The Funding Hack for Equine Assisted Therapy: It’s All About Terminology and Credentials.
If you’ve ever been told “your funding won’t cover equine assisted therapy,” there’s a good chance the problem wasn’t your budget. It was the language.
After researching this exact question for my thesis, one pattern came up again and again: the same equine session can be fundable or not, depending on two things – the terminology used to describe it, and the credentials of the person delivering it. Get those two right, and a support that looked “out of scope” often fits neatly inside a budget you already hold.
This is the funding hack. Not a loophole – the opposite. It’s about describing the work accurately, in the language each scheme actually recognises, and matching it to a provider whose qualifications that scheme accepts.
Here’s how it works across the main funding models in Australia.
Why the word “therapy” can cost you funding
“Equine-assisted therapy” is the term most people search for, so we use it too. But inside a funding plan, the word therapy carries a specific meaning. Many schemes only pay for services that meet their pre-determined list, and the terminology you use may depend on whether you can access equine assisted therarpy or similar sessions that are capacity building without the therapy side of it.
The fix is to describe the session by what it does and which budget goal it meets, using the scheme’s own vocabulary: capacity building, adjustment to injury counselling, psychosocial rehabilitation, functional capacity, meaningful engagement, and an employment pathway. Same horses. Same paddock. Fundable language. One disclaimer, some sessions are delivered as therapy and based on the counselling credentials or counselling aspect of rehabilitation counselling at Stable & Grounded and are treated with the same respect and guidelines of therapy. If we are engaging in functional capacity building not under a therapy context, the hat I wear is a little different. For the best solution for you, please book a chat with us via the booking portal to discuss.
Credentials are the other half of the equation
Terminology only works if the person delivering the session holds credentials the funder recognises for that line item.
Our sessions are delivered by a dual-qualified counsellor and rehabilitation counsellor. That combination matters, because several schemes – Work Cover Queensland and Workforce Australia among them – name rehabilitation counsellors (and social workers) directly as accepted providers for the supports below. Other schemes, like private health funds, recognise counsellors who hold current registration with a relevant body.
The single most useful thing you can do before you book anything: ask your prospective provider what they’re qualified as, what registrations they hold, and which of these funding categories their credentials line up with. A good provider will answer that in plain English. If you’re working with us, just ask – it’s usually one of the first conversations we have.
A quick note on how we talk about our work: in line with AHPRA’s advertising standards, we don’t use client testimonials or success stories anywhere in our marketing. Everything below is general information about how funding can work – not advice about your specific plan, and not a guarantee of approval.
Funding model by funding model: the right words, the right provider
Below is the comparison at the heart of this. For each scheme, there’s the terminology that tends to work, the terminology to avoid, and the credential angle. Use it as a starting point for the conversation with your plan manager, support coordinator, case manager or insurer.
1. NDIS — Capacity Building
Equine sessions are delivered based on the qualifications of the facilitator/clinician. Where they fit is Capacity Building, specifically the Improved Daily Living category (Support Category 15), which funds skill-building and development, not only clinical therapy. Finding and Keeping a Job or SLES ( School leavers Employment Support) are other funding categories as well for skill building and vocational sessions.
The smarter move is to talk to your plan manager or support coordinator about what’s actually in your budget and how a capacity-building or skill-development support could meet a goal already written into your plan — rather than forcing it through a therapy code it was never going to fit.
Do say: capacity building, building daily living skills, working toward a plan goal, skill development, building independence and confidence. Don’t say: “equine therapy” billed as a clinical therapy code,. NDIS have released a specific document about how ‘equine therapy’ views the horse as the therapist. Credential angle: confirm how the provider’s qualifications map to a capacity-building support, and let your support coordinator confirm budget flexibility within the sub-category or whether there are other skill building codes that could be used. This sometimes needs to be a collaborative process.
2. WorkCover Queensland — Adjustment to Injury Counselling
WorkCover Queensland funds Adjustment to Injury Counselling, and the scheme explicitly accepts delivery by a rehabilitation counsellor, or a social worker with the relevant tertiary qualification. This is one of the cleanest fits, because the provider type we offer is named directly and is our area of expertise as well.
Do say: adjustment to injury counselling, supporting recovery and return to work, coping strategies. Don’t say: “equine therapy” as a standalone treatment, anything framed as unrelated to the accepted injury or return-to-work goal. Credential angle: rehabilitation counsellor or social worker delivery is recognised — name it.
