TAC: Speech Pathology Funding for Brain Injury Support in Victoria
If a brain injury resulted from a transport accident in Victoria, the Transport Accident Commission (TAC) can help pay for your speech pathology treatment, including sessions delivered by telehealth.
What is the TAC?
The TAC is Victoria's transport accident scheme, responsible under the Transport Accident Act 1986 for paying the reasonable cost of medical and rehabilitation services for people injured in a transport accident in Victoria. Cover applies to drivers, passengers, pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists, and the scheme operates on a no-fault basis for access to treatment and support. You don't need to prove someone else caused the accident to have your treatment covered.
The TAC's approach is built around the nationally recognised Clinical Framework for the Delivery of Health Services, and for clients with a severe injury and permanent disability, such as an acquired brain injury. Ongoing treatment and equipment needs are considered as part of a goal-based therapy and support plan, known as a MyPlan.
How TAC funding works after a transport accident
Within the first 90 days after a transport accident, the TAC can help pay for a range of treatment and services, including speech pathology, without needing prior approval, as long as the treatment is recommended by a doctor or other health professional and relates to the accident injuries. Beyond 90 days, or if there's been a gap of more than six months since TAC last paid for treatment, approval needs to be sought before treatment continues.
For someone with a brain injury from a transport accident, this generally means:
- A referral from a GP, or a referral organised through your treating team
- Speech pathology treatment covered from early in your recovery, without the delay of a separate approval process
- Ongoing treatment reviewed periodically to make sure it remains reasonable, clinically justified, and outcome-focused
What does the TAC cover for speech pathology?
Speech pathologists funded by the TAC can help with a wide range of difficulties that can follow a transport accident, including problems with speech, voice, using and understanding language, fluency, reading, writing, and eating or drinking safely.
Telehealth is explicitly funded by the TAC. Since the pandemic, the TAC has continued funding telehealth appointments for transport accident-related treatment, giving clients the flexibility to access speech pathology from home rather than travelling to a clinic, a genuine advantage for people managing fatigue, mobility challenges, or living in regional Victoria.
How ClearConvo can help provide brain injury support in Victoria
ClearConvo is a speech pathology practice providing telehealth assessment and therapy across Australia, with experience in the communication, cognitive-communication and swallowing difficulties that can follow a brain injury.
To provide services to TAC clients, a speech pathologist needs to be eligible for membership with Speech Pathology Australia and meet its ongoing registration standards, which ClearConvo's clinicians hold. This means we're well placed to:
- Take a referral from your GP or treating health professional early in your recovery
- Deliver ongoing telehealth sessions billed directly to your TAC claim
- Coordinate with your broader treating team so speech pathology goals sit within your overall MyPlan
Speech Therapy, Brain Injury Support in Victoria
Tell us about yourself.
Getting started
- Get a referral from your GP or treating health professional, noting your TAC claim number if you have one.
- Contact ClearConvo to arrange a telehealth speech pathology assessment.
This page is general information, not legal or financial advice. What the TAC will pay for is governed by the Transport Accident Act 1986 and current TAC policy, and can change — always confirm current details directly with the TAC.
