Conditions seen

Barwon Health offers a physiotherapy service for the following:

  • Infants and children with
    • musculoskeletal conditions (such as torticollis)
    • delay in motor development

Physiotherapy services are also provided in the following specialist clinics:

Conditions not seen

Barwon Health does not accept referrals for the following conditions:

  • Delivering passive modalities such as massage, dry needling and electrotherapy

For information regarding other Physiotherapy services available within Barwon Health please refer to the following pages:

How do I access this service?

To be seen in the paediatric physiotherapy specialist clinics, you need to be referred by your GP, a specialist doctor, your Barwon Health doctor, other Barwon Health clinician or from a community-based healthcare provider.

For adults to be seen by a Physiotherapist in one of the above specialist clinics, you need to be referred directly to that specialist clinic.

We are unable to see you in our clinics without a referral.

Wait time

All requests for specialist clinic appointments are scheduled according to the patient’s clinical need. Clinicians assess whether an appointment is urgent or routine, based on information provided in the referral.

Barwon Health aims to see all ‘urgent’ referrals within 30 days. Our wait times for patients who are categorised as ‘routine’ are more variable, depending on the demand for our services.

The Victorian Agency for Health Information also publishes information about the waiting time for routine first appointments.

Routine first appointments | Victorian Agency for Health Information (see Allied Health waiting time).

Speciality
Projected wait time

No Wait times to show

For Health Professionals

State-referral criteria may apply for conditions under this specialty requiring further assessment and management. Referring clinicians are encouraged to utilise Western Victoria Community HealthPathways for referral guidelines and requirements for all conditions.

For urgent referral advice, please contact the Allied Health Office on 03 4215 0826.

Adult referrals: External referrers should refer suitable conditions to the relevant Specialist Clinic at Barwon Health (see links above).

Paediatric referrals: Please complete the Paediatric Physiotherapy Referral form and send via:

  • ReferralNet
  • Fax: 03 4215 0833

Adult referrals: Please see the relevant Specialist Clinic page for information on referral templates for those services.

Paediatric referrals: Please complete the Paediatric Physiotherapy Referral form, ensuring all required referral information is included.

For patients who require reassessment, a new referral should be sent through. To facilitate earlier access, the new referral must contain the following information:

  • State the referral is an update for a current patient
  • Date of original referral
  • Reason for requesting a review of referral (e.g. deterioration in clinical condition, pathology)

The referrer will be notified of the outcome of the re-triage process.

GPs or referring clinicians wishing to discuss the triage of their patient’s referral, or who require additional information, please ring the Allied Health Office on 03 4215 0826. 

Page last updated: September 22, 2025