2025–26 NDIS Pricing Reforms: What’s Changing and How Your Business Can Stay Ahead

The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) is entering a new phase, and for providers across Australia, the clock is ticking. With the official release of the 2025–26 Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits (PAPL), effective from 1 July 2025, the way you operate, budget, and deliver services is about to shift—whether you’re ready or not.

These reforms are not just another round of minor updates or administrative tweaks. They reflect broader shifts towards market sustainability, pricing fairness, and participant-focused care. But while these changes aim to create long-term benefits for the sector, the short-term reality for most NDIS providers is clear: immediate operational adjustments are needed.

One of the standout changes is the extension of the early childhood support age limit. The NDIS will now support children up to 9 years old, a move that reflects the scheme’s growing focus on early intervention and long-term participant outcomes. For providers working in early childhood intervention, this presents both an opportunity to expand services and a need to adjust planning and staffing models to cater for older age groups.

In parallel, the NDIS is tightening expectations around provider responsibilities. Clearer guidelines now require providers to actively manage and declare any conflicts of interest. This is a big shift towards greater transparency and ethical service delivery, placing more accountability on providers to ensure participant choice and control are genuinely protected.

Another major area of impact is therapy pricing. The NDIS is reducing the price limits for several key therapy services to bring them more in line with the broader market. For physiotherapy, the hourly rate has been cut by $10, now capped nationally at $183.99 per hour. Dietetics and podiatry have each been reduced by $5, now sitting at $188.99 per hour. While these changes aim to address historical pricing discrepancies between NDIS participants and private clients, they do place new financial pressures on therapy providers.

For agencies employing Disability Support Workers (DSWs), the wage landscape is also changing. The DSW Cost Model will increase by 3.95%, driven by updates to the Fair Work Commission’s minimum wage decision and the Superannuation Guarantee. This increase ensures support workers are fairly paid, but it also means higher payroll costs for providers. Agencies with large casual or part-time teams will need to be especially vigilant in managing roster-related expenses.

The Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA) pricing model is seeing revisions too. These updates aim to provide clearer funding signals to investors and ensure ongoing access to suitable housing options for NDIS participants with high support needs. But for SDA providers, this means more detailed reporting, occupancy tracking, and property maintenance scheduling—all of which come with added administrative demands.

Perhaps one of the most operationally significant changes is the reset in the Annual Pricing Review (APR) cycle. From now on, APR recommendations will be released earlier in the financial year to better align with the Australian Government’s budget process. For providers, this means less time to adjust pricing, rosters, and internal budgets whenever new recommendations are announced.

What does all this mean in practice? For many providers, the biggest challenge isn’t just understanding the pricing changes—it’s figuring out how to operationalise them quickly and effectively without letting service quality slip or costs spiral out of control.

This is where technology will play a defining role in 2025–26. Manual rostering, paper-based invoicing, and outdated scheduling tools are no longer sustainable in a pricing environment that’s shifting faster and becoming more compliance-focused. Workforce automation and real-time cost tracking are moving from “nice to have” to “business-critical.”

For example, managing rising DSW wage costs will require live monitoring of shift-based labour expenses. Smart rostering tools like RotaWiz allow providers to set wage budget thresholds per shift, track real-time costs, and avoid overspending before it happens—not after the pay cycle ends.

Similarly, adapting to lower therapy price caps means providers must maximise billable time for therapists while reducing administrative overhead. Solutions that integrate participant goals with session tracking can help ensure more hours are spent on participant care and fewer on admin.

SDA providers, facing new reporting and compliance demands, will benefit from automated scheduling systems that track property availability, maintenance needs, and staff allocation—reducing the risk of missed compliance checks or reporting gaps.

And with the APR cycle now happening earlier, the ability to update pricing across service categories quickly and accurately becomes critical. Systems that enable fast price adjustments and automatic updates across rostering and invoicing workflows will help prevent costly billing errors and participant plan overspends.

The bigger picture here is clear: NDIS providers who embrace operational agility, leverage smart technology, and stay proactive about compliance will be the ones who navigate these reforms most successfully. While the 2025–26 NDIS Pricing Reforms may seem daunting at first, they also offer providers a timely opportunity to strengthen internal systems, improve efficiency, and position their businesses for long-term success in the NDIS sector.

So, what’s your plan for staying ahead of the curve? Are you ready to turn these pricing challenges into strategic opportunities?

Click here to read the full blog and discover practical, actionable strategies that can help your NDIS business thrive through the 2025–26 reforms and beyond.