NDIS Price Guide 2025-26 Explained for Sydney Participants

Every July, the National Disability Insurance Agency updates its Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits, the document that tells providers what they can charge for each NDIS support. The 2025-26 edition is the framework that currently applies, running through to 30 June 2026, and it brought a relatively quiet but meaningful set of changes.

This article focuses on the changes that actually move the dial for plan managed and self managed participants in Sydney. Rate uplifts. New and removed line items. Behaviour support changes. The cancellation rule that catches a lot of people out.

The 4.36% rate uplift

The annual price update is driven mostly by two things, the Fair Work Commission's minimum wage decision and the Consumer Price Index. For 2025-26 the combination produced about a 4.36% top line uplift across most categories, with slightly different movements depending on the support type. Most everyday core supports rose around 3.95% to reflect support worker wage rises and superannuation.

A couple of practical examples of how that flowed through to common rates:

For self managed participants who pay providers directly, the uplift means slightly fewer hours per dollar of plan budget. For plan managed participants, the plan manager pays the provider against your budget, so the same maths applies but you don't see the invoice cycle directly.

23 new intensive behaviour support items

A more structural change was the addition of 23 new line items for intensive behaviour support. These items describe and price the work involved in complex behaviour support interventions, including specialist behaviour support practitioners, intensive support sessions, and structured implementation.

For participants accessing positive behaviour support, this means clearer pricing on invoices. For providers, it means tighter accountability around what's being delivered and how it's described.

35 legacy items removed

Over the years, the NDIS catalogue had built up line items that no longer reflected contemporary practice. The 2025-26 update retired 35 of them. The removed items are mostly outdated or duplicated codes, and your existing supports almost certainly map to a current line item. Still, it's worth checking with your plan manager or provider that nothing in your service agreement references a retired code.

The two business day cancellation rule

This is the one that catches plenty of participants by surprise. Under the 2025-26 arrangements, providers may charge for cancellations made with less than two clear business days' notice, up to 100% of the agreed price for the cancelled service.

• "Two clear business days" means weekends and public holidays don't count toward the notice period.
• The provider must have included a cancellation policy in your service agreement.
• Charges must be reasonable and reflect the actual cost to the provider.

The practical takeaway: if you know you might need to cancel, give as much notice as possible, and check the cancellation clause in any service agreement before you sign.

Therapy price changes

Art Therapists and Music Therapists saw price limit changes under the 2025-26 update. The arrangements also introduced more national consistency in therapy price limits, with adjustments across WA, SA, TAS, NT, and certain rural and remote areas.

Regional and remote loadings

Sydney participants aren't affected directly, but it's worth knowing that remote area pricing remains in place. Remote areas attract a 40% loading, very remote areas 50%, on top of standard rates. These loadings recognise the genuine operational challenges of delivering supports in less serviced areas.

What to do about it

• Check your service agreement and confirm the rates being charged are within the 2025-26 price limits.
• Read the cancellation clause carefully. Two business days is the new normal.
• If you use behaviour support, expect more granular line items on invoices.
• Plan ahead for the next price update. The 2026-27 arrangements are expected from 1 July 2026.

How Able Care Group handles pricing in Sydney

Able Care Group works within the NDIS price guide expectations. For plan managed and self managed participants in Sydney, our service rates align with the 2025-26 arrangements, our service agreements clearly document the cancellation policy, and we're transparent about how each invoice maps to the support catalogue.

If you'd like a clear conversation about pricing for any of our 12 service categories, including personal care, transport, community participation, or household tasks, we're happy to walk you through it.