Understanding pricing in the NDIS

Key points

• NDIS funding amounts are set out in an NDIS pricing document for each type of support and service
• The prices are updated once a year, generally on 1 July
• The price of services can vary depending on the day of the week, time of day, and where you live

How NDIS funding works

NDIS funding is provided through individual participant budgets, called an NDIS plan.

While participants can use the funding in their plan that is allocated to supports to choose who they would like to deliver services and support to them, the amount the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) pays for each of the different types of supports is set in the NDIS Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits (previously called the NDIS Price Guide).

The NDIA updates prices at least once a year, usually on 1 July, taking into account market trends, changes in costs, wage rates and other factors influencing the economy – like the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Changes to the pricing document are published on the NDIS website.

It’s important to understand all of the prices you might be charged by your providers so you can be confident you are receiving value for money from your plan budget.

This is particularly important if you self-manage your plan and need to be on top of how much you can be charged for a service, but it is still useful to know if you are plan managed so that you can keep an eye on how your budget is tracking.

The following information is updated to reflect the NDIS Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits 2022-23.

How much do supports cost under the NDIS?

The NDIS Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits document lists costs for all support areas under the NDIS. These prices, unless stated otherwise, are the maximum NDIS registered providers can charge for that service.

A key element of NDIS is that funded supports must represent value for money. As the number of participants and providers changes each year, competition may change and this could drive prices up or down.

Factors outside the NDIS, like inflation and the costs of materials, can also affect prices and put providers under pressure to deliver services to a certain budget. If the costs of providing the service are too high, the NDIS needs to cover enough of the costs to keep the provider operating and ensure they can still deliver quality services.

The NDIS pricing document should ensure that all costs are kept at a reasonable level.

The pricing guidelines break down each support item with a description, reference number, whether a quote is required or not, the price, and if it’s charged hourly, daily, or weekly.

The price of services can also vary depending on the day of the week and time of day that they are provided. This is usually to cover the different wages of disability support workers who may need to be paid more to work overnight.

In general, support items, subject to price controls, have a single national price limit.

However, some Capacity Building supports have three price limits; a national, remote and very remote limit used depending on where the support is delivered.

This means if you live in a regional or remote area, the price limits can be higher to cover the costs of delivering support outside of cities and any travel that support workers might have to do to support you.

Some examples of prices include:

• Assistance to access community, social, and recreational activities on weekdays, during the day is priced up to a maximum of $62.17 – $93.26 per hour (as of 1 July 2022) depending on whether you live in the city or a very remote area
• Support connection, a service aimed at helping you understand and implement your plan by connecting you with a broader system of supports and providers, is priced up to a maximum of $70.87 – $106.31 (as of 1 July 2022) depending on where you live

There are price limits for assistive technology as well, not just supports, to guide how much providers can charge for items like wheelchairs or continence products. The details of these prices are in the NDIS Assistive Technology, Home Modifications and Consumables Code Guide.

For more information about how pricing works, you can visit the NDIS website or speak to your Local Area Coordinator or support coordinator.

What else would you like to know about how the NDIS works? Tell us in the comments below.

Related content:

NDIS service agreements: What are they and do I need one?
Am I eligible for the NDIS?
Preparing for your NDIS planning meeting