Frequently asked questions
Getting started
8 questionsWhat is ViaClara?
ViaClara is an Australian directory of allied healthcare practitioners who work with neurodivergent children and adults. Every practitioner on the platform has committed to strengths-based, neuroaffirming practice - meaning they focus on your child's strengths, reduce unnecessary demands, and work with your family rather than trying to "fix" your child. You can search for practitioners by profession, location, availability, NDIS registration status, and more.
Who is ViaClara for?
ViaClara is for anyone looking for neuroaffirming support. Families - particularly parents of children who have recently received a neurodivergent diagnosis such as autism or ADHD - can search for practitioners and post Help Wanted Ads. Allied healthcare practitioners including speech pathologists, occupational therapists, psychologists, behaviour support practitioners, physiotherapists, social workers, and early childhood educators who identify as neuroaffirming can create a profile. ViaClara also welcomes neurodivergent adults seeking support for themselves, and practitioners who work within a clinic.
Is ViaClara free to use?
For families, yes - ViaClara is completely free. You can search, browse practitioner profiles, save favourites, post Help Wanted Ads, and message practitioners at no cost. For practitioners, ViaClara offers a free Pay as you go option as well as paid subscription plans (Pro and Business Builder) that unlock additional features.
Do I need an account to use ViaClara?
You can browse practitioner profiles without an account. To access features like saving practitioners, posting a Help Wanted Ad, messaging a practitioner, or saving a search, you'll need to create a free family account.
How do I create an account?
Click Sign up from any page and follow the prompts. There are separate registration flows for families and practitioners - make sure you choose the one that applies to you. After registering, you'll receive a verification email; clicking the link in that email confirms your account.
I haven't received my verification email. What should I do?
First, check your spam or junk folder. If it's not there, sign in to your account - you'll see a banner prompting you to verify your email, with an option to resend the verification link. You can request a new link once every hour.
How do I reset my password?
On the sign-in page, click Forgot password and enter your registered email address. You'll receive an email with a link to set a new password.
Can I change my email address after signing up?
Yes. Go to your account settings and look for the Change email section. You'll need to confirm your current password. A security alert will be sent to your old email address, and a verification link will be sent to your new one. Your email address will only update once you've clicked that verification link.
For families
21 questionsSearching for a practitioner
How do I find a practitioner?
There are two ways to search on ViaClara. Guided search: if you're not sure where to start, use our guided search wizard. It walks you through a few simple questions about your child and what kind of support you're looking for, then shows you the best-matched practitioners. Browse and filter: if you already know what you're looking for, go straight to the search page and apply filters such as profession, location, delivery mode (in-person or telehealth), availability, NDIS registration, age group, areas of expertise, and language spoken.
How are search results ranked?
Results are ranked by a combination of signals designed to surface the most relevant and reliable practitioners for your search. Key factors include: Availability - practitioners with current, up-to-date availability are ranked higher; Neuroaffirming commitment - practitioners who have made a stronger commitment to neuroaffirming practice rank higher; Profile completeness - practitioners with a detailed bio, listed areas of expertise, and complete profiles are ranked higher; Proximity - how close a practitioner is to the location you've searched; and Match quality - how closely a practitioner's expertise, age groups, and languages match your specific search filters. The top three results are highlighted as Best Matches.
What if no results come up near me?
If no practitioners are found within your selected area, ViaClara will automatically suggest telehealth-capable practitioners who can work with you remotely. You can also expand your search radius using the Expand search area button, which progressively widens the search.
What does the availability status mean?
Practitioners update their own availability. Available now means appointments are available within 2 weeks. Available soon means appointments are available within 4 weeks. Waitlist means appointments are available in 4 or more weeks - you can join their waitlist or reach out to enquire. Not accepting new patients means this practitioner is not currently taking on new clients.
Can I save a search to run again later?
Yes. Once you've applied at least one filter and run a search, a Save search button will appear. Saving a search means you can run it again with one click from your dashboard. You can save up to 10 searches. You'll also receive a notification if a new practitioner joins ViaClara who matches your saved search criteria.
Practitioner profiles
What information is on a practitioner's profile?
Every approved practitioner has a profile that includes their name, profession, suburb, delivery mode (in-person, telehealth, or both), areas of expertise, age groups served, availability status, NDIS registration status, education, and their neuroaffirming commitment badge. Practitioners on a Pro or Business Builder plan may also have additional details such as a written bio, video introduction, work experience, qualifications, memberships, languages spoken, and links to their social media pages.
What does the neuroaffirming badge mean?
