We understand that plans change and unexpected circumstances occur. At the same time, each appointment reserves clinician time and, in some cases, travel and other resources specifically for you.

Our cancellation policy is designed to balance reasonable flexibility with respect for the time of clients and clinicians, while helping us keep appointment times available for other people who may need care.

Ocean Physiotherapy generally requires at least 48 hours’ notice if you need to cancel or reschedule an appointment.

This applies to clinic appointments, home visits, telehealth, visiting clinics and group sessions unless a different requirement applies under a funding program or service agreement.

Where less than 48 hours’ notice is provided, a cancellation fee may apply up to the full booked fee.

For home visits and other off-site services, this may also include applicable planned travel time and charges as well as planned indirect service components.

Where a client does not attend, cannot be contacted, is not available for a home visit, or reasonable access cannot be obtained, the appointment may be treated as a late cancellation or non-attendance.

We may reduce or waive a fee where there are reasonable grounds, such as significant illness, emergency, hospitalisation, bereavement or other unexpected circumstances.

Clients are asked to be available and reasonably ready at the scheduled appointment time.

If you are delayed, the appointment may still proceed within the remaining booked time. This may reduce the time available for assessment, treatment, exercise, education or other planned components.

A client delay does not automatically extend the appointment or increase the fee, however, the original booked fee may still apply even where less service time is available because of the delay.

If additional clinician time is required and can reasonably be provided, the appointment may be extended by agreement and an additional fee may apply. If the delay is so significant that the planned service can no longer reasonably or safely be provided, the appointment may be treated as a late cancellation or non-attendance.

The same 48-hour notice period generally applies to group sessions.

Where insufficient notice is provided, the session may be charged at the usual rate or deducted from a prepaid pass or package.

If Ocean Physiotherapy cancels a group session, no session credit will be lost. Where a direct debit has not yet been processed, it will not be charged where reasonably practicable. If payment has already been processed, the amount will be offered as a credit or refund.

Occasionally we may need to change or cancel an appointment because of clinician illness, travel disruption, emergencies or other unexpected circumstances. If Ocean Physiotherapy cancels the service and no service is provided, you will not ordinarily be charged.

Where practical, we may offer a reasonable alternative, such as another clinician, another appointment time, another location or another appropriate way of providing the service.

Declining an alternative does not automatically result in a cancellation fee. However, where the agreed service remains reasonably available and the client elects not to receive it, different arrangements may apply where this has been clearly agreed and is permitted under the relevant service or funding arrangement.

The nature of healthcare, home visiting and community-based services means that unexpected delays can sometimes occur. Delays of up to approximately 15 minutes may occasionally occur without advance warning.

Where a clinician is expected to be delayed by more than 30 minutes, you may be offered the choice to proceed later, reschedule, or cancel. If you choose not to proceed because the clinician is delayed by more than 30 minutes, no cancellation fee will apply.

Services funded through programs such as Support at Home, the NDIS, compensable schemes or other third-party arrangements are subject to the rules of those programs. Where a funding program specifies a different cancellation period or charging rule, that requirement may take precedence over our general 48-hour policy.

If a funding program does not pay a cancellation or related fee, the fee may still be payable by the client where this has been clearly agreed in advance, is reasonable, and is permitted under the relevant funding arrangement and applicable law.

Please contact Ocean Physiotherapy as soon as possible by phone, voicemail, SMS or another approved communication method.

The time your message is received or recorded will generally be used to determine the notice period.

For full details, including funded-service arrangements, travel charges, repeated cancellations and other exceptions, please see our Full Cancellation, Non-Attendance and Appointment Changes Policy.