What a price limit is
A price limit is a ceiling, not a set price. Each NDIS support item has a maximum amount per unit, such as per hour, per day or per item. A provider and participant agree a price for each support, and that price cannot be higher than the limit.
Providers can charge less than the limit, and participants can negotiate. Price limits used to be called price caps, and the documents they sit in were often called the price guide.
Who sets NDIS price limits
Since 27 August 2026, under the Securing the NDIS for Future Generations Act 2026, the Minister for Disability and the NDIS decides price limits, taking advice from the NDIA. Before that, the NDIA set them.
The first pricing determination under the new law was made on 24 September 2026. It set the 2026/27 limits, which match the pricing the NDIA had already published, in a document called the NDIS pricing schedule.
Who is bound by price limits
Who is bound depends on how the funding for that support is managed, not on whether the provider is registered:
- NDIA managed funding: the provider must be registered, and the NDIA cannot pay more than the limit
- Plan managed funding: the plan manager cannot pay more than the limit, even if the provider is unregistered
- Self managed funding: you are not bound by price limits, so you can agree a higher or lower price, but you must still only buy NDIS supports in line with your plan
Why the same support has different limits
The pricing schedule sets different maximums for the same type of support depending on:
- Location: the national limit applies in Modified Monash Model areas 1 to 5. Remote (MM 6) limits are 40% higher and very remote (MM 7) limits 50% higher for support workers and therapists. Location is where the support happens, not your home address
- Time and day: higher limits for weekday evenings, nights, Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays
- Complexity: higher intensity supports have their own items and limits
- Groups: for group supports, the limit is divided by the number of people in the group
Examples for 2026/27
These are national limits from the 2026/27 NDIS pricing schedule. Always check the schedule for the exact support item.
- Self care support, standard, weekday daytime: $73.58 an hour
- Self care support, standard, Saturday: $103.54 an hour
- Occupational therapy: $193.99 an hour
- Physiotherapy: $183.99 an hour
- Psychology: $252.99 an hour
- Plan management monthly fee: $104.45 a month
Supports with no price limit
Some supports have no price limit. Quotable supports, such as some assistive technology and home modifications, need a quote and must be stated in the plan. Others, like low cost assistive technology and activity based transport, are claimed against a notional unit price of $1, so a $50 item is claimed as 50 units. The price still has to be reasonable and agreed with the participant.
What is changing next
The government is consulting on differentiated pricing, which would set lower limits for some supports delivered by unregistered providers. The NDIA's Annual Pricing Review recommended it start on 1 January 2027, but it is not final. The pricing schedule is also due to be updated for the SCHADS Award changes that take effect on 1 December 2026.