Every practitioner on ViaClara has committed to strengths-based, affirming practice. The badge you see reflects how far that commitment has been recognised beyond the practitioner's own word. Committed to neuroaffirming principles means the practitioner has made a personal declaration when they joined the platform. Neuroaffirming approach confirmed by families means multiple families who've had an established conversation with this practitioner through ViaClara have confirmed their neuroaffirming approach, based on real experience. ViaClara does not independently certify or clinically assess neuroaffirming practice.
How do I confirm a practitioner's neuroaffirming approach?
If you've had an ongoing conversation with a practitioner through ViaClara messaging, you may receive an in-app notification inviting you to confirm their neuroaffirming approach based on your own experience. Responding is entirely optional. This is the only way a practitioner's badge can move beyond their initial declaration - there's no way to request or fast-track this for a practitioner.
How do I save a practitioner I like?
Click the heart icon on any practitioner's card in search results, or on their profile page, to save them to your favourites. You can view all your saved practitioners from your dashboard. You'll also receive a notification if a practitioner you've saved updates their availability.
Child profiles
What is a child profile?
A child profile lets you record information about your child - such as their age group and support needs - so you can use it to pre-fill your searches and attach it to a Help Wanted Ad. You can create multiple child profiles if you have more than one child. To create one, go to your dashboard and look for the child profiles section.
Help Wanted Ads
What is a Help Wanted Ad?
A Help Wanted Ad lets you describe the support you're looking for and post it to ViaClara, so that practitioners can come to you. Instead of searching and reaching out to practitioners one by one, you post an ad and interested practitioners respond to you directly. It's especially useful if you've struggled to find someone through a standard search.
How do I post a Help Wanted Ad?
From your dashboard, look for the Help Wanted section and click Post an ad. A two-step wizard will guide you through the process. You can optionally link one of your child profiles to the ad, describe the support you need, specify your location or whether you prefer telehealth, indicate urgency, and note any NDIS or language requirements.
Is there a cost to post a Help Wanted Ad?
No - posting a Help Wanted Ad is completely free for families. There is no charge to you at any point.
How will I know when a practitioner responds?
You'll receive an in-app notification when a practitioner responds to your ad. You can view all responses from the Help Wanted section of your dashboard. From there, you can view the practitioner's profile and message them directly.
Can I edit or close my ad?
Yes. From your dashboard, go to your Help Wanted Ads and select the ad you'd like to manage. You can edit the ad details, toggle it between active and inactive, or delete it entirely. Once you've found the right support, it's a good idea to close the ad so you're not receiving further responses.
Messaging practitioners
How do I contact a practitioner?
You can contact a practitioner by sending them a direct message. Visit their profile page and click the Message button. You can also message a practitioner who has responded to one of your Help Wanted Ads directly from your responses list.
Is messaging free for families?
Yes, messaging is completely free for families.
Can I book an appointment through ViaClara?
Some practitioners on a Business Builder plan have enabled intro call bookings through Calendly. If this is available, you'll see a booking option on their profile. You can use it to schedule an intro call directly without needing to message back and forth first. Not all practitioners offer this - if you don't see a booking option, reach out via direct message.
Privacy and your data
What personal information does ViaClara collect?
ViaClara collects the information you provide when registering and using the platform, including your name, email address, and any details you add to your profile or Help Wanted Ads. We do not share your personal information with third parties for marketing purposes. Please refer to our Privacy Policy for full details.
Can I download a copy of my data?
Yes. Under Australian privacy law, you have the right to access the personal information we hold about you. Go to your account settings and look for the Download your data section. Your data will download as a JSON file containing all the information ViaClara holds about your account.
How do I delete my account?
Go to your account settings and scroll to the Delete account section. You'll be asked to confirm your password before your account is permanently deleted. This action cannot be undone, so please make sure you've downloaded a copy of your data first if you need it.
For practitioners
33 questionsJoining ViaClara
Who can join ViaClara as a practitioner?
Any allied healthcare practitioner who works with neurodivergent children or adults and identifies as neuroaffirming is welcome to join. This includes speech pathologists, occupational therapists, psychologists, behaviour support practitioners, physiotherapists, social workers, early childhood educators, and more. You don't need to be in private practice - practitioners who work within a clinic can also create a profile.
How do I register as a practitioner?
Click Join as a practitioner from the ViaClara homepage or the For Practitioners page. The registration form will ask for your name, profession, location, email, website (to help with verification), availability, and NDIS registration status. You'll also be asked to make a neuroaffirming declaration. Once submitted, your profile will be reviewed by the ViaClara team before going live.
What is the neuroaffirming declaration?
