NDIS price limits 2026-27: what the new pricing determination changed

Last updated 28 September 2026

On 24 September 2026 the way NDIS price limits are set in Australia changed. The numbers stayed the same. The legal basis underneath them did not. This guide explains what happened, what the NDIS Pricing Schedule 2026-27 covers, who the maximum prices actually bind, and what a provider or independent support worker should do about it. The standard support worker price limits for 2026-27 are unchanged and set out below.

What changed about NDIS price limits on 24 September 2026?

NDIS price limits are now set by a determination made by a Commonwealth minister, not by agency guidance. On 24 September 2026 the Minister for Disability and the National Disability Insurance Scheme, Mark Butler MP, made the first NDIS pricing determination, under changes brought in by the National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Act 2026. The Department of Health, Disability and Ageing described him as "the new statutory decision maker for NDIS price limits". Its media release uses a short form of the Act's name, so if you are citing it in your own documents, use the full title above.

That Act passed the Australian Parliament on 19 August 2026 and the Governor-General signed it on 20 August 2026. One of the things it did was move the power to set prices. Before it, the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) published price limits as its own pricing guidance. Now the Minister makes a determination, after taking advice from the NDIA, and the pricing schedule is incorporated into that determination.

Element	Before 24 September 2026	From 24 September 2026
Who sets price limits	The NDIA, as published guidance	The Minister for Disability and the NDIS, by determination, on NDIA advice
Legal form	Agency pricing guidance	A pricing determination, with the pricing schedule incorporated into it
Document to use	NDIS Pricing Schedule 2026-27, effective 1 July 2026	NDIS Pricing Schedule 2026-27, effective 24 September 2026
Document structure	Background, version control and numbered schedules	An introduction and four parts, ending in a definitions part
The figures	2026-27 guidance issued in June 2026	Unchanged. The determination aligns with that guidance

Note what is not in that table. The rename from "NDIS Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits" to "NDIS Pricing Schedule" happened on 1 July 2026, not in September. A good deal of content still ranking on this topic gets that wrong in the other direction and dates the current schedule to 1 July 2026. The document effective from 24 September 2026 is the one to use.

Did any NDIS prices go up or down?

No. This is the most useful thing to know about the 24 September change, because the headline reads like a price event and it is not one. The Department's media release states that "the price limits align with previous pricing guidance published by the NDIA and are effective immediately". The NDIA's pricing updates page recorded the determination on 25 September 2026 and made the same point: the maximum prices in the schedules reflect the recommended prices it published in June 2026, and participants and providers do not need to do anything.

So if you were already claiming against the 2026-27 figures, nothing in your invoicing needs to change because of the determination. What changed is the authority the figures rest on.

What the NDIS Pricing Schedule 2026-27 contains, and where the claiming rules sit

The document to use is the NDIS Pricing Schedule 2026-27, effective 24 September 2026. It runs in an introduction and four parts: Part 1 on maximum amounts, Part 2 holding the pricing appendices, Part 3 on isolated towns modifications, and Part 4 definitions. The NDIA describes it as setting out "support item numbers and names, and the national, remote and very remote maximum prices".

It is a prices document. It does not set out the operational claiming rules in the way the old NDIS Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits did. For years that single document carried the price limits and the conditions together: how much notice makes a cancellation a short notice cancellation, how much provider travel time can be claimed and where, when non-face-to-face time is claimable. Those conditions are no longer in the main pricing document.

Where they do sit, for now, is spread across three places, and it is worth knowing which is which:

• The support catalogue. The NDIA says the catalogue "lists all available NDIS supports providers can use when requesting a payment" and that it "also lists guidance for claiming: non-face-to-face support, travel, irregular supported independent living (SIL) supports", and that "it includes information about cancelling appointments with participants at short notice and request reports". It is published as a spreadsheet and is meant to be read alongside the pricing schedule.
• The 2025-26 NDIS Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits. Still published on the same NDIA page, and still the fullest written statement of the claiming conditions, but written for supports delivered in 2025-26. Use it for historical claims, and treat it with care for anything current.
• Guidance the NDIA has not published yet. On its pricing arrangements page the NDIA says "we will shortly publish updated pricing and claiming guidance documents". Until those appear there is no consolidated 2026-27 statement of the conditions.

