Annual pricing review

Update: A plain English version of the Annual Pricing Review (APR) has been released
The 2023-24 Annual Pricing Review (APR) report is now available
Thank you for your participation in the 2023-24 Annual Pricing Review
The consultation for the Annual Pricing Review is now closed.
2023-24 Annual Pricing Review Consultation Papers
Frequently Asked Questions

The NDIA is committed to the continuous improvement of the methodologies underpinning the NDIS price controls framework.

A combination of market data, research, public consultation and regular industry engagement informs changes to pricing arrangements and price limits.

Update: A plain English version of the Annual Pricing Review (APR) has been released

The NDIA have released a plain English version of the 2023-24 Annual Pricing Review (APR).

This is the first time we have published a plain English version of the APR, and welcome feedback on its usefulness.

The plain English version does not change any of the recommendations of the 2023-24 APR.

The publication of the plain English 2023-24 APR is aligned to the NDIA’s commitment to accessibility.

The plain English version of the 2023/24 APR can be downloaded below:

2023-24 Plain English Annual Pricing Review Report (DOCX 1.22MB)

The 2023-24 Annual Pricing Review (APR) report is now available

Recommendations from the 2023/24 APR reflect recent increases to award wages from the Fair Work Commission, and to ensure those delivering vital services to Australians living with disability are adequately renumerated.

Following this year’s APR, changes to become effective on 1 July include:

Fully implementing the Fair Work Commission's decision to increase minimum wages in awards and superannuation, ensuring providers can fairly compensate their workers.
Increasing price limits for supports that are determined by the NDIS DSW Cost Model, including Level 1 support coordination services, to reflect changes in the minimum wages following the Fair Work Commission’s Annual Wage Review.
Increasing the price limits for psychologists, nurses and other supports based on how much wages and the cost of living have gone up.
Maintaining existing pricing arrangements and price limits for therapy (except for psychologists) and support coordination level 2 and 3.
Adjusting short-notice cancellation period for non-Disability Support Worker-related supports to 2 business days to better reflect market norms.
2023-24 Annual Pricing Review Report (PDF 3.1MB)
2023-24 Annual Pricing Review Report (DOCX 2.3MB)

The NDIA will be hosting information sessions in July to provide an overview of the Annual Pricing Review (APR) and key changes for all providers. Register here to attend.

Thank you for your participation in the 2023-24 Annual Pricing Review

The NDIA would like to express its gratitude to all providers and participants who took the time to share their valuable feedback during the recent Annual Pricing Review consultation period.
Your insights and perspectives are important in helping ensure NDIS pricing arrangements are fair and support the delivery of high-quality disability supports.

What Happens Next?

The NDIA is carefully reviewing submissions and will publish a report for the Annual Pricing Review. While public input, evidence, and data are crucial elements, they do not solely determine the final pricing outcome. A range of research, statistical analysis and pricing benchmarking will also be undertaken to ensure recommendations are comprehensive.

We expect to publish the new price limits mid-this year, taking effect in July 2024.

The consultation for the Annual Pricing Review is now closed.

The consultation for providers closed on Sunday 10 March 2024 and for participants on Sunday 17 March 2024.

2023-24 Annual Pricing Review Consultation Papers

We released the APR Consultation Papers on 25 January 2024 to gather information to help review pricing arrangements and price limits that registered providers charge for disability support services.

The Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits (PAPL) apply to all supports purchased by Agency-managed and plan-managed participants. They do not apply to self-managed participants.

The consultation period for providers was extended from Sunday, 3 March 2024 to Sunday, 10 March 2024. The consultation period for participants remains open until Sunday, 17 March 2024.

The consultation paper explains the way we currently set prices for disability support services, and poses several questions to gather more information about:

supports delivered by disability support workers
therapy supports
support coordination
the NDIS cancellation policy.

While we expect to receive information from providers and participants of disability support services, anybody interested in disability support services including advocacy groups, participants, nominees and carers, employees, government, providers, plan managers, professional and provider peak bodies, researchers as well as workers' unions are more than welcome to make submissions for consideration.

The NDIS Review has made extensive recommendations to Plan Managers’ roles and responsibilities. Whilst there are no immediate changes for the disability community, we will work closely with the community, partners and providers in implementing any future changes.

