NDIS Price Guide 2026-27: What Changed and What It Means

The NDIS Price Guide for 2026–27 took effect on 1 July 2026, and this year it brought more than the usual annual bump to hourly rates. The National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) released its Annual Pricing Review (APR) alongside a new NDIS Pricing Schedule — and for the first time the Schedule was published in place of the familiar Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits (PAPL) document. If you deliver NDIS supports, the practical question is simple: which rates and claiming rules changed, and what do you need to do before your next invoice goes out?

This guide breaks down what actually changed in the NDIS Price Guide 2026–27, why it changed, and the steps NDIS providers should take now. We stick to what the NDIA has published and what independent pricing analysts have confirmed — no invented figures — because getting your claiming wrong is a fast way to trigger payment rejections and compliance risk.

What changed in the NDIS Price Guide 2026–27?

The headline is that the NDIA has moved to a Pricing Schedule model for 2026–27. The Schedule still sets what the Agency considers appropriate and reasonable maximum prices for NDIS supports, and providers can use it to inform their prices from 1 July 2026. The shift in format is tied to a Bill introduced to Parliament on 14 May 2026 that, if passed, would give the Minister for the NDIS the power to make legally binding pricing determinations in future — a change from the current guidance-based arrangements.

Underneath the format change, the substance of this year's review lands in four areas: increases to disability support worker rates, a structural overhaul of how allied health is claimed, targeted movements to some therapy caps, and a scheduled reduction for certain unregistered-provider supports from January 2027. Support Coordination and Plan Management fees, by contrast, were left unchanged. We cover each below.

Support worker rates increased across every time band

The most widely felt change is to core support worker pricing. The national recommended maximum for a standard support delivered weekday daytime rose from $70.23 to $73.58 per hour — roughly a 4.8% increase. Every other time band moved up in step with it. The NDIA attributes the rise to the Fair Work Commission's 2026 wage decision and superannuation increasing from 11.5% to 12%, both of which feed the Disability Support Worker Cost Model that underpins these rates.

The national standard-intensity rates from 1 July 2026 are:

• Weekday daytime: $73.58/hr
• Weekday evening: $81.07/hr
• Weekday night: $82.57/hr
• Saturday: $103.54/hr
• Sunday: $133.50/hr
• Public holiday: $163.46/hr

High-intensity supports sit above these — for example, high-intensity weekday daytime is $79.60/hr. Remote and Very Remote loadings still apply on top of the national rate to reflect the higher cost of delivering supports outside metro and regional areas. Psychosocial recovery coaching, which tracks the same cost model, increased from $105.43 to $110.44 per hour weekday daytime.

Allied health claiming was restructured

The bigger structural change is to how therapy and allied health supports are claimed. Previously, activities such as travel and report writing were selected as a claim type against a single therapy item. Under the 2026–27 Schedule, each of those activities now has its own distinct, separately claimable line item:

• Direct service — face-to-face delivery
• Cancellation — short-notice cancellations, at the full service rate
• Non-face-to-face — preparation, documentation and other indirect work
• Provider travel — charged at 50% of the direct service rate
• NDIA-requested reports — reports the Agency asks for
• Telehealth — a brand-new line item for 2026–27

The intent is greater transparency: non-face-to-face activity can now be recorded and claimed separately rather than being bundled into one charge. For providers, it means your invoicing and rostering systems need to map each activity to the correct item number, and your staff need to record travel, prep and telehealth against the right line. Getting this wrong is one of the more common triggers for payment rejections, so it is worth auditing your claiming workflow before the change beds in.

Which therapy and allied health caps moved

Not every discipline changed, and the movements went in both directions as the NDIA benchmarked rates against Medicare and private health. The confirmed changes for 2026–27 include:

• Psychology: up from $232.99 to $252.99 per hour
• Dietetics: down from $188.99 to $178.99 per hour
• Exercise physiology: down from $166.99 to $161.99 per hour
• Other Professionals: reduced to $156.16 per hour (Early Childhood supports excluded and held at $193.99)

Several core allied health caps — including occupational therapy, speech pathology and physiotherapy at $193.99 per hour — were held rather than increased. The direction of travel is clear: the NDIA is using external benchmarks to move some prices up and others down, and it expects providers to demonstrate participant outcomes for the supports they deliver.