Practical advice: do not rewrite your cancellation or travel terms this week on the strength of a third party summary. Note the question, watch the NDIA's pricing arrangements page, and update once the claiming guidance is published. One more sign that this area is mid-transition: the NDIA's own support catalogue page, last updated 3 July 2026, still describes the figures as "what we consider to be an appropriate maximum price", which is the language of guidance rather than of a determination.

Who do the maximum price limits actually bind?

This is where sole traders get poor information. The NDIA states plainly that "the maximum prices in the schedules only apply to NDIA-managed and plan-managed participants".

Read with the rest of the NDIA's wording, that gives three positions:

• NDIA-managed participants. The price limit applies. The NDIA says "we can't pay a claim for an amount more than the maximum price limits". Only registered providers can be paid for NDIA-managed supports.
• Plan-managed participants. The price limit applies. The NDIA says "participants aren't entitled to a payment if it is more than the maximum price". A plan manager checking an invoice against the limit is doing the job, not being difficult.
• Self-managed participants. The schedules do not set a maximum price. Price is a matter for the participant and the provider, within the plan and the service agreement. That is a commercial freedom, not an invitation. A self-managing participant is spending a finite budget, and a rate well above the schedule burns their hours.

Two things follow that are easy to miss.

First, being an unregistered provider does not put you outside the price limits. Registration status is not what decides it. If your participant is plan-managed, the limit applies to your invoice. And registration is a separate question with its own answer: for some supports, registration is required whatever the participant's plan management type, including supported independent living (SIL), specialist disability accommodation, specialist behaviour support, implementing a regulated restrictive practice, and NDIS digital platform services. Unregistered SIL providers that were already delivering SIL can continue only if they applied to register before 1 October 2026. Our guide on becoming a registered NDIS provider sets out who has to register and who does not.

Second, the NDIA's statement that "NDIS providers can't charge more than the maximum price limits" is about what can be charged to an NDIS plan. It is not about what a private customer pays you for work that is not NDIS funded.

Standard disability support worker price limits for 2026-27

The figures below are the "Assistance With Self-Care Activities - Standard" items from the NDIS Pricing Schedule 2026-27, effective 24 September 2026. These are the everyday one-to-one personal support items most independent support workers and small providers claim against, in the Assistance with Daily Life support category. All are priced per hour.

When the support is delivered	Support item number	National	Remote	Very remote
Weekday daytime	01_011_0107_1_1	$73.58	$103.01	$110.37
Weekday evening	01_015_0107_1_1	$81.07	$113.50	$121.61
Weekday night	01_002_0107_1_1	$82.57	$115.60	$123.86
Saturday	01_013_0107_1_1	$103.54	$144.96	$155.31
Sunday	01_014_0107_1_1	$133.50	$186.90	$200.25
Public holiday	01_012_0107_1_1	$163.46	$228.84	$245.19

Three notes on reading that table. The "Standard" items are the ordinary personal support line; there are separate, higher-priced items for high intensity supports and for group delivery, and separate items again for a great many other supports. The remote and very remote columns are geographic loadings based on the Modified Monash Model (MMM) classification of where the support is delivered, and Part 3 of the schedule adds further modifications for isolated towns. And the schedule itself is always the authority: before you claim, check the item number and the figure in the current schedule rather than relying on a table on any website, including this one.

How the price limit affects what an independent support worker can charge

The price limit is a ceiling, not a rate card and not a wage. For a plan-managed or NDIA-managed participant you cannot invoice above it. Below it, the number you set is a business decision, and the limits above are built for a provider carrying the full cost of employing a worker: supervision, insurance, training, admin time, leave and superannuation, non-billable hours, and the cost of the shifts that get cancelled.

A sole trader who prices at the ceiling because the ceiling exists is usually mispricing in one direction or the other. A sole trader who prices well under it because it feels fairer is often not covering their own leave and downtime. Work out your real cost per delivered hour first, then treat the limit as the constraint it is. Our guide on becoming an independent support worker goes through the rest of the set-up, including what to put in writing before the first shift.

The NDIA also publishes an NDIS disability support worker cost model 2026-27, effective 1 July 2026, on the same pricing arrangements page. It shows the cost assumptions the price limits are built from. It is worth an hour of your time if you are setting rates or arguing about them.

Differentiated pricing for registered and unregistered providers

This one is a proposal, not law, and the distinction matters. The Department's 24 September media release says the government "is currently consulting disability stakeholders on the implementation of differentiated pricing, which would adjust the price of supports based on whether they are delivered by a registered or unregistered NDIS provider", and that "the NDIA's Annual Pricing Review report for 2026-27 recommended differentiated pricing begin on 1 January 2027".

