NDIS Pricing Arrangements 2025-26 — what changed, what it means for participants

The NDIS Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits — universally abbreviated as the PAPL — is the most consequential document the NDIA publishes for participants and providers. It sets the dollar amount a registered provider can charge for any given support, the loading rules for evenings and weekends, the rules for cancellations and non-face-to-face work, and the way travel is funded. If you don't know what's in the PAPL, you don't know what your plan actually buys.

The current edition — the NDIS Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits 2025-26 — was released in mid-2025 and then updated in October 2025 to incorporate the 2024-25 Annual Pricing Review recommendations. The updated version came into effect 24 November 2025. The disability support worker cost model and the travel claim rules were effective from 1 July 2025.

This guide explains the PAPL in plain English: how pricing actually works, what changed this year, the loading-and-cancellation rules people get wrong most often, and how to check any specific number against the NDIA's own publication. We don't reprint the entire price table — that's what the source document is for — but we explain what the structure means and where to look.

How NDIS pricing actually works

The NDIA does not set prices the way Medicare does. Medicare prescribes an exact dollar amount the government pays for a billable item, and providers either accept that or bulk-bill at a loss. The NDIS instead sets a price limit — a ceiling on what an NDIS-registered provider can charge for an item, with a code (a "support category" or "line item") that tracks how the funding is spent.

Two consequences of this design matter to participants:

1. Providers can charge below the limit but not above it. Two registered providers offering the same support code in the same suburb can charge different amounts — the limit is a ceiling, not a fixed rate. Cheaper isn't always better (cost reflects experience, training, indemnity, on-call availability), but the comparison is real.
2. Self-managed participants aren't bound by the limit at all. A self-managed participant can negotiate above the price limit if they value continuity with a specific provider. Plan-managed and agency-managed participants are bound by the limit.

The PAPL has three main price categories, each with its own logic:

Core Supports — daily personal activities, social and community participation, consumables, transport. The largest category for most participants. Priced hourly, with loadings.

Capacity Building — supports that build a participant's independence: support coordination, plan management, therapeutic supports (psychology, OT, speech, physio), improved relationships, finding and keeping a job. Priced per hour or per session, with strict line-item discipline (you can't reallocate across capacity-building categories without an NDIA approval).

Capital — assistive technology over $1,500, home modifications, and Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA). Priced per item, often requires quotes from approved providers, and the NDIA case manager has a hand in approvals over certain thresholds.

Inside each category, supports are identified by a 10-digit line-item code that looks like 01_010_0107_1_1. The first digits identify the category (01 = Core); the rest identifies the specific support type, the geography rate band (national/remote/very remote), and the price level. When a plan manager reviews an invoice, they check the code matches what the participant is funded for and that the unit price is at or below the published limit.

What's actually in the 2025-26 PAPL

The 2025-26 edition is not a radical rewrite. It carries forward the structure of previous years but makes specific adjustments responding to the 2024-25 Annual Pricing Review and the broader scheme reform context. The changes that matter most for participants:

Support worker hourly rates re-anchored to the 2025-26 cost model. The NDIS disability support worker cost model 2025-26 (released alongside the PAPL, effective 1 July 2025) is the underlying calculation that produces the support worker price limits. It accounts for the SCHADS Award base rate, on-costs (super, leave, workers' comp), supervision and admin overhead, and a margin. When the SCHADS Award base rate increases, the cost model pushes the support worker price limits up the next financial year.

Therapy supports — art and music therapies got new dedicated price limits. Previously these were billed under broader therapy codes; the 2025-26 PAPL gives them their own line items, which gives the NDIA visibility into spend and gives providers clearer billing rules. Psychology, occupational therapy, speech pathology and physiotherapy retain their existing structure with annual price-limit adjustments.

Assistive technology, home modifications and consumables guide. The Assistive technology, home modifications and consumables code guide 2025-26 is published as a separate companion document, effective 24 November 2025. It catalogues every AT item that has a specific line-item code (vs. those that need a quote and approval) and is the authoritative reference for AT providers.

