In plain English
An NDIS social worker helps you with the social, emotional and practical side of living with disability. They might work with you on relationships, stress and resilience, family changes, housing or money problems, or getting through service systems, and they can assess your functioning and write reports. Social work is a therapy support with a 2026/27 price limit of $193.99 an hour in most of Australia.
What a social worker does under the NDIS
Social workers look at the whole of your life: your relationships, your family, where you live, your money and the systems you deal with, as well as how your disability affects you. Under the NDIS they are funded as therapy, so the work should build your skills and help you reach your plan goals.
Common reasons participants see a social worker include:
- Building emotional resilience, coping with stress and managing big life changes
- Working through relationship and family difficulties, including support for parents and carers
- Problem solving practical barriers, such as housing, legal or money stress, and learning to deal with services
- Building skills to take part in community, study or work
- Assessing how your disability affects daily life and writing reports for the NDIA
Social worker, psychologist or support coordinator?
These roles overlap, so it helps to know the difference. A psychologist focuses on mental health, thinking and behaviour, and can diagnose and treat psychological conditions. A social worker focuses more on your circumstances and relationships, and on practical change in your life.
A support coordinator helps you use your plan and connect with providers. Many support coordinators and specialist support coordinators are social workers, but support coordination is a separate support with its own budget and price limits. Social work as therapy is about building your own capacity, not arranging your services for you.
Who can deliver NDIS social work
The NDIS pricing schedule says social work supports must be delivered by a member of the Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW). Social work is not registered through AHPRA like psychology or physiotherapy, so AASW membership is the check that matters.
Ask about experience with your type of disability. A social worker who works mainly with psychosocial disability, acquired brain injury or families of young children will bring different skills to the work.
How much it costs and which budget pays
The 2026/27 price limit for social work is $193.99 an hour in most of Australia, $271.59 in remote areas and $290.99 in very remote areas. Provider travel is capped at $97.00 an hour, and telehealth sessions have the same limit as face to face. Agency managed and plan managed participants cannot be charged above these limits.
Social work is usually paid from the improved daily living skills part of your Capacity Building budget. Since 1 October 2026 that budget is reduced by 10% when your plan is created, reassessed or renewed, so plan your sessions around what is left.
Medicare and other options
If you have a mental health treatment plan from your GP, an eligible social worker can provide Medicare subsidised sessions under Better Access. Hospital social workers help with discharge planning and short term problems at no cost. These are not paid from your NDIS plan, and the NDIS does not fund support that is the health system's job.
Getting the most from social work
- Agree on goals at the start, linked to the goals in your NDIS plan
- Ask how progress will be measured and when you will review it
- Check what non face to face time and report writing will be charged, and put it in your service agreement
- Keep copies of reports. They are useful evidence at your next reassessment
- If you are agency managed you need a registered provider. Plan managed and self managed participants can also use unregistered social workers
Social worker, psychologist or support coordinator?
These roles overlap, so it helps to know the difference. A psychologist focuses on mental health, thinking and behaviour, and can diagnose and treat psychological conditions. A social worker focuses more on your circumstances and relationships, and on practical change in your life.
A support coordinator helps you use your plan and connect with providers. Many support coordinators and specialist support coordinators are social workers, but support coordination is a separate support with its own budget and price limits. Social work as therapy is about building your own capacity, not arranging your services for you.