The Australian Government will carefully evaluate each recommendation from the NDIS Review and take time to transition to new arrangements in a careful way. To avoid rushing this process and ensure a smooth implementation strategy and transition post-Review, the response is expected to take several months.

We understand some participants and providers may have questions about the exclusion of Plan Management in the APR. While we have not included them this year, we’ll keep everyone informed once the Australian Government formally responds to the Review’s recommendations.

Download the terms of reference and the Consultation Papers below (please note that the Provider Consultation Paper states a closing date of 3 March 2024. However, this closing date was extended to 10 March 2024):

Frequently Asked Questions

The NDIA has a role as market steward to help transition the NDIS market to a competitive and open market for disability supports. Our aim is to give participants greater choice and control. Setting price limits is one part of the NDIA’s commitment to building confidence and certainty for the provider market. We balance this with the need for NDIS participants to obtain reasonable value for money and to exercise choice and control. The NDIA continually monitors and reviews its price limits and price controls and other market settings to determine if they are still appropriate. The APRs are an important part of that monitoring and review process.

We released the 2023-24 APR Terms of Reference in January 2024. The Terms of Reference examine areas that require more immediate attention before the Government’s response to the NDIS Review. The Terms of Reference are based on feedback from different stakeholders following last year's APR, emails we receive through the NDIS pricing inbox, as well as ministerial correspondence over the last 12 months.

The Disability Support price limits are not solely determined by the SCHADs minimum wage increase. While the SCHADS award pay rates are an assumption used by the Disability Support Worker cost model to determine price limits, other factors also contribute to price limit adjustments. We adjust different parts of the price limit by different percentages. For example, we increase the amount for minimum wage by 3.75% and superannuation by 0.5% but leave other parts like corporate overheads unchanged. This is because each part has its own factors that influence how much it needs to be adjusted.

The temporary loading was originally introduced on 1 July 2022 to the DSW Cost Model as a short-term measure to assist providers in managing the increased costs associated with COVID-19 and changes stemming from the SCHADS Award changes. The loading was reduced on 1 July 2023 to 1% to continue to support transitional costs.

Review of the alignment of the NDIS price limits for other therapists against the private billing rates and other comparable schemes suggests a general compatibility between the NDIS price limits and prevailing market rates. In general, for most therapists, mean and median billing rates closely mirror the NDIS hourly price limits, which are set at $193.99 in most regions, suggesting that the current NDIS price limits adequately reflect market rates.

The grouping 1 price limit for psychologists is for ACT, NSW, QLD, and VIC, while the grouping 2 price limit is for NT, SA, TAS, and WA. This pricing differentiation reflects the outcomes from previous reviews of pricing arrangements. At the time, market benchmark prices for Psychologists and Physiotherapists were meaningfully higher in some states and territories than other types of therapists and were differentiated to mitigate potential future supply shortages for NDIS participants.

Level 1 support coordination will be indexed in line with the indexation of supports determined by the NDIS DSW Cost Model. Analysis of Level 2 and Level 3 highlights that whilst the market for support coordination continues to evolve, there is no evidence to suggest that supply is not meeting demand. In light of significant upcoming reforms recommended by the NDIS Review, which aim to enhance service integration and improve participant outcomes, there is a strong rationale to mitigate potential market disruptions during this transformative period. Any changes to pricing at this point in time would be subject to further changes while the reforms in the intermediary sector settle.

The cancellation policy for non-DSW-related supports was changed to two clear business days’ notice as this timeframe is aligned with that of policies in mainstream services. There is also no legislation or standardised award requirement for cancellations. For DSW-related supports, having a 7-day cancellation policy aligns with the SCHADS Award and protects provider from financial losses, as staff/resources are more difficult to reallocate for DSW-related supports. Providers are still encouraged to do whatever they can to reschedule appointments to avoid charging a cancellation fee.

The NDIA does not regulate how much comes out of participant plans for transport. Transport supports are not price-controlled, and participants are able to use their budget in core supports flexibly, including for transport. This is to allow participants and providers to agree on the amount within the participant’s budget to increase flexibility.