Supports in employment

The NDIS can fund supports in employment for participants who need extra help to pursue their employment goals.

Generally, these supports are greater than what may be reasonably provided by an employer or with the support of Disability Employment Services (DES) .

Pricing for supports in employment

On 1 July 2020 the NDIS introduced new pricing for supports in employment that gives participants greater choice and control about where and how they work, who provides their supports, and creates new opportunities for providers.

Supports in employment are primarily delivered in Australian Disability Enterprises (ADEs). Around 20,000 NDIS participants work in ADEs. 

With the supports in employment pricing changes, participants can use these supports in a wider range of employment settings, not just in ADEs.

The new pricing also means that while participants will continue to receive the support they need, providers now claim these supports in a different way.   

What’s changed?

From 1 July 2020, funding for these supports moved from a participant’s Capacity Building budget, into their Core budget. This will happen as they receive new or renewed plans.

Participants can use their plan funding for frequent and ongoing on-the-job employment supports.

They can use these supports in any workplace they choose, including government and non-government organisations, an ADE, social enterprises, micro-businesses, or in self-employment or a family run business. 

 As with other group-based Core supports, the NDIS Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits list a single unit price for each different time of the day or day of the week.

This means that providers will claim all supports against the appropriate one-to-one support items by dividing the time spent with the work group equally across all members of the group. 

Having a single unit price both eases provider administration and ensures participants are paying for the supports they actually receive.

Download the NDIS pricing arrangements and support catalogue.

These changes aim to improve employment outcomes for NDIS participants. It gives them more choice and control over where they work and who supports them to pursue their employment goals.

Transitioning to the pricing framework

In order to support ADE providers, there is an 18-month transition period. 

This means ADEs can choose when to move to the new pricing until 31 December 2021, but from 1 January 2022 they must claim using the new pricing framework. 

In 2020, the NDIA and the Department of Social Services (DSS) asked consultants Keogh Bay to do some research with a small group of ADE providers. We wanted to understand how transition to the new pricing framework was impacting ADEs across different employment sectors and locations. 

We hope that the resulting Keogh Bay research report and a financial modelling tool will help ADEs as they transition to an individualised approach to supports in employment.

When reviewing the report and tool it is important to consider:

  • the pricing model is new and the data used to inform the report is limited.
  • a small group of ADEs participated. This can make it hard to apply the learnings to the entire sector. 
  • we don't agree with all the report’s conclusions; for example that the new pricing will create industrial relations complexities for ADEs.

Download the report and modelling tool:

Supports in employment handbook

Download the supports in employment handbook for more information on the transition to the pricing framework:

This handbook should be used with the NDIS Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits for guidance on what is claimable under the new support category.

This page current as of
11 August 2021
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