The NDIS and play therapy
Many families access Play Therapy through the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). This article outlines how Play Therapy can support you and your family through the NDIS.
For more information, you might like to read:
Report: Play Therapy Evidence Base
Play Therapy is currently delivered to NDIS Participants under the NDIS ‘Other Therapies’ line item within the NDIS Pricing Guide.
Play Therapists are specially trained in child development and mental health, and have worked with many NDIS participants and their families across Australia. They use their expertise to help children build skills, support their development, and improve everyday functioning. Working closely with plan managers and caregivers, Play Therapists play a role in helping set meaningful goals, as well as review and report on progress.
how play therapy supports NDIS participants
Play Therapy is a well-established, evidence-based form of psychotherapy. Play Therapists complete extensive training in child development and psychological theory, and they build their skills through hands-on, supervised clinical placements.
Using a Whole Child Development (WCD) approach, Play Therapists offer therapeutic support that considers all areas of a child’s wellbeing. For children accessing the NDIS and their families, Play Therapy can help improve overall health, emotional wellbeing, and everyday participation. It’s a flexible, developmentally appropriate way to support children as they work towards their NDIS goals.
Research shows that Play Therapy can be highly effective in supporting children with a range of NDIS-listed disabilities. This includes children diagnosed with Autism (Level 2 and 3), Intellectual Disability, Developmental Delay, Global Developmental Delay, Down Syndrome, and Cerebral Palsy. It’s also been beneficial for children with hearing or vision impairments, as well as those experiencing psychosocial disabilities.
Research also shows that Play Therapy can effectively support a wide range of challenges that children on the NDIS may experience. This includes improving overall functioning, emotional wellbeing, and self-esteem. It can help with things like speech and language differences, attention difficulties, and managing behaviours such as anxiety, depression, aggression, or difficulty with self-control. Play Therapy also supports children dealing with trauma or PTSD, relationship stress, and social-emotional development.
Play Therapists are skilled in carrying out a variety of assessments and in sharing therapeutic knowledge and strategies with children, families, and other professionals. This collaborative approach helps to support:
The development of social and communication skills, which can increase a child’s ability to participate in their community.
Everyday life skills like self-confidence, resilience, independence, problem-solving, and decision-making.
A better understanding and management of challenging behaviours by working holistically and in partnership with the child’s support network.
The creation and implementation of tailored recommendations for support and adjustments in school and social environments.
Greater community awareness that disability and mental health challenges often go hand-in-hand—and the importance of addressing both through trauma-informed, person-centred care.
the therapeutic powers of play
Many professionals incorporate play when working with children — including Occupational Therapists, Psychologists, and Speech Pathologists. While play can be a helpful tool across many disciplines, Play Therapists are uniquely trained to use play as a specialised therapeutic intervention. Their extensive training allows them to intentionally harness the therapeutic powers of play to support development, build capacity, and promote lasting change.
Play Therapy offers targeted support across four key areas that are deeply aligned with NDIS goals:
Facilitating communication – helping children express themselves in ways that feel natural and safe
Fostering emotional wellness – supporting emotional regulation, self-awareness, and resilience
Increasing personal strengths – building confidence, independence, and a sense of capability
Enhancing social relationships – developing skills for connection, empathy, and cooperation
the evidence base for play therapy
Play isn’t just something children do — it’s how they’re wired to grow. From the very beginning, the human brain is built with the circuitry for play. And this isn’t just about having fun — play activates the higher parts of the brain responsible for thinking, problem-solving, language, and emotional regulation.
Across fields like neuroscience, psychology, and education, research consistently shows that play is essential for healthy development. That’s where Play Therapy comes in. It gives children the opportunity to express themselves in the way they know best — through play — while being supported by a therapist trained to make the most of those moments. Play Therapists create the right environment for emotional, social, and cognitive growth, helping the brain and body work in sync to support real change.
Over the past two decades, the effectiveness of Play Therapy has been widely studied — and the results speak for themselves. From 2000 to 2023, there have been 4 meta-analyses, 2 systematic reviews, and 137 high-quality studies published on Play Therapy. These studies have explored everything from emotional wellbeing to developmental skill-building — consistently showing strong, positive outcomes.
In health and allied health disciplines, research is ranked by levels of evidence, with Level 1 considered the gold standard. Here's how Play Therapy research stacks up:
Level 1: 4 meta-analyses and 2 systematic reviews
Level 2: 56 Randomised Controlled Trials (RCTs)
Level 3: 20 quasi-experimental group designs, 28 single-case experimental designs, and 33 repeated-measures studies
Level 4 & 5: Numerous case reports and qualitative studies adding valuable clinical insight
This robust body of evidence, combined with the clinical expertise of Play Therapists and a deep respect for each child and family’s unique needs, makes Play Therapy a powerful and personalised way to support children — not just in their therapy goals, but in how they grow, relate, and thrive every day.
