The NDIS price guide is the official list of the maximum prices providers can charge for NDIS supports. For 2026-27 it’s called the NDIS Pricing Schedule, and it replaces the document many people still know as the Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits, or PAPL.
The schedule lists each support by its item number, name and unit, with a national, remote and very remote maximum price. Participants, families, support coordinators, plan managers and providers all use it to check what a support should cost.
What changed for 2026-27?
Two things changed: the name and the legal basis.
Until June 2026, pricing sat in the Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits, which combined prices and claiming rules in one long document. From 1 July 2026, the NDIA published a separate Pricing Schedule with the prices, and said updated claiming guidance would follow.
The legal basis also changed. The Securing the NDIS for Future Generations laws give the Minister for the NDIS the power to set maximum prices through a pricing determination. The Minister has made the first determination, and the current Pricing Schedule, effective 24 September 2026, forms part of it.
Who do the maximum prices apply to?
The maximum prices apply when funding is managed by the NDIA or by a registered plan manager. In those cases, providers can’t charge more than the maximum, and the NDIA won’t pay a claim above it.
Self-managed participants aren’t bound by the schedule, but it’s still a useful guide to what a reasonable price looks like. Every maximum price already includes GST.
A maximum is a ceiling, not a set fee. Providers can charge less, and any change to prices in an existing service agreement has to be discussed with the participant and agreed first.
How does location affect NDIS prices?
Prices change depending on where a support is delivered, not where the participant lives. The NDIA uses the Modified Monash Model, a government system that rates locations from MM 1 (major cities) to MM 7 (very remote):
- National prices apply in MM 1 to MM 5, which covers cities, regional centres and rural towns
- Remote prices apply in MM 6 areas and a list of reclassified isolated towns
- Very remote prices apply in MM 7 areas
All of metropolitan Melbourne uses national prices.
What are the main NDIS therapy prices for 2026-27?
These are the national hourly maximums for some of the most common therapy and behaviour support items in the current schedule:
| Support | Example item number | National maximum per hour |
|---|---|---|
| Specialist behavioural intervention support | 11_022_0110_7_3 | $252.99 |
| Behaviour management plan implementation | 11_023_0110_7_3 | $252.99 |
| Psychologist | 15_054_0128_1_3 | $252.99 |
| Occupational therapist | 15_617_0128_1_3 | $193.99 |
| Speech pathologist | 15_622_0128_1_3 | $193.99 |
| Physiotherapist | 15_055_0128_1_3 | $183.99 |
| Other therapy professional | 15_056_0128_1_3 | $156.16 |
| Therapy assistant, Level 2 | 15_053_0128_1_3 | $86.79 |
| Therapy assistant, Level 1 | 15_052_0128_1_3 | $56.16 |
Early childhood supports have their own item numbers in the schedule but mostly match these prices. An occupational therapist, speech pathologist or other early childhood professional delivering early childhood supports has a national maximum of $193.99 an hour, and a psychologist $252.99.
Specialist behavioural intervention support is what most people call Positive Behaviour Support. It covers the assessment, the behaviour support plan and training for the people who use it. Only providers registered with the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission for specialised behaviour support can deliver it.
What other costs can providers claim?
Most therapy items come in several versions, marked by a short code on the end of the item number:
- Direct service, for face-to-face sessions
- Telehealth (TH), charged at the same rate as direct service
- Non-face-to-face (NF), for work like writing programs or analysing data
- Provider travel (PT), charged at half the hourly rate
- NDIA requested reports (RR), for reports the NDIA asks for
- Cancellation (CA), for some short-notice cancellations
Travel matters for mobile behaviour therapy and other supports delivered at home or school. For example, behaviour support travel time has a national maximum of $126.50 an hour. The rules on when travel and cancellations can be claimed should be set out in the service agreement before support starts.
When a support is delivered to a group, the maximum price is divided by the number of people in the group.
What about support workers and coordination?
The schedule also covers everyday supports. A few common national maximums for 2026-27:
- Assistance with self-care, weekday daytime: $73.58 an hour
- Intensive and complex behaviour support from a support worker, weekday daytime: $79.60 an hour
- Support coordination: $80.06, $100.14 or $190.54 an hour, depending on the level
- Plan management: $104.45 a month
Support worker prices rise on evenings, weekends and public holidays.
How do NDIS prices affect a plan?
An NDIS plan gives a dollar budget, not a number of hours. The price per hour decides how far that budget goes. A $10,000 Capacity Building budget, for example, covers roughly 51 hours of occupational therapy at $193.99, or about 39 hours of behaviour support at $252.99, before travel and reports.
That’s why it helps to ask a provider early how they charge for travel, reports and non-face-to-face time, and to check the balance regularly. A plan manager can help track spending if the plan is plan-managed.
The NDIA reviews prices each year through its Annual Pricing Review, and the schedule can be updated during the year. Always check the current version on the NDIS website before relying on a figure.
This article is general information about NDIS pricing based on the NDIS Pricing Schedule 2026-27 effective 24 September 2026. It isn’t financial advice or advice about any individual plan, and prices can change.
Getting started with Helping Hands Behaviour Support
Helping Hands Behaviour Support (HHBS) is an NDIS-registered provider specialising in Positive Behaviour Support, ABA therapy and early childhood intervention. We support children and adults at home or at school, and we work with NDIA-managed, plan-managed and self-managed plans.
If you or someone you care for has NDIS funding for therapy or behaviour support, call us on 0406 920 296 or send us a message, and we’ll help you understand how far that budget can go. Support coordinators can make a referral online.