As part of registration, you'll be asked to confirm: "I commit to providing strengths-based, affirming support to neurodivergent children and their families, and to upholding the principles of neuroaffirming practice in my work." This is your public commitment to families on the platform. ViaClara does not independently assess or certify neuroaffirming practice - your declaration reflects your own professional commitment.
How long does profile approval take?
The ViaClara team manually reviews each practitioner profile before it goes live. We'll notify you by email and in-app notification once your profile has been approved. If we need more information or are unable to approve your profile, we'll let you know the reason so you can make changes and resubmit.
My application was rejected. What can I do?
You'll receive a notification explaining the reason for the rejection. From your dashboard, you'll be able to review the reason, update your profile, and resubmit for review. If you have questions about the decision, you're welcome to contact us.
Managing your profile
How do I edit my profile?
Sign in and go to your dashboard. Click Edit profile to update any of your details. Changes are saved as you go. Your profile will reflect your updates immediately - there's no need to resubmit for approval after your initial profile has been approved, unless a change is significant enough to warrant review.
What information can I add to my profile?
All practitioners can include their full name, profession, email, phone number, suburb, website, delivery mode, areas of expertise, age groups served, education, availability, and NDIS registration status. Practitioners on a Pro or Business Builder plan can also add social media links, a video introduction, work experience, additional qualifications, professional memberships, and the languages they speak.
How do I upload a profile photo or video introduction?
Go to your profile editor on your dashboard. You'll find an option to upload a profile photo in your basic details section. The video introduction section (available on Pro and Business Builder plans) lets you upload a short video directly from your device.
How do I track how complete my profile is?
Your dashboard includes a Profile Completion tracker that shows you a percentage score and highlights which sections are still missing. A more complete profile ranks higher in search results, so it's worth taking the time to fill everything in.
How do I update my availability?
From your dashboard, go to the Availability section and select the option that best reflects your current capacity. Available now means appointments available within 2 weeks. Available soon means appointments available within 4 weeks. Waitlist means appointments available in 4 or more weeks. Not accepting new patients means you're not currently taking on new clients. Keeping your availability current is important - availability that hasn't been updated in over two weeks is treated as potentially stale and may affect your ranking in search results.
How do I set up intro call bookings?
Intro call bookings via Calendly are available on the Business Builder plan. To set this up, you'll need a Calendly account. Once you have your Calendly link, go to your profile editor on your dashboard, find the Intro Call section, and paste your Calendly URL. Once enabled, a booking button will appear on your public profile for families to use.
Neuroaffirming verification
What is neuroaffirming verification and how does it work?
Neuroaffirming verification lets your commitment be recognised through real experiences families have had working with you, not just your initial declaration. If you've had an established, ongoing conversation with a family through ViaClara messaging, they may automatically be invited to confirm your neuroaffirming approach. Once multiple families have done this, your badge updates from Committed to neuroaffirming principles to Neuroaffirming approach confirmed by families. This isn't tied to your subscription plan, and a badge you've earned is never removed if you change or cancel your plan.
Can I ask a family to confirm my neuroaffirming badge?
Verification prompts are sent automatically to families based on genuine, established conversations on the platform - there's no button or setting you can use to request, trigger, or speed one up. Asking a family to confirm you outside of that flow won't affect your badge.
Help Wanted Ads
What are Help Wanted Ads?
Help Wanted Ads are posted by families who are actively looking for a practitioner with specific skills or availability. As a practitioner, you can browse ads that are relevant to your practice and respond to families who might be a good match.
How do I find relevant Help Wanted Ads?
Go to the Help Wanted section of your practitioner dashboard. Ads are ranked by relevance to your profile - ads that align closely with your profession, location, expertise, and other profile details will appear first. You'll also receive a notification when a new ad is posted that matches your profile.
Is there a cost to respond to a Help Wanted Ad?
This depends on your plan. Pay as you go: you pay $5.50 to send your first response to a family on a given ad. There is no additional charge for follow-up messages with that family on the same ad. Pro plan: same credit-based model as Pay as you go at $5.50 per initial response. Business Builder plan: unlimited responses at no additional cost.
What are prepaid credit packages?
If you're on a Pay as you go or Pro plan, prepaid credit packages let you buy responses in bulk at a reduced rate. $24.75 for 5 initial responses ($4.95 each - save 10%). $44.00 for 10 initial responses ($4.40 each - save 20%). Your credit balance is shown on the Help Wanted section of your dashboard.
Messaging and connections
How does messaging with families work?
Direct messaging between practitioners and families is available on Pro and Business Builder plans. A family must message you first - once they do, you'll be able to reply and continue the conversation on the platform.
How does practitioner-to-practitioner messaging work?