Be careful not to confuse this with the differentiation already in the schedule. The schedule has long set different prices according to the complexity and intensity of the support, where it is delivered, the day and time it is delivered, and whether it is delivered in a group. None of that is new. What is proposed, and not yet determined, is a further differentiation based on whether the provider is registered.

A recommendation from a pricing review plus a consultation in progress is not a rule. But it is the clearest signal yet that registration status may eventually affect what you can charge as well as who you can charge, and if you are weighing up registration on commercial grounds it belongs in the calculation. Treat 1 January 2027 as a date to watch, not a date to plan invoices around.

The SCHADS award change on 1 December 2026

If you employ support workers there is a second date in the same media release. The Department states that "on 11 September 2026, the Fair Work Commission issued their decision on Schedule E of the Social, Community, Home Care and Disability Services Industry Award 2010 (SCHADS) as part of their gender-based undervaluation review", and that "changes to the award will take effect on 1 December 2026". It adds that "the 2026-27 NDIS Pricing Schedule will be updated later this year to reflect any required changes".

Two cautions. The Department's media release is the source for that date, and the Fair Work Commission's own page on the gender-based undervaluation review had not been updated to reflect a September 2026 decision when this guide was written. And the current pricing schedule is therefore not the last word on 2026-27: the Department has foreshadowed a further update later this year, without giving a date. If you employ staff under SCHADS, read the Fair Work Commission decision and the current award text yourself, on the Fair Work Commission and Fair Work Ombudsman websites, rather than relying on any summary, including this one.

Since then we have done that reading. For the published rates, why some sources date the change to 1 October 2026 and others to 1 December 2026, and what the draft determinations actually say, see our guide to the SCHADS award changes from 1 December 2026.

Having a say on 2027-28 prices

The Annual Pricing Review for 2027-28 opened on 17 September 2026 and closes on 1 November 2026. The NDIA says it covers "disability support worker-related supports, supported independent living, therapy, social and community participation and support coordination", and that providers are being asked about "their workforce, compliance costs, overhead costs and service delivery models". Submissions go through the NDIA's engagement site.

The review is one of the few points where the cost of delivery can be put on the record by the people carrying it. Submissions close 1 November 2026.

What providers should do now

1. Download the current schedule. Use the NDIS Pricing Schedule 2026-27 effective 24 September 2026, from the NDIA's pricing arrangements page, and replace any saved copy you have been treating as current.
2. Check nothing in your invoicing needs to move. The figures did not change. If your rates already matched the June 2026 guidance, they still match.
3. Consider how your own paperwork names the pricing document. Service agreements, rate schedules and pricing policies that name a specific version will need attention every time the NDIA reissues one. The more durable wording does not name a version at all, for example a reference to the NDIS pricing document in force on the date the support is delivered.
4. Check that wording describing price limits still reads accurately. The figures are the same, and the NDIA still describes them as reflecting the recommended prices it published in June 2026, so text using that language is not wrong. But anything saying the NDIA sets the price limits is now inaccurate: they are set by ministerial determination.
5. Park your cancellation and travel wording until the NDIA publishes the updated pricing and claiming guidance.
6. Check who your participants are. Confirm the plan management type for each participant, because it decides whether the price limit binds your invoice at all.
7. Diarise three dates. 1 November 2026 for the pricing review submission, 1 December 2026 for the SCHADS award change, and 1 January 2027 as the date the pricing review recommended for differentiated pricing. A further update to the pricing schedule is expected later in 2026, with no date announced.
8. Make a submission if the cost of delivery is something you have an evidenced view about.

What this means for your service agreements and claim records

Two kinds of document are affected. Service agreements that quote a rate, name a pricing document version, or explain cancellation and travel charges will need a review, and the most durable wording refers to the pricing document in force on the service date rather than naming a version. The funding available to buy those hours can change too: see the NDIS support budget reductions from 1 October 2026. The same logic applies to supported independent living (SIL) agreements, where the schedule of supports drives weekly claiming: our guide on what a SIL service agreement has to include covers that in detail.

