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How to choose or change your provider

You usually have a say in who treats you and who manages your return to work. Here is how to choose well, and how to change providers if the fit is wrong.

One of the most useful things to know in the NSW system is that you are generally not stuck with the first provider you are sent to. Both your allied health treater and, in many cases, your workplace rehabilitation provider can be changed if the relationship is not working. Knowing that early lets you act rather than put up with a poor fit.

Choosing a treater

To be paid under the scheme, an allied health treater such as a physiotherapist, exercise physiologist or osteopath must hold current AHPRA registration and current SIRA approval. Beyond that baseline, look for someone with experience in work injuries, who communicates clearly about your goals and your return to work, and whose location and hours actually suit you. A treater close to home or work that you will keep attending beats a highly rated one across the city that you will not.

You can confirm a provider's current approval on the public SIRA allied health practitioner search. Registers change, so check rather than assume.

Changing a provider

If you want to change treaters, the usual path is to raise it with your nominated treating doctor, who coordinates your care, and let the insurer know. For a workplace rehabilitation provider, you can raise concerns with your case manager and ask about alternatives. Reasonable requests to change providers are a normal part of the scheme. Keep it practical: say what is not working (distance, availability, communication, or fit for your injury) and what you need instead.

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