3. NIISQ (National Injury Insurance Scheme Queensland)
NIISQ funds necessary and reasonable treatment, care and support for eligible serious injuries, usually mapped through an allied health treatment plan developed with the participant.
Do say: necessary and reasonable support, rehabilitation, capacity building towards identified goals, part of the allied health treatment plan. Don’t say: “nice to have,” recreational, anything that can’t be tied to the rehabilitation goal in the plan. If you’re already engaged with a psychologist, we wouldn’t be offering dual treatment. Instead, we’d work on your other goals using an equine-assisted approach. Credential angle: delivery should sit within an allied health/rehabilitation framework agreed with the NIISQ planner.
4. Workforce Australia — Employment Fund (employment pathway)
The Employment Fund can support allied health sessions with a qualified rehabilitation counsellor to identify suitable work and build an employment pathway plan — focusing on confidence, resilience and capacity to work.
Do say: employment pathway, allied health support with a rehabilitation counsellor, building work readiness and confidence, identifying suitable work options. Don’t say: “therapy,” anything framed around health treatment rather than the employment goal. Credential angle: rehabilitation counsellor delivery is the recognised pathway here.
5. Private Health (e.g. BUPA) — Counselling
Private health funds rebate counselling delivered by providers who hold current registration with an accepted body (such as PACFA or ACA). With us, sessions are funded under counselling with funds like BUPA — check your provider’s registration and your own extras cover first.
Do say: counselling session, registered counsellor, claimable under extras/ancillary counselling. Don’t say: “equine therapy” as a rebate item (it’s the counsellor and the counselling service that’s recognised, not “therapy” as a label). Credential angle: confirm the provider holds current PACFA/ACA registration and a provider number with your fund — and confirm your policy includes counselling.
6. Life Insurance — Functional Capacity Building
Income protection and TPD-style policies typically fund rehabilitation and functional capacity building — but not treatment. Frame the session around restoring function and capacity, not clinical therapy.
Do say: functional capacity building, rehabilitation, restoring everyday function and capacity to return to activity/work. Don’t say: “treatment,” “therapy” – insurers usually exclude treatment from this benefit. Credential angle: position delivery within a rehabilitation / functional-capacity framework agreed with the insurer’s rehab consultant.
7. Defence (ADF) — Meaningful Engagement
For serving members on a rehabilitation program, Meaningful Engagement funds active involvement in a meaningful activity that promotes physical, cognitive and emotional health. It’s only available to members on a rehab program, and activities need command/medical approval.
Do say: meaningful engagement, activity to maintain physical/cognitive/emotional health, part of the rehabilitation program. Don’t say: “therapy” or “treatment,” anything outside the approved rehabilitation program. Credential angle: position the session as a meaningful-engagement activity within the member’s existing rehab plan, with the required approvals.
8. DVA — Psychosocial Rehabilitation
A DVA rehabilitation plan covers three areas: medical management, psychosocial, and vocational. Equine sessions can sit in the psychosocial budget on a rehab plan, noting this program does not cover treatment. Funding may also be possible where an ESO (ex-service organisation) has made grant applications, or sometimes via ATL charity funding.
Do say: psychosocial rehabilitation, part of the rehabilitation plan, building social wellbeing and independent functioning. Don’t say: “treatment,” “therapy” billed as clinical care under the rehab program. Credential angle: position within the psychosocial stream of the rehab plan; explore ESO grant funding as an alternative route.
The one-line version
Match the words to the budget, and the provider to the words. Describe the session by the goal it meets in each scheme’s own language, and make sure whoever delivers it holds credentials that scheme recognises. That’s the difference between “sorry, not funded” and “yes, that fits.”
How to use this
- Identify which funding model you’re working in (or which ones — some people hold more than one).
- Use the “do say” language from that section when you talk to your plan manager, support coordinator, case manager or insurer.
- Ask your provider to confirm their credentials and how they map to that funding category — before you book.
- Get it written into your plan or approval in the recognised terms.
If you’d like a hand working out which model fits your situation and how to word the request, that’s exactly what we help with. Depending on the goals above, how sessions are structured, and the depth of content are factored into the treatment plan or session planning to ensure we are working within the lane we are funded to do.
This article is general information only and reflects how these funding models are commonly applied; it is not financial, legal or clinical advice, and approval is always at the discretion of your scheme, fund or insurer. In line with AHPRA’s advertising standards, we do not use client testimonials. Always confirm current rules with your plan manager, support coordinator, case manager, insurer or fund. Funding categories and provider requirements change — check the latest before you act.
