About Us

Advocate OT is a small business that was founded by an Occupational Therapist in 2023 with the simple intention of being able to focus on being the best OT they could be, rather than focusing on large business KPIs.

Our Therapist’s understand that you are the expert of your own life. Your voice, concerns and goals are our number one priority.
Just as you come first, our therapists are human first. Meaning we take a human and personable approach to therapy.

What does a personable approach mean? It means we only work with a small number of people at any one time and monitor each stage of your goal attainment using evidence-based occupational therapy practice frameworks (pictured below).

Summary of Services

  • NDIS access request application support (education, assessment, report writing & recommendations)

  • NDIS functional capacity assessments, reporting, recommendations & ongoing implementation

    - Minor & complex home modifications e.g. grab rails, removal of bath or shower recess etc.
    - Minor & complex seating prescription e.g. commodes, wheelchairs, hoists etc.
    - Low, mid and high cost assistive technology e.g. auto swing doors, adjustable beds, mobility scooters, shower chairs etc.
    - Capacity building for falls prevention and pressure care
    - Capacity building for independent living skills using occupational task-specific practice and motivational interviewing principles etc.
    - Home & Living assessment, recommendation & reporting e.g. SIL & SDA
    - Support to access other schemes e.g. Disability Support Pension, Companion Card, Parking Permit, etc.

If you are unsure if you are eligible for the NDIS, we can provide free 15-30 minute consultations to assist or point you in the right direction.

To submit a referral:

Step 1: email admin@advocateot.com.au with your
- full name
- brief introduction
- contact email address or phone number

Step 2: we will send you a secure link to submit a formal referral form.

We complete home visits:
- Greater Sydney
- Sutherland Shire
- Wollongong & South Coast
- Rural & Remote (Telehealth only)

Opening Hours:
Our Therapists each have different schedules between Monday-Saturday from 9-5. Upon the initial appointment, your Therapist will let you know what hours they are contactable.

In a nutshell, Occupational Therapy is about understanding how you as a person, performs tasks whilst interacting with your environment. A basic example includes:

  • Person (difficulty walking due to loss of lower limb function)

  • Environment (reside in a house on a hill with 2 flights of stairs to access your front door)

  • Occupation (severe difficulty accessing your home, the community and unable to carry groceries into the house)

Your OT will review all of your daily occupations, assess and make recommendations relevant to your goals. OT is all about collaboration. You cannot achieve your goals unless you and your therapist actively participate in the entire practice process (pictured to the right).

Active participation means that you must communicate your needs and your therapist actively listens to your needs. Once your goals are established, both of you will develop an action plan.

Part of this action plan will involve your therapist providing education and making recommendations. Education and recommendations are made for the sole purpose of providing you with available information to make an informed (the right) decision for you.

The right decision for you does not always reflect what the therapist recommends and that is okay, as long as you feel informed to understand the the benefits and risks.

The therapist is not there to judge, instruct or force you to make changes you do not wish to make. The therapist is there to guide and empower you.

What to expect:

What is Occupational Therapy?

Initial Appointment

You can expect the first appointment to take around 1.5 hours to complete. This time allows your Therapist to understand all of your occupational needs. You can expect a range of questions about self-care, leisure, your home, your local community, productivity, rest, your mental health, to your friendly or intimate relationships. No topic is too taboo for us - everyone deserves to have their basic human needs met.

Goal setting

At the end of the initial appointment, you will tell us what your goals are! If you remain unsure, then your Therapist can help guide you. You will always be involved in therapy planning to ensure it changes and grows with you - we want to hear your voice and ideas!

Areas of practice

There is no one plan fit’s all solution at Advocate OT. We deliver interventions that are unique and tailored to meet your needs. Some common area’s of practice include:

  • Advocacy (reports, support letters)

  • Capacity building (learning a skill)

  • Assistive technology (equipment)

  • Home modifications & grab rails

  • Maintaining employment

  • Housing support or relocation (SIL & SDA)

  • Increasing in-home support

  • Coaching (mental health, emotions)

  • Leisure and Respite

  • Accessing the NDIS or DSP

Model of Human Occupation

Person-Environment-Occupation

Practice process framework for OT