2026-09-26

What the September 2026 NDIS price limits mean

The Minister set NDIS price limits for 2026–27 on 24 September 2026. What that does, and does not, change for self-managed and plan-managed participants in Melbourne.

A closed folder, a pen and a cup of tea on a timber kitchen table in morning light

On 24 September 2026 the Minister for Disability and the NDIS, Mark Butler, made the first pricing determination under the NDIS changes passed in 2026. The NDIA says the maximum prices match the guidance it had already published in June 2026, and that participants and providers do not need to do anything for this step itself.

The schedules are on the NDIA site: NDIS pricing arrangements and the 24 September announcement.

A limit is a ceiling, not a quote

A price limit is a ceiling, not a quote, and it is not a promise that every provider charges it. The NDIA’s pricing arrangements page says the maximums in the 2026–27 schedules apply to NDIA-managed and plan-managed participants. For those participants, a provider cannot charge above the maximum, and the NDIA will not pay a claim above it. The same page does not apply that schedule to self-managed participants. If you self-manage, read that page before you treat the listed price as the most you can pay or the most you can claim.

Greater Melbourne is not a remote area. Remote and very remote limits are higher, and they do not apply to ordinary Melbourne visits.

What is still being decided

Differentiated pricing — different limits for registered and unregistered providers — is still out for consultation. The NDIA’s annual pricing review for 2026–27 recommended that it start on 1 January 2027. That is a recommendation, not the rule today.

The Fair Work Commission decided changes to the SCHADS award on 11 September 2026, taking effect on 1 December 2026. The NDIA has said the 2026–27 pricing schedule will be updated later if those award changes require it. Until that update is published, do not budget from a number you heard second-hand.

How Quantum Care uses this

We support self-managed and plan-managed participants. We tell you the rate before a service starts. We do not ask you to claim a support we do not deliver. Registration is still in progress, so agency-managed plans are not something we can take today.

This is general information, not a funding decision. Check your plan, and your plan manager if you have one.