NDIS Price Guide 2026: What Providers Can Actually Charge

What the NDIS Price Guide Actually Is

The document most people call the NDIS price guide is officially the NDIS Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits. It is published by the National Disability Insurance Agency and it sets the maximum amount a provider can charge for each support item funded by the NDIS.

Two things about it are widely misunderstood. First, it is a maximum, not a set rate. A provider can charge less, and some do. Second, it does not decide what is in your plan. Your plan decides what supports are funded. The price limits decide what those supports may cost.

The full document and the associated support catalogue are published on the NDIS website at NDIS Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits. Because limits change, checking the current version directly is always safer than relying on a figure quoted elsewhere.

Why People Still Call It the Price Guide

The document was renamed some years ago, but the old name stuck. If your provider, plan manager or support coordinator refers to the price guide, the pricing arrangements, or the price limits, they are almost always talking about the same document.

The support catalogue is a companion file. It lists every support item with its item number, unit of measure and price limit, and it is the file plan managers actually work from when processing an invoice.

What Changed on 1 July 2026

Two things worth knowing if you last looked at this a year ago.

First, the document has a new name. What used to be published as the NDIS Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits is now the NDIS Pricing Schedule, effective 1 July 2026. The old name is still what most people search for and most providers say out loud, so both names are pointing at the same thing.

Second, the figures in it come out of the NDIA Annual Pricing Review. That review runs each year and sets what the agency considers appropriate maximum prices for the coming financial year. It is the reason your support worker rate can change on 1 July without your plan changing at all.

If a provider quotes you a rate from an older document, that is not automatically wrong, because providers can charge under the limit. It is only a problem when the rate is above the current limit and your supports are agency managed or plan managed.

Who Has to Follow the Price Limits

Self managed participants sometimes hear that they can pay whatever they like. That is only half true. There is no price ceiling applied to you, but there is also no extra money if you overpay. Spending above the limits simply means your funding runs out sooner.

How Supports Are Priced

Most supports are priced by the hour. Some are priced per day, per week, per item, or per activity.

Each support item has its own limit, and the limits differ by support category. Assistance with daily life is priced differently from therapy supports, and both are different again from specialist support coordination. This is why a single hourly figure for NDIS supports does not exist.

Two participants can be charged different amounts for what sounds like the same service, and both can be correct, because the support item claimed is different.

What the Price Limits Actually Are

Most guides to this topic explain that price limits exist and stop there. Here are the current ones for the supports Sydney participants use most. These are the standard limits under the 2026-27 schedule. Remote and very remote areas attract higher limits, and a handful of supports are priced differently again.

Assistance with self-care activities, delivered by a standard disability support worker:

Support coordination is priced separately, and the three levels are not interchangeable:

Two things fall out of these numbers. A Sunday hour costs your plan roughly the same as 1.8 weekday hours, so where you place a support in the week matters as much as how many hours you use. And specialist support coordination is close to double the level 2 rate, which is why the NDIA funds it only for genuinely complex situations rather than as an upgrade.

Loadings, Weekends and Public Holidays

Higher price limits apply outside standard weekday hours. Evening, overnight, Saturday, Sunday and public holiday supports each have their own limit, reflecting the higher wage costs providers face under the relevant award.

This is a common source of surprise on an invoice. A Sunday support genuinely costs more than the same support on a Tuesday, and that is not the provider adding a fee of their own.

Remote and very remote loadings also apply, increasing the limit for participants in those areas.

Travel, Cancellations and Other Claimable Items

Beyond the support itself, providers may be able to claim for certain related costs, within limits and only where your service agreement covers them.

• Provider travel. Time spent travelling to you, capped and subject to rules about how it is apportioned between participants.
• Short notice cancellations. Where you cancel inside the notice period, the provider may claim the support. The rules set out how much notice is required.
• Non face to face supports. Some preparation and reporting work directly related to your supports.
• Provider travel by vehicle. Where transporting you is part of the support.

Every one of these should be spelled out in your service agreement before it appears on an invoice. If it is not in the agreement, question it.

A Worked Example: One Week of Support

Numbers in a table are hard to feel. Here is what they do to a plan.

Say you have a support worker for three hours on Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings, plus four hours on Saturday to get out of the house. All standard supports, all at the price limit.

Over four weeks that is $4,305.52. Over a 52 week plan, holding the pattern steady, roughly $55,971.

Now move the same four hours from Saturday to Sunday. Nothing about the support changes. The cost goes to $534.00 for those four hours, which is $119.84 more per week and $479.36 more every four weeks. Across a year that single decision is close to $6,200 of the same budget.