Practitioner-to-practitioner messaging is available on the Business Builder plan. To message another practitioner, you first need to send a connection request from their profile page. Your request must include a short introduction message explaining why you'd like to connect. The other practitioner can then accept or decline. Once they accept, you'll be able to message each other freely.
Where can I find my messages?
Click the message icon in the top navigation bar to access your inbox. You'll see separate sections for messages from families and messages from peer practitioners (if applicable to your plan). An unread badge on the icon will alert you to new messages.
AI visibility
What does "AI visibility" mean?
ViaClara has a public API that allows AI assistants - such as Claude, Perplexity, and other AI tools - to search and surface ViaClara practitioner profiles when someone asks for neuroaffirming practitioner recommendations. Practitioners on the Pro and Business Builder plans are included in these results. Only information you've made public on your ViaClara profile is shared through this API.
Can I see how often AI tools are surfacing my profile?
AI visibility analytics - showing how often your profile appears in AI-generated search results - is planned for the Business Builder plan and will be available in a future update.
Referral program
What is the referral program?
ViaClara's referral program lets approved practitioners earn a reward for inviting a fellow allied health practitioner to join the platform. When someone you've referred is approved onto ViaClara, you both earn a reward. It's for inviting a colleague to join ViaClara as a practitioner - it isn't, and can't be used as, an inducement for referring a patient, client, or their family to another provider.
How do I get my referral code?
Go to the Referrals section of your practitioner dashboard. Your unique code and shareable link are generated automatically the first time you visit. You can copy either one, or send an invite directly by email from the same page.
What does my colleague need to do?
They enter your code (or use your link) when they register as a practitioner on ViaClara. You both earn your reward once their profile is approved by the ViaClara team - not when they first apply. A referral can only be applied at initial registration, so a code can't be added retroactively to an existing account.
What do I get, and what does my colleague get?
If you're on the Pay as you go or Pro plan, you both earn a Help Wanted response credit (valued at $5.50). If you're on Business Builder, you earn a $5.50 account credit applied automatically to your next invoice, and your colleague earns a Help Wanted response credit (valued at $5.50).
I'm on Pay as you go or Pro and later upgrade to Business Builder - do I lose my referral credits?
No. Any Help Wanted response credits you've earned through referrals (and haven't yet used) are automatically converted to an equivalent cash credit on your next invoice when you upgrade to Business Builder.
Does my referral ever expire?
A referral only expires if your colleague's application sits with no activity for 90 days - if they're actively working through the application or resubmitting after a rejection, the clock resets and it stays open. An expired or cancelled referral earns no reward.
Can I regenerate my referral code?
Yes, from the Referrals section of your dashboard. Regenerating immediately invalidates your old code for new sign-ups - anyone who tries to use it afterwards will find it doesn't work. It doesn't affect a referral that's already pending approval.
Is there a limit, or a cost to take part?
There's no cost to participate and no limit on how many colleagues you can refer. Each person can only ever be referred once, by whoever refers them first.
Are referral rewards taxable?
Referral rewards may be considered taxable income depending on your circumstances. ViaClara doesn't provide tax advice - please consult your own tax adviser if you're unsure how a reward should be treated.
Privacy and your data
Can I download a copy of my data?
Yes. Go to your account settings and look for the Download your data section. Your data will download as a JSON file containing all the information ViaClara holds about your practitioner account, including your profile, experience, credentials, messages, and Help Wanted Ad activity.
How do I delete my account?
Go to your account settings and scroll to the Delete account section. You'll need to confirm your password. Please note that deleting your account will permanently remove your profile and all associated data. If you're on a paid plan, please review your subscription before deleting your account.
Pricing and plans
5 questionsWhat plans are available for practitioners?
There are three options for practitioners. Pay as you go: free to join. You get a basic profile, a profile completion tracker, and can respond to Help Wanted Ads for $5.50 per initial response. Pro ($22 per month, incl. GST): includes a full profile with video, bio, experience and more, direct messaging with families, and AI visibility. Business Builder ($71.50 per month, incl. GST): includes everything in Pro, plus unlimited Help Wanted Ad responses, intro call bookings via Calendly, and practitioner-to-practitioner messaging and networking. Neuroaffirming verification - your badge moving from self-attested to confirmed by families - is available at every plan level, including Pay as you go.
How do I upgrade or downgrade my plan?
How you change plans depends on the direction. Upgrading - from Pay as you go to Pro or Business Builder, or from Pro to Business Builder - is done with a single click from the Pricing page; a Pro-to-Business-Builder upgrade takes effect immediately at no extra charge until your next billing date. Downgrading from Business Builder to Pro is also done from the Pricing page, where you'll see exactly which features you'll lose before confirming; the change takes effect at the end of your current billing period. To cancel your subscription entirely and revert to Pay as you go, or to update your payment method and download invoices, use the Manage subscription link in your account settings, which opens the Stripe Customer Portal.
