feel overwhelming. This week’s developments highlight the importance of staying informed, planning deliberately and understanding the broader context shaping service delivery.Life and

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40:54

S7E06 - The Year End Squeeze: Protecting Your Energy...

OT Unplugged: Community of Practice Insights ·

2025/11/20

The emotional load of the festive seasonAs the year winds down many OTs are running on empty. December brings concerts, Secret Santas, toy drives and family events but it also brings rushed reports, urgent NDIS requests and long mental lists of what needs to be bought, wrapped or organised. Even joyful activities add planning and cost and for OTs with school aged children the competing dates and expectations can compound the strain. If you are feeling flat, irritable or overextended it is

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48:27

S7E05 - Wrapping Up the Year While the NDIS Ramps Up

OT Unplugged: Community of Practice Insights ·

2025/11/13

As the year closes, many OTs are juggling exhaustion, rising referrals, shifting NDIS rules and pressure from both paediatric and adult caseloads. The overlapping demands can feel chaotic, yet they share common themes that help explain why so many clinicians are feeling stretched.When recovery time disappears After conferences or big clinical weeks, many OTs return home depleted, only to find their calendars already full. Some practitioners restore energy through activity and constant

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39:23

S7E04 - From Knowledge to Practice: Making OT...

OT Unplugged: Community of Practice Insights ·

2025/11/05

Conferences are more than name badges and slides. Done well, they sharpen clinical judgement, build community and turn tricky ideas into steps you can use right away at work. Fresh from Rotorua during the Oceania Seating Symposium, plus a packed OT Week at home, here’s a practical round-up for clinicians who want learning that sticks – and guidance on turning your own experience into an accepted abstract.Why clinician-led conferences matter Academic rigour is essential, but frontline

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43:46

S70E3 - OT Week Special Episode

OT Unplugged: Community of Practice Insights ·

2025/10/26

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44:40

S7E02 - What’s Changing Now: NDIS Therapy and Respite...

OT Unplugged: Community of Practice Insights ·

2025/10/23

Recent NDIS updates are reshaping how therapy supports and respite services are delivered and justified. Two new documents – the Therapy Support Guideline and the Short-Term Respite Guideline – mark a significant shift in expectations for evidence-based practice, outcome measurement and funding accountability.For OTs, these changes mean reviewing how group programs, therapy assistant hours and respite recommendations are structured, documented and billed. While the intent is greater

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