NDIS Pricing Changes for Psychologists
The new NDIS Pricing Schedule for 2026–27 includes some important updates for psychology and allied health practices, including a long-awaited increase to the psychology hourly rate.
Alongside the rate increase, there are also new requirements around how NDIS services are billed and itemised. This means practices may need to review their fees, service agreements, item codes and invoicing workflows to make sure everything is set up correctly under the new schedule.
Here’s a simple breakdown of the key changes.
The psychology rate has increased
From 1 July 2026, the national hourly price limit for psychology services increased from $232.99 to $252.99.
Remote and very remote rates have also increased:
| Area | 2025–26 | 2026–27 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| National | $232.99 | $252.99 | +$20.00 |
| Remote | $326.19 | $354.19 | +$28.00 |
| Very Remote | $349.49 | $379.49 | +$30.00 |
This is a welcome increase for psychology providers, particularly given the rising cost of delivering quality care and running a sustainable practice.
A quick reminder though: this is the maximum NDIS price limit, not a required fee. Providers can charge less, but they need to be mindful of the pricing requirements around NDIS and private client fees.
NDIS fees can’t be higher than your standard private fees
One of the key changes is around pricing fairness. Providers can no longer charge NDIS participants more than they charge their private clients for the same support.
Genuine concessions can still exist, but the standard fee charged to private or Medicare clients should not be lower than the fee charged to NDIS participants.
So, if your practice has been charging NDIS clients more than private clients, there are generally two options to review:
Lower your NDIS hourly rate to match your private client rate
You can still charge separately for eligible note-taking, non-face-to-face work and report writing where appropriate.Increase your private client fee so it aligns with your NDIS rate
This may make sense for some practices, particularly where NDIS pricing more accurately reflects the actual cost of service delivery.
This is an important one to review when updating fee schedules, service agreements and invoicing templates.
Separate line items are now required
Another major change is the move toward clearer, more specific invoicing.
Under the 2026–27 NDIS Pricing Schedule, psychology supports now have separate item numbers for different types of work, as follows:
| Support Type | Item Number |
|---|---|
| Direct Service | 15_054_0128_1_3 |
| Cancellation | 15_054_0128_1_3_CA |
| Non-Face-to-Face | 15_054_0128_1_3_NF |
| Provider Travel | 15_054_0128_1_3_PT |
| NDIA Requested Reports | 15_054_0128_1_3_RR |
| Telehealth | 15_054_0128_1_3_TH |
In simple terms, invoices now need to show more clearly what type of service was provided.
Rather than billing everything under one general psychology support item, practices need to make sure each type of support is billed using the correct item number.
Provider travel is billed separately
Provider travel now has its own separate item number and is capped at 50% of the relevant support rate.
For psychology, this means the national provider travel rate is $126.50 per hour, compared with the direct psychology support rate of $252.99 per hour.
Travel should be listed separately on invoices rather than bundled into the main consultation fee.
What this means for your practice admin
The clinical work itself may not change much, but admin and invoicing processes likely will.
Practices should review:
Funding records
Claiming workflows
Cancellation billing processes
Report writing and non-face-to-face billing procedures
NDIS fee schedules
Private and Medicare fee alignment
Service agreements
Invoice templates
Practice management software item codes
It’s also important to make sure any fee or service agreement changes are discussed with participants and agreed to before they’re applied.
A little bit of setup now can help avoid claim errors, rejected invoices or messy backtracking later.
Final thoughts
The 2026–27 NDIS pricing update is a positive step for psychology providers, particularly with the increase to the national hourly rate.
However, the new requirements around pricing alignment and separated line items mean practices need to take a closer look at how they charge, invoice and document NDIS supports.
Taking the time to review and update your setup now will help keep your billing clear, compliant and much easier to manage under the new schedule.