What did NOT change

Two areas that many providers watch closely were left untouched. Support Coordination rates held at their long-standing levels — Level 1 at $80.06, Level 2 (Coordination of Supports) at $100.14, and Level 3 (Specialist Support Coordination) at $190.54 per hour — figures that have been frozen for several years while operating costs rose. The Plan Management monthly fee also held at $104.45. The NDIA has flagged a broader review of the support coordination model, so providers in that space should watch for further consultation rather than assume the freeze is permanent.

The 10% reduction coming in January 2027

One change is scheduled rather than immediate. From 1 January 2027, the recommended maximum prices for Social, Community and Civic Participation supports delivered by unregistered providers will decrease by 10%. This also applies to related high-intensity supports and associated claims such as provider travel, non-face-to-face supports, short-notice cancellations and activity-based transport. Prices for the same supports delivered by registered providers remain unchanged. If you deliver these supports outside the registration system, factor the January reduction into your 2027 budgeting now.

What NDIS providers should do now

A price limit is a maximum, not an automatic pay rise. New rates do not flow through to your invoices on their own, and your existing service agreements do not update themselves. Work through this checklist:

1. Map the new rates to your service items. Update your rostering and billing system with the 1 July 2026 rates for every time band and support type you deliver.
2. Rebuild your allied health claiming. Assign the correct new item numbers for direct service, cancellation, non-face-to-face, provider travel (50%), NDIA-requested reports and telehealth, and train staff to record against the right line.
3. Talk to participants before you change a rate. You must discuss any proposed price change and get the participant's agreement before it applies — a new rate should never appear on an invoice without that conversation.
4. Update service agreements. Amend agreements to reflect agreed new rates, and keep a record of the participant's consent.
5. Budget for January 2027. If you are an unregistered provider of Social, Community and Civic Participation supports, model the 10% reduction now.
6. Check your award interpretation. The rate rise is driven by higher wages and super — make sure your payroll and SCHADS interpretation keep pace so margins hold.

Accurate rostering and claiming are what turn a price change into paid, compliant invoices. Rostery's NDIS rostering and claiming features keep pay rates, item numbers and claiming rules aligned so you are not reconciling spreadsheets every fortnight, and you can see current plans on the Rostery pricing page. For a related change that landed at the same time, see our guide to the new SIL registration under Group 0138.

Frequently Asked Questions

When did the NDIS Price Guide 2026–27 take effect?

The new NDIS Pricing Schedule and Annual Pricing Review prices took effect on 1 July 2026. Providers can use the Schedule to inform their prices from that date, but any change to an existing service agreement must be discussed with, and agreed by, the participant before it applies.

How much is a support worker per hour under the 2026–27 price guide?

The national recommended maximum for standard support delivered weekday daytime is $73.58 per hour, up from $70.23. Rates rise for evenings, weekends and public holidays, and high-intensity supports are higher again (for example $79.60 weekday daytime). Remote and Very Remote loadings apply on top of the national rate.

Why did the NDIS price guide change the way allied health is claimed?

To improve transparency and accuracy. The 2026–27 Schedule splits therapy into separate line items — direct service, cancellation, non-face-to-face, provider travel (at 50% of the service rate), NDIA-requested reports and telehealth — so indirect activity can be recorded and claimed against its own item rather than bundled into a single charge.

Did Support Coordination prices change for 2026–27?

No. Support Coordination Levels 1, 2 and 3 held at $80.06, $100.14 and $190.54 per hour respectively, and the Plan Management monthly fee held at $104.45. These have been frozen for several years, though the NDIA has flagged a broader review of the support coordination model.

Do the new price limits mean I can automatically charge more?

No. The Pricing Schedule sets maximum prices, not mandatory ones. You cannot lift a participant's rate simply because the guide changed — you must follow the terms of the service agreement, discuss the proposed change, and obtain the participant's agreement before the new rate applies.