NDIS price guide 2026: what's changed and what it means

The NDIS Price Guide 2026, formally known as the NDIS Pricing Schedule 2026–27, defines the maximum allowable prices for funded supports under the National Disability Insurance Scheme, effective from 1 july 2026. The National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) publishes and enforces these price limits, and no registered provider can charge above them. This year's update brings meaningful changes: disability support worker rates rose, psychology prices jumped, some therapy prices fell, and support coordination fees remain frozen. For support coordinators, allied health professionals, and participants, understanding these shifts is the difference between a plan that works and one that runs short.

What are the key changes in the NDIS pricing schedule 2026–27?

The 2026–27 pricing schedule delivers a mixed result across support categories. Some prices rose to reflect wage growth and cost pressures. Others were cut or held flat, reflecting the NDIA's push to improve value for money across the scheme.

The headline change is for disability support workers. Support worker rates rose 4.8% from $70.23 to $73.58 per hour nationally, effective 1 july 2026. That increase flows directly from the SCHADS Award wage decision and affects the largest share of participant budgets. For participants with high support needs, this means the same funded hours now cost more, so plans need careful review.

Psychology saw the sharpest rise of any therapy discipline. Psychology price limits increased 8.6% to $252.99 per hour. That is a significant jump and reflects the growing demand for mental health supports within the scheme.

Not every category went up. Dietetics and exercise physiology prices decreased, giving participants who use those services slightly more purchasing power per hour. Nursing supports increased by approximately 3.6%, sitting between the larger allied health movements.

Support coordination fees remain frozen at $80.06, $100.14, and $190.54 per hour depending on the level of coordination. Plan management fees also hold at $104.45 per month. For support coordinators and plan managers, frozen rates mean no additional revenue to offset rising operating costs, which puts pressure on efficiency.

Here is a summary of the key rate movements:

The NDIA frames these prices as "appropriate and reasonable maximum prices," signalling a shift toward ministerial pricing determinations rather than annual cost modelling alone. Providers can always charge less than the cap. They cannot charge more.

How has therapy billing changed in 2026?

Therapy billing received the most structural change in the 2026–27 pricing schedule. The shift moves away from broad allied health categories and into profession-specific price caps. That means a physiotherapist, an occupational therapist, and a speech pathologist each now have their own distinct line items and maximum rates.

Therapy supports are now priced profession-specifically, and providers must map every service to the correct new line item for accurate billing. Getting this wrong means invoices may be rejected by plan managers or flagged during audits.

The billing structure for each therapy discipline now includes six distinct line items:

1. Direct service — face-to-face therapy delivered to the participant.
2. Non-face-to-face supports — preparation, case conferencing, and coordination not delivered in person.
3. Cancellation — billable when a participant cancels with less than the required notice period.
4. Provider travel — travel time and costs claimed separately, no longer bundled into the hourly rate.
5. NDIA-requested reports — formal reports requested by the NDIA, billed as a standalone item.
6. Telehealth — remote therapy sessions, now a separate claimable item.

Travel and report writing are no longer bundled into the standard hourly rate. Providers who previously absorbed these costs into a single line item must now claim them separately. This changes the structure of every therapy invoice and requires updates to billing systems and templates.

For participants, this restructure means invoices will look different. A single therapy session may now appear as two or three separate line items. That is not an error. It reflects the new billing rules and gives participants clearer visibility over what they are paying for.

Pro Tip: Review your current billing templates before 1 july 2026. Map each service you deliver to its new profession-specific line item and update your service agreement schedules to match. Doing this early prevents rejected invoices and payment delays.

Short Term Accommodation (STA) also changed. STA rates are now billed hourly with separate accommodation charges, replacing the bundled daily rates that applied until 30 june 2026. Providers offering STA need to restructure their pricing models and update participant agreements accordingly.

What compliance rules apply to the 2026 price changes?

Applying new prices is not automatic. Providers must follow specific rules before they can charge updated rates under existing service agreements.

The NDIA is clear on this point. Providers must discuss proposed price changes with participants and obtain their agreement before applying new prices to existing service agreements. Simply updating a rate and issuing a new invoice is not compliant. This requirement protects participants and keeps the relationship between provider and participant transparent.

Key compliance obligations for 2026–27 include:

• Participant consent is required before applying any price increase to an existing service agreement.
• Price limits are ceilings, not floors. Providers can and should negotiate rates that reflect the actual cost of delivering supports.
• SIL providers must be registered. From 1 october 2026, plan managers must reject Supported Independent Living (SIL) invoices from providers who are not registered or have not applied for registration.
• Unregistered community participation providers face a price cut. From 1 january 2027, unregistered providers in community participation face a 10% reduction in their price limit, after a six-month lead time.

The SIL registration requirement carries real urgency. NDIS registration typically takes 8–12 months, meaning providers who have not yet started the process are already behind. Certification involves an audit against the NDIS Practice Standards and assessment by an approved quality auditor. Waiting until october 2026 to begin is not a viable option.