The second is the evidence behind the claim. A price limit sets what you can charge. Your records establish that the support was delivered as agreed, at the time and on the day you claimed for, which is what a plan manager or the NDIA tests when a claim is questioned. That is why how long you have to keep NDIS records is a pricing question as much as a compliance one.

There is also a deadline at the other end of the process: from December 2026, the window for submitting an NDIS claim closes to 90 days.

MRSS sells editable templates that cover this ground, including the NDIS Pricing and Claims Guide, the Rate Card and Price List Template, the Service Fees Policy and Procedure, the Invoice and Payment Register and the Service Agreement Template, in the NDIS Provider Core Library and the smaller packs listed on which pack is right for you. They are a starting point, not a compliance outcome: every template needs customising to how you actually work, and it is your practice and your records, not the documents, that a plan manager or an auditor tests.

Frequently asked questions

Are NDIS price limits legally binding?

Since 24 September 2026 the price limits for 2026-27 are set by a pricing determination made by the Minister for Disability and the NDIS, and the pricing schedule is incorporated into that determination. The NDIA states that it cannot pay a claim for more than the maximum price limit and that NDIS providers cannot charge more than the maximum price limits. Those limits apply to NDIA-managed and plan-managed participants.

Do NDIS price limits apply to self-managed participants?

No. The NDIA states that the maximum prices in the schedules only apply to NDIA-managed and plan-managed participants. For a self-managed participant, the rate is a matter for the participant and the provider under their service agreement, within the funding in the plan.

Where are the NDIS cancellation and travel claiming rules now?

They are not set out in the NDIS Pricing Schedule 2026-27, which is a prices document. The NDIA says the support catalogue lists guidance for claiming non-face-to-face support, travel and irregular supported independent living supports, and includes information about cancelling appointments at short notice. The fullest written statement of the conditions is still the 2025-26 NDIS Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits, which was written for supports delivered in 2025-26. The NDIA has said it will shortly publish updated pricing and claiming guidance documents.

Can an unregistered NDIS provider charge more than the price limit?

Not for a plan-managed participant. Registration status does not change the price limit, plan management type does. An unregistered provider working with a plan-managed participant is bound by the maximum price, and cannot be paid for NDIA-managed supports at all. For a self-managed participant, no maximum price applies under the schedules. Separately, some supports require registration whatever the plan management type, including supported independent living, specialist disability accommodation, specialist behaviour support, implementing a regulated restrictive practice, and NDIS digital platform services.

What happened to the NDIS Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits?

The main pricing document was renamed the NDIS Pricing Schedule from 1 July 2026. The current version is the NDIS Pricing Schedule 2026-27, effective 24 September 2026. The NDIA continues to publish the 2025-26 NDIS Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits, which applies to supports delivered in 2025-26. Always use the pricing document in force on the date the support was delivered.

Sources

1. Department of Health, Disability and Ageing, republished by the NDIA, New price limits set for NDIS supports, 24 September 2026.
2. NDIA, Pricing arrangements, page last updated 24 September 2026, listing the NDIS pricing schedule 2026-27 effective 24 September 2026, the 2025-26 NDIS pricing arrangements and price limits, and the NDIS disability support worker cost model 2026-27 effective 1 July 2026.
3. NDIA, National Disability Insurance Scheme Pricing Schedule 2026-27, effective 24 September 2026, Parts 1 to 4 and Appendix 1.
4. NDIA, Pricing updates, entry dated 25 September 2026 on the Minister's pricing determination.
5. NDIA, What is the support catalogue, page last updated 3 July 2026.
6. NDIA, Securing the NDIS for future generations, page last updated 23 September 2026, on the passage of the Act and the change to pricing powers.
7. NDIA, Consultation begins for 2027-28 NDIS pricing, 17 September 2026.
8. Fair Work Commission, Gender-based undervaluation, priority awards review, for the SCHADS award proceedings.

This guide explains publicly available NDIS pricing information current as at 28 September 2026. It is general information, not legal, financial or employment advice, and it is not a substitute for the NDIS Pricing Schedule 2026-27 or the pricing determination themselves. Price limits, support item numbers and claiming rules change, and a further update to the 2026-27 schedule has been foreshadowed. Check the current NDIA pricing documents before you claim, and take your own advice on employment obligations under the SCHADS award.

Related guides

• How to become an independent support worker in Australia
• How to become a registered NDIS provider
• SIL service agreements: what has to be in them
• How long do NDIS providers have to keep records?
• SCHADS award changes from 1 December 2026