Public holidays are sharper again. Four hours on a public holiday is $653.84, against $294.32 for the same four hours on a weekday morning. There are around ten public holidays in NSW each year, so a participant with a fixed weekly Monday support pays the holiday rate several times a year without ever asking for extra support.

None of this means Sunday or holiday support is wrong. Plenty of people need support on the day they need it. The point is that the calendar is a budget decision, and if your plan is running short, moving flexible supports off weekends is usually a bigger lever than cutting hours.

How to Read a Line on Your Invoice

Every claim against your plan carries a support item number. It looks like a serial number and most people skip over it, but it is the fastest way to check a charge, because the number identifies the exact support and the exact time band it was claimed under.

If your invoice shows 01_013_0107_1_1, the provider has claimed a Saturday rate. If the support happened on a Tuesday, that is your answer without needing to argue about anything else. The six numbers in the table above cover the great majority of support worker claims.

What to compare, in order:

1. The date and day of the week against the item number.
2. The hours claimed against the hours actually delivered.
3. The hourly rate against the current limit for that item.
4. Any travel or cancellation line, which should be itemised separately rather than folded into the hourly rate.

If you are plan managed, your plan manager checks the rate against the limit before paying. They do not know whether the support actually happened on the day claimed, or whether the worker stayed the full three hours. That part only you can check, which is why a quick scan of the day and the hours is worth more than checking the maths.

How to Check You Are Being Charged Correctly

1. Get the support item number from the invoice. Every claim has one.
2. Look that item up in the current support catalogue on the NDIS website.
3. Check the rate charged against the limit for your state or region.
4. Check the day and time. A weekend rate on a weekday support is an error.
5. Check the duration. Hours claimed should match hours delivered.
6. Check travel and cancellations against what your service agreement allows.

If you are plan managed, your plan manager does much of this automatically. Asking them to walk you through one invoice is a reasonable request and a good way to learn what to look for.

What to Do If You Think You Have Been Overcharged

Start with the provider. Most billing problems are genuine errors: the wrong item number, a duplicate claim, or a support recorded on the wrong day. A phone call usually resolves it.

If the provider does not resolve it, raise it with your plan manager or support coordinator, who can review the claim history. If you are still not satisfied, you can contact the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission, which handles complaints about registered providers.

Keep your own record of supports delivered, even a simple note of dates and hours. It makes any dispute far easier to settle.

Common Mistakes Participants Make

• Assuming the limit is the price. You can ask what a provider charges and whether it is below the limit.
• Using an out of date figure. Limits change annually from 1 July.
• Not reading the service agreement. Travel and cancellation terms live there.
• Comparing two providers on the wrong item. Make sure the support item numbers match before deciding one is dearer.
• Never checking an invoice. One review a quarter catches most errors.

How SADC Can Help

SADC Disability Services works with participants across Sydney and we are happy to explain exactly which support items we claim, what rate we charge, and how that sits against the current price limits. If you are comparing providers, ask us for that breakdown and compare it properly.

If you find invoices confusing, our support coordination team can walk you through them and help you keep track of how your budget is tracking against your plan. Contact us and we will talk it through without any obligation.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is the NDIS price guide?

It is the NDIS Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits document, which sets the maximum amount a provider can charge for each funded support. It is a ceiling rather than a fixed price, and it is updated annually.

2. When does the NDIS price guide change?

Price limits are generally updated each year and take effect from 1 July. Always check the version currently published on the NDIS website rather than a saved copy.

3. Can a provider charge more than the price limit?

Registered providers supporting agency managed or plan managed participants cannot exceed the limit. If you self manage, there is no ceiling applied to you, but overpaying means your funding runs out sooner.

4. Why is my Sunday support more expensive?

Higher price limits apply to evening, overnight, weekend and public holiday supports, reflecting higher wage costs. The provider is not adding a fee of their own.

5. Can providers charge for travel?

In some circumstances yes, within limits and only where your service agreement allows it. Check what your agreement says about travel before it appears on an invoice.

6. What do I do if I think I have been overcharged?

Raise it with the provider first, as most billing issues are errors. If it is not resolved, speak to your plan manager or support coordinator, and if necessary contact the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission.

Official sources

• NDIA, What are the NDIS pricing arrangements
• NDIA, Pricing updates
• NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission, Participant Pack

Related guides

• NDIS Budget Categories Explained: Core, Capacity Building and Capital
• NDIS Service Agreements: What to Check Before You Sign
• NDIS Plan Management Explained
• Plan Manager vs Support Coordinator: What’s the Difference?
• How to Switch NDIS Providers Without Losing Support
• NDIS Plan Review Preparation Tips

Contact Us

If you would like help understanding your NDIS budget, your invoices, or which supports your plan funds, get in touch with SADC Disability Services. We support participants across Sydney and we are happy to answer questions before you commit to anything.