Pro Tip: If you deliver SIL and are not yet registered, lodge your application now. The 8–12 month certification timeline means the window is already narrow. Delaying risks losing the ability to invoice at full price limits from october 2026.

Effective communication with participants about pricing changes is critical to smooth agreement updates and timely payment. Providers who send clear, plain-language letters explaining what is changing, why, and what the participant needs to do will have far fewer disputes and delays.

How do the 2026 pricing updates affect participants and support coordinators?

Participants and support coordinators need to understand two things: when budgets change and what those changes mean for purchasing power.

Plan budget indexation started on 13 july 2026, but the impact varies depending on what supports are included in each plan. A plan that is heavy on disability support worker hours will see its budget adjusted upward to reflect the 4.8% rate rise. A plan that relies on dietetics or exercise physiology may find its budget unchanged or slightly reduced in real terms.

Practical steps for support coordinators and participants managing plans right now:

• Review all active service agreements and check whether providers have updated their rates in line with the new price limits.
• Recalculate support hours for any service where prices rose. A participant receiving 20 hours of support worker time per week will now spend more of their budget on those hours.
• Check invoices carefully. Therapy invoices will now show multiple line items where previously there was one. Confirm each item is correctly coded before approving payment.
• Communicate early with providers. If a participant's budget does not stretch to cover the new rates at the same volume of hours, that conversation needs to happen before services are delivered, not after.
• Track plan utilisation monthly. Price rises mid-plan can push utilisation above projections. Monthly tracking catches shortfalls early enough to act.

Plan indexation timing varies by plan composition, which means two participants with similar needs may experience different budget adjustments. Support coordinators should not assume every plan was indexed equally. Check each plan individually.

Key takeaways

The NDIS Pricing Schedule 2026–27 sets new maximum rates from 1 july 2026, with support worker and psychology prices rising, therapy billing restructured by profession, and compliance rules tightening around SIL registration and participant consent.

The shift I keep seeing providers miss

The move to profession-specific therapy pricing sounds like a billing administration change. In practice, it is a compliance risk that many providers are not ready for. I have spoken with allied health teams who are still issuing single-line therapy invoices weeks after the new schedule took effect. Plan managers are rejecting those invoices, and participants are caught in the middle waiting for services to be paid.

The other thing I see consistently is providers applying new rates without talking to participants first. The NDIA's requirement to obtain participant agreement before changing prices on existing agreements is not a formality. It is a genuine protection for participants, and ignoring it creates disputes that take weeks to resolve. A short phone call or a plain-language letter sent before the rate change takes effect prevents almost all of those problems.

The frozen support coordination rates deserve more attention than they are getting. Coordinators are being asked to manage more complex compliance requirements, more detailed invoicing reviews, and more frequent participant communications, all on the same fee as last year. That is a real pressure, and the coordinators who manage it best are the ones using technology to cut the time spent on admin rather than absorbing it into longer working hours.

My practical advice: treat the 2026–27 pricing schedule as a system update, not just a rate card. Every service agreement, every invoice template, and every billing workflow needs to be checked against the new structure before you deliver another session.

— Bulent Karamanoglu

CiaraLink and the 2026 NDIS pricing schedule

Managing the 2026–27 pricing changes across service agreements, invoices, and compliance obligations is a significant administrative load for any provider or support coordinator.

CiaraLink is built for exactly this. The platform keeps billing aligned with the latest NDIS price limits, supports profession-specific line items for therapy invoicing, and tracks participant consent for service agreement updates, all in one place. When a new pricing schedule takes effect, your invoices and agreements reflect it without manual rework across multiple systems. Support coordinators can monitor plan utilisation in real time, and providers can generate compliant invoices without chasing paperwork. Less paperwork. More care. Try CiaraLink free at ciaralink.com.au.

FAQ

What is the NDIS Price Guide 2026?

The NDIS Price Guide 2026, formally called the NDIS Pricing Schedule 2026–27, sets the maximum prices providers can charge for NDIS-funded supports. It is published by the NDIA and takes effect from 1 july 2026.

Did disability support worker rates increase in 2026?

Yes. Disability support worker price limits rose 4.8% to $73.58 per hour from 1 july 2026, up from $70.23 per hour in 2025–26.

Are support coordination fees changing in 2026–27?

No. Support coordination fees remain frozen at $80.06, $100.14, and $190.54 per hour, and plan management fees stay at $104.45 per month for 2026–27.

Do providers need participant consent to apply new prices?

Yes. Providers must discuss proposed price changes with participants and obtain their agreement before applying new rates to existing service agreements.

When do SIL providers need to be registered?

From 1 october 2026, plan managers must reject SIL invoices from providers who are not registered or have not applied for NDIS registration. Given that registration takes 8–12 months, providers should apply immediately if they have not already done so.

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