Can I choose my own physio for workers comp in NSW? Yes.

What the NSW scheme actually says

The NSW workers compensation system, regulated by SIRA, is built around your recovery. You nominate your own treating doctor, and the same principle applies to your physiotherapist: you choose who treats you, as long as they are SIRA approved so the insurer can be billed directly.

Your employer or the insurer may recommend a clinic they work with. That recommendation can be genuinely helpful, but it is only a suggestion. You are entitled to decline it and see the physiotherapist you trust, and doing so cannot be held against you or your claim.

The one requirement worth knowing: treatment on a claim is approved when it is reasonably necessary for your injury. Any SIRA approved physiotherapist works inside that same approval system, so choosing your own physio does not cost you anything or slow anything down.

• You choose your physiotherapist, not your employer or insurer
• The physio must be SIRA approved so treatment is billed direct
• A recommendation from the insurer is a suggestion, not a direction
• Choosing your own physio does not affect your entitlements

Changing physios mid claim, step by step

Plenty of workers start at the clinic that was closest or was suggested on day one, then realise the fit is not right. Maybe progress has stalled, sessions feel rushed, or reports keep missing deadlines and the claim drags. You do not have to stay. The scheme lets you change physiotherapists during your claim, and the handover is simpler than most people expect.

When you move your care to PACT, your first session with us is covered as a pre approved takeover consultation. In that session we assess you properly, review where your recovery is up to, and submit the treatment approval paperwork to your insurer for the sessions that follow. You do not go back to square one, your existing approvals history stays with your claim, and your weekly payments are completely unaffected.

All we need from you is your claim number, the insurer or scheme agent name, and ideally your most recent Certificate of Capacity. We contact your case manager, introduce ourselves as your new treating physiotherapist, and handle everything from there. You do not need anyone's permission to make the change.

• Bring your claim number and insurer name
• First takeover session is pre approved
• We notify your case manager and submit the approvals
• No gap in treatment, no restart, no effect on payments

The right physio changes how a claim runs

On a workers compensation claim your physiotherapist is not just treating the injury. They are writing the reports your case manager reads, recommending your capacity for work, and shaping the return to work plan your employer follows. When that work is done late, vaguely or defensively, claims stall and workers get stuck.

Before founding PACT, Andrew Ellis spent a decade inside the occupational rehabilitation system as a Senior Rehabilitation Consultant and a Senior WHS and Injury Management Advisor, managing caseloads of injured workers and advising employers and insurers. That means your reports are written by someone who knows exactly what a case manager needs to approve treatment and keep a claim moving, and your recovery plan is built by someone who has sat on every side of the table.

Appointments at PACT are full length and unhurried, at the Miranda clinic seven days a week or by telehealth anywhere in NSW through PACT Virtual Care.

Moving your care to PACT

Call us on (02) 8330 6776 or send your claim details through the form on our workers compensation page. We confirm your claim details with the insurer, book your takeover assessment, and request the ongoing approvals the same day we see you. Most workers are in within the week, and there is nothing for you to pay at any visit on an accepted claim.