What is the NDIS Price Guide?
The NDIS Price Guide is a comprehensive resource that outlines the maximum price limits for services offered under the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). It outlines general pricing arrangements that apply to all supports under the NDIS and specific arrangements that apply to individual supports.
Sidenote: They recently renamed the NDIS Price Guide to the NDIS Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits. Catchy right?
What type of arrangements?
For example, there are specific arrangements where providers can charge for travel, non-face to face activities (things behind the scenes) and telehealth. For example, to charge for travel, providers must meet the following conditions;
- the proposed charges for the activities comply with the NDIS Price Guide
- the activities are part of delivering a specific disability support item to that Participant; and
- the support is delivered directly (face-to-face) to the Participant; and
- the provider explains the activities to the Participant, including why they represent the best use of the Participant's funds (that is, the provider explains the value of these activities to the Participant); and the provider has the agreement of the Participant in advance (that is, the agreement between the Participant and provider should specify the travel costs that can be claimed); and
- the provider is required to pay the worker delivering the support for the time they spent travelling as a result of the agreement under which the worker is employed, or the provider is a sole trader and is travelling from their usual place of work to or from the Participant, or between Participants.
The Price Guide gives you insight into all the support categories and the rules around charging from these specific support categories and line items. Albeit very open to interpretation, the Price Guide is a great place to start when understanding different categories.
I try to read through the Price Guide at least once every few months, especially when an update is released, to ensure that my understanding of the rules stays relevant.
During a webinar last week, we were reviewing the Price Guide, and I stumbled across a line item that I didn't know existed (thanks - 01_799_0132_1_1 Provider travel - non-labour costs), and this is why as a business owner, you should get very familiar with the Price Guide.
How can understanding the Price Guide help my business
Like me, you might find a line item you didn't know existed, allowing you to claim travel from a different category.
There are over 800 different line items with their own rules, so you need to have a good understanding. For example, if you were providing community access support on a Tuesday from 9:00 am - 1:00 pm, there are several different line items you could use.
To name a few;
- 04_104_0125_6_1
- 04_104_0125_6_1_T
- 04_400_0104_1_1
- 04_400_0104_1_1_T
- 04_500_0104_1_1
- 04_500_0104_1_1_T
Depending on your organisation, your understanding of the Price Guide and the person being supported, this will all be factored into which one of these line items you use. The list above includes several Temporary Transformation Payment provider line items and different line items based on complexity, each with a different rate and set of rules for claiming. Now we won't go into all of that right now, but you can start to see that a lot goes into claiming the right line item.
To be honest, I'm actually surprised they didn't quiz me on any of this at my registration audit. One would think the NDIS Commission would want to ensure that new providers becoming registered actually know what they should be claiming for. But I digress.
All providers should have a thorough understanding of the Price Guide. It will enable you to operate a better business and ensure that you are charging appropriately for the support you provide.
What about the Support Catalogue?
The Support Catalogue is a long list (842 to be exact) of line items and their current price limits. It lists support items for each state as well as remote and very remote locations.
If you are looking for a specific line item, the catalogue is a great place to start.
However, if you want to save time, you can also download Astalty For Chrome extension and never need to comb through the Price Guide again. If you're on the go or can't install a Chrome extension, you can search the NDIS prices online here
Conflicting information about prices?
If you are ever unsure which document to refer to regarding pricing (NDIS has a habit of contradicting itself), you can refer to the 'Priority of interpretation'.
This list ranks each pricing document in order of priority if there is inconsistency.
(a) the NDIS Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits;
(b) the NDIS Support Catalogue;
(c) any Addenda to the NDIS Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits;
(d) the NDIS Pricing Arrangements for Specialist Disability Accommodation; and
(e) the NDIS Assistive Technology, Home Modifications and Consumables Code Guide.
So what's the takeaway?
The NDIS Price Guide and the Support Catalogue are two incredibly important documents when it comes to pricing for supports under the NDIS. As a provider, you need to thoroughly understand both documents and the rules that underpin each line item. This will allow you to provide appropriate and compliant support to your Participants.
For more information on the NDIS Price Guide, head to the NDIS Website
