Geographic access to occupational therapists in Australia: An Enhanced Two-Step Floating Catchment Area (E2SFCA) analysis based on 2024 Ahpra registration data and the 2021 Census

Improving Access to Occupational Therapy Across Australia
Access to health services shapes health outcomes. For many Australians—especially those living in rural and remote areas—distance can be a major barrier to care. This project measures spatial accessibility to occupational therapy (OT) services across the entire country, using an advanced method called the Enhanced Two-Step Floating Catchment Area (E2SFCA).

Our goal is simple: to make inequities visible so that policymakers, health planners, and communities can advocate for fairer distribution of services.

Why This Matters
Policy changes affect real lives.
Recent changes to policy particularly in the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) have suggested that therapists should not be paid as much to travel to people's homes, work, or schools. This is where OTs do their work and it makes a real difference. Reduced funding means OTs might not be able to travel far which will mean that lots of people might miss out.

Occupational therapy is vital:
OT helps people with disability, chronic illness, and older adults live independently and participate fully in daily life. Limited access means reduced opportunities and quality of life.

Spatial justice:
Everyone deserves equitable access to health services, regardless of where they live.

The dashboard:
This dashboard empowers you to:
- Identify areas of greatest need.
- Support evidence-based workforce planning.
- Advocate for equity in access to essential OT services.