What happens to my features if I downgrade?
Your data is always kept safe, but access to certain features changes depending on the plan you move to. Full profile fields (video, social links, experience, qualifications, memberships, languages) are hidden from your public profile on downgrade from Pro - your data is retained and restored if you upgrade again. Direct messaging: existing conversations become read-only on downgrade from Pro. Calendly intro call booking is hidden from your public profile on downgrade from Business Builder, but your link is retained. Peer networking and messaging: existing peer conversations become read-only on downgrade. Unlimited Help Wanted responses on Business Builder revert to the standard $5.50 per-response rate on downgrade. Published articles remain live after a downgrade. Neuroaffirming verification badges are never removed on downgrade.
What happens if a payment fails?
If a payment fails, your subscription will be marked as past due and you'll receive an in-app notification and email. Stripe will automatically retry the payment. During this period, your features remain active. If the payment is not resolved, your subscription will be cancelled and your account will revert to Pay as you go access.
Do prepaid credits expire?
Please refer to our Terms and Conditions for details on prepaid credit expiry. If you delete your account while you still have unused credits, those credits will be forfeited and cannot be refunded - you'll be asked to acknowledge this before confirming account deletion.
Safety and trust
4 questionsHow does ViaClara vet practitioners?
Every practitioner profile is manually reviewed by the ViaClara team before it goes live. We do not independently certify clinical qualifications or assess neuroaffirming practice in sessions - we review profiles for completeness, professionalism, and alignment with ViaClara's values. Practitioners can optionally provide a website URL during registration to assist with verification. If you have a concern about a practitioner listed on ViaClara, please contact us directly.
Can I block another user?
Yes. You can block another user from their profile page or from within a conversation. Blocking a user means they will no longer be able to see your contact details, message you, or interact with you on the platform. You can view and manage your blocked users from your account settings.
How does ViaClara protect my messages?
Messages sent on ViaClara are encrypted at rest - meaning the content is scrambled before being stored in our database and only made readable when you access your conversation. All data is transmitted over HTTPS. ViaClara does not read your private messages.
Is ViaClara compliant with Australian privacy law?
Yes. ViaClara is designed to comply with the Australian Privacy Act 1988, including the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs). You have the right to access and download all personal information we hold about you (APP 12) at any time from your account settings. Please refer to our Privacy Policy for more information.
Resources
4 questionsWhat is the Resources hub?
The ViaClara Resources hub is a collection of articles, guides, and checklists to help families and practitioners navigate the neurodivergent support landscape in Australia. Topics include post-diagnosis next steps, understanding NDIS early intervention, what neuroaffirming practice looks like, and guides for allied health professionals setting up or growing their practice. The Resources hub is publicly available - you don't need an account to read it.
Can practitioners contribute articles to the Resources hub?
Yes - article publishing is available to practitioners on the Business Builder plan. If you're on Business Builder, you'll find an Articles section on your dashboard where you can write and submit articles for review. Once submitted, the ViaClara team reviews your article before it's published. If your article is rejected, you'll be able to see the reason, edit your draft, and resubmit. Once published, your article appears in the Resources hub and on your public practitioner profile.
What happens to my published articles if I edit them?
Minor edits - such as fixing a typo or making a small wording change - are reviewed while your article stays live. Significant changes, such as updating the title, excerpt, or a large portion of the body, will temporarily hide your article while the edit is under review. Once approved, your article goes back live with the updated content. If the edit is rejected, your article is automatically restored to its last approved version.
What if I'm not on the Business Builder plan - can I still see the Articles section?
Yes, the Articles card is visible on your dashboard regardless of your plan, but submissions are locked to Business Builder. If you're on Pay as you go or Pro, you'll see an option to upgrade to unlock article publishing.
Technical and account questions
3 questionsWhat browsers and devices does ViaClara support?
ViaClara works on all modern browsers (Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Edge) on desktop and mobile. If you experience display issues, make sure your browser is up to date.
How do I contact ViaClara for support?
You can reach us via the Contact us page, or use the Give feedback button found at the bottom right of every page. We read every message and will get back to you as soon as we can.
I found a bug or something doesn't look right. How do I report it?
Please use the Give feedback button at the bottom right of any page to report bugs. If you can, include a description of what you were doing when the issue occurred. Screenshots are also really helpful.
Still have questions?
We read every message and will get back to you as soon as we can.