Early childhood approach extended to age 9. Reflecting the scheme's pivot toward foundational supports and earlier intervention, the early childhood approach (formerly capped at age 7) now covers children up to age 9. The PAPL reflects this in the line items for early childhood supports.

Plan management fee unchanged at $104.45/month. Plan management remains funded as a monthly portfolio fee paid to a registered plan manager, plus per-claim processing fees, all paid by the NDIA as a separate line item. (See our plan management guide for what each management option actually buys.)

Loadings — the rules people miss most often

The PAPL specifies a base hourly rate for each support type and then adds loadings for hours outside the standard daytime weekday band. Loadings reflect the higher wages providers must pay support workers under the SCHADS Award (Fair Work Commission) for those hours. The structure is:

The PAPL lists the exact loading multipliers; they change marginally year to year as the SCHADS Award changes. What plan-managed participants often miss: a Saturday morning shift isn't billed at the base rate — it's billed at the Saturday-loading rate. If your plan manager flags an invoice that looks high, this is the most common explanation.

Cancellation rules. The PAPL allows providers to charge for short-notice cancellations: a full session fee for cancellations under 7 clear days' notice for most supports, with explicit caps on how many cancellation charges can be billed per quarter per participant. Cancellation charges count against the participant's budget, so understanding the rule matters. If you cancel inside the 7-day window because of illness, the provider can bill — though many providers will waive the fee for first instances if you ask. (Not all do; check the provider's service agreement.)

Non-face-to-face supports. Therapists and support coordinators can bill for non-face-to-face work (report writing, NDIA correspondence, care coordination meetings) at the same hourly rate as a face-to-face session, with restrictions on the total proportion. If you're seeing non-face-to-face line items on an invoice, that's the rule that allows them — but the time should be genuinely related to your supports.

Two worked examples

Example 1 — a participant with a $32,000 Core support worker budget. The participant uses a registered provider, plan-managed, charged at the standard national daytime rate plus the Saturday loading on alternating weekends. The participant has 4 hours of support 5 days a week (20 hours weekday) plus 6 hours every second Saturday (3 hours/week averaged). At the standard 2025-26 weekday and Saturday rates, the weekly bill is approximately the weekday rate × 20 + Saturday-loaded rate × 3. Over 52 weeks, the annual spend lands close to the $32,000 budget — but if the provider's daytime rate is at the ceiling and Saturday rates are at the ceiling, there's no slack for additional one-off supports or rate increases mid-year. A participant in this position should either negotiate a sub-ceiling rate with the provider, switch some shifts to weekdays where possible, or request a plan review for additional funding.

Example 2 — therapy budget interaction with the PAPL. A participant has $4,200 of Improved Daily Living funding earmarked for occupational therapy. At the 2025-26 OT price limit per hour, that funds approximately 18-22 hour-equivalents of OT depending on whether the OT bills at the ceiling and how much non-face-to-face work (report writing, equipment recommendations) is needed. If the participant's OT bills 30% of their time as non-face-to-face for a complex equipment assessment, only about 13-15 hours of in-person OT remain. This isn't fraudulent — it's the legitimate PAPL structure — but it's worth knowing before committing to a specific OT for a complex piece of equipment work.

Neither example uses fictional numbers; both reflect how the 2025-26 PAPL actually composes a participant's spend. Your specific situation will depend on which line items are funded, which provider you choose, and whether your supports fall in the daytime or loaded windows.

Common misunderstandings

"The price limit is what I'll be charged." No. The limit is a ceiling. Some providers charge below, some at, some bill multiple line items per session. Always check the provider's service agreement for their actual rate before signing.

"All registered providers charge the same." No. Within the ceiling, providers price based on their cost structure, location, and target market. Two registered support workers in the same suburb may charge $5/hour apart.

"The PAPL applies to me even if I'm self-managed." No. Self-managed participants can negotiate above or below the PAPL limits. They cannot, however, claim above the published rate from the NDIA — they pay the difference themselves. (See the NDIS guidance on self-management.)

"If a provider bills more than the limit, the NDIA pays it anyway." No. The plan manager (or NDIA if you're agency-managed) will reject the invoice. The provider will either bill the participant directly for the overage (which most won't do for registered supports because it breaches the NDIS Code of Conduct) or have to revise the invoice down. If you're self-managed, you can choose to pay the difference, but it's coming out of your own pocket.

"The PAPL is the only document I need." Not quite. The PAPL covers prices. The NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission publishes the Code of Conduct and Practice Standards — those govern how providers operate. For complaints and incidents, the Quality and Safeguards Commission is the right authority, not the NDIA pricing team. For assistive technology, the AT, home modifications and consumables code guide is the companion to the PAPL.

How to verify any specific price against the source

The numbers in this guide reflect the published 2025-26 PAPL at the time of writing. They will change at the next annual review. Always verify against the source for any decision that depends on a specific dollar amount:

1. Go to ndis.gov.au/providers/pricing-arrangements — the canonical NDIA page for the PAPL.
2. Download the current PDF or DOCX (1.4 MB and 381 KB respectively) — both link from that page.
3. Find the support category and the specific line-item code (e.g. 01_010_0107_1_1 for daily personal activities, standard weekday). The first page of the PDF includes the table of contents.
4. Read the price limit, geography rate band (whether your suburb is national, remote, or very remote — there's a separate map), and the loading rules.
5. Cross-check against the cost model if you want to understand the maths: the NDIS disability support worker cost model 2025-26 shows how the worker hourly rate was derived from the SCHADS Award base plus on-costs and margin.
6. For an AT item, also consult the Assistive technology, home modifications and consumables code guide 2025-26.

If the price you've been quoted exceeds the limit and you can't see why (an explicit loading, a recognised line item), flag it with your plan manager or, if you're agency-managed, with the NDIA support line on 1800 800 110.

When the PAPL changes

The PAPL is updated annually, usually around 1 July at the start of the financial year, following the Annual Pricing Review (APR). The APR is a public consultation through which the NDIA gathers sector and participant input on whether current price limits reflect the actual cost of delivering supports. The 2024-25 APR recommendations were incorporated into the version of the 2025-26 PAPL that took effect 24 November 2025. The 2025-26 APR is now under way and will inform the 2026-27 PAPL.

When the PAPL changes mid-year (as it did in November 2025), providers must update their billing on the effective date. Existing service agreements at the old rate aren't automatically void — but if a provider keeps charging the old rate after the effective date and that rate exceeded the new limit, the plan manager will reject the invoice. If the provider's old rate is below the new limit, the agreement is still valid and the participant continues being billed at the agreed rate until renegotiation.

The NDIA publishes a price-change notification on its news page each time the PAPL updates. Subscribing to the NDIS news feed is the simplest way to catch these in real time.

Frequently asked questions

When did the 2025-26 NDIS Pricing Arrangements come into effect?

The PAPL 2025-26 was first released in mid-2025 and updated in October 2025 to reflect the Annual Pricing Review. The updated version came into effect 24 November 2025. The disability support worker cost model and travel claim rules took effect 1 July 2025.

How much is plan management funded at?

$104.45 per month plus per-claim processing fees. All funded by the NDIA as a separate line item — does not reduce other supports.

Do unregistered providers have to follow NDIS price limits?

Plan-managed participants must — the plan manager will reject over-limit invoices. Self-managed participants can pay above the limits if they choose. Agency-managed participants can only use registered providers.

What is the Annual Pricing Review?

An annual NDIA consultation that determines whether current price limits reflect the actual cost of delivering supports. The 2024-25 APR recommendations produced the November 2025 PAPL update.

Why are weekend and evening rates higher?

The PAPL adds loadings reflecting the higher wages providers must pay support workers under the SCHADS Award for those hours, plus on-costs and the margin.

How often does the NDIA change prices?

The PAPL is updated annually, usually 1 July. Mid-year updates can happen — the November 2025 update was one. Providers and plan managers adjust on the effective date.

Related guides

• NDIS Plan Management Explained — Self-Managed, Plan-Managed, Agency-Managed
• Choosing Your First NDIS Provider — A Practical 12-Step Framework
• NDIS Funding Categories Explained — Core, Capacity Building, Capital
• How to Choose an NDIS Plan Manager