NDIS Price Guide for Sole Traders: A Complete 2025 Guide
Learn how to price your NDIS services as a sole trader in 2025. Stay compliant, competitive, and confident with imploy’s expert guidance.
As a sole trader delivering services under the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), understanding how to price your supports is essential. The NDIS Price Guide - officially known as the NDIS Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits - sets clear rules on how much you can charge for different supports.
Whether you’re a self-employed support worker, allied health professional, or independent therapist, this guide will help you navigate the NDIS Price Guide confidently, ensuring your rates are fair, compliant, and sustainable.
What is the NDIS Price Guide?
The NDIS Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits (formally known as the NDIS Price Guide) is an official document published by the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) that outlines the rules and the maximum prices that registered providers can charge for specific disability supports and services within the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS).
It outlines:
- The maximum price limits providers can charge for NDIS-funded services.
- The rules for claiming, billing, and invoicing.
- Information about support categories, line items, and service descriptions.
The guide is updated regularly, usually each July to reflect changes in wages, inflation, and policy. Staying up to date with these changes ensures your business remains compliant and competitive.
Why Does the Price Guide Matters for Sole Traders?
As a sole trader, you operate independently, often without a large team or admin department. The NDIS Price Guide is crucial because it helps you:
- Stay compliant: Charging above the price limit breaches NDIS rules.
- Build trust: Participants and plan managers rely on transparent, guideline-based pricing.
- Ensure sustainability: Helps you balance fair earnings with affordability for participants.
- Avoid disputes: Clear, consistent pricing reduces confusion and complaints.
By using the Price Guide properly, you protect both your clients and your business reputation.
Who Counts as a Sole Trader under the NDIS?
Many professionals who deliver NDIS-funded services operate as sole traders or independent providers. These are individuals who work for themselves, hold an ABN, and contract directly with participants to deliver supports.
Examples include support workers, allied health professionals (such as occupational therapists, physiotherapists, and speech pathologists), psychologists, counsellors, cleaners, gardeners, transport providers, plan managers, and support coordinators.
Whether you’re assisting with daily personal activities, providing therapy, or managing participant budgets, as a sole trader, you’re responsible for setting your rates, invoicing clients, and ensuring your services comply with the NDIS Price Guide.
How to Read the NDIS Price Guide?
The NDIS Price Guide (officially NDIS Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits) may seem complicated at first, but once you understand its structure, it becomes an invaluable tool for managing your business as a sole trader.
Here’s a breakdown of how to interpret it effectively:
1. Support Categories:
The NDIS divides all supports into three major funding categories, each with its own purpose and pricing structure:
- Core Supports: These help participants with day-to-day activities, personal care, transport, and community participation. Eg. Daily activities, community access, transport, etc. Core Supports are generally the most flexible - participants can often use their Core budget across multiple services as long as they meet their goals.
- Capacity Building Supports: These services aim to increase a participant’s independence and skills. Eg. Therapy, skill-building, and training. Each Capacity Building category has its own funding area (like Improved Daily Living or Increased Social and Community Participation), and the price limits are often higher due to the professional qualifications required.
- Capital Supports: These are larger, one-off or infrequent purchases such as: Assistive technology, equipment, and home modifications. Capital supports are typically quoted individually rather than charged hourly. Prices vary widely depending on the product or modification type.
For a detailed breakdown of how to structure your participant agreement and align it with pricing, check out the NDIS Schedule of Supports Guide on imploy.
2. Line Items
Every service under the NDIS has a line item, which is like a unique code used for billing, claiming, and compliance.
Each line item in the Price Guide includes:
- Support item number (code) - e.g., 01_011_0107_1_1
- Support name/description - what the service covers.
- Unit of measure - usually per hour or each.
- Price limit - the maximum amount you can charge.
- Support category - where the item fits (Core, Capacity Building, or Capital).
- Notes and conditions - extra information about when and how it can be claimed.
Example:
Let’s take the item Assistance with Self-Care Activities - Standard - Weekday Daytime.
- Support item number: 01_011_0107_1_1
- Category: Core - Assistance with Daily Living.
- Price limit (as of July 2025): $71.38 per hour.
- Unit: Per hour.
- Description: Personal assistance with daily self-care tasks in the home or community.
You would include this exact line item and rate when invoicing a participant or plan manager.
3. Price Variations
NDIS pricing is not a one-size-fits-all model. The hourly rate can change depending on when and where the support is delivered, as well as the type of support worker providing it.
Here are the main variations:
a. Time of Service
Rates increase outside regular business hours.
- Weekday (6 am - 8 pm) - Standard rate
- Evening (after 8 pm) - Slightly higher rate
- Saturday - Around 150% of weekday rate
- Sunday - Around 200% of weekday rate
- Public Holidays - Up to 250% of weekday rate
These variations recognise that weekend and holiday work attracts higher costs for workers. You can read in details about the rates in our blog NDIS Support Worker Public Holiday Rates for 2025.
b. Location
NDIS applies regional and remote loadings to support equitable service delivery.
- Remote areas: +20% loading
- Very remote areas: +25% loading
Providers in these areas can claim higher rates to cover additional travel and resource costs.
c. Type of Support Worker
There are different rates depending on the complexity or intensity of care required.
- Standard Support Worker - Regular personal care and community tasks.
- High-Intensity Support Worker - Supports involving complex needs, behaviours, or medical requirements.
High-intensity rates reflect additional training, qualifications, or risk involved. You can study in details in our blog regarding How Level 2 Disability Support Worker Pay in 2025.
4. Understanding Non-Face-to-Face and Travel Time
In some cases, the NDIS allows providers to claim non-face-to-face time activities directly related to the participant’s care but not done in their presence.
Examples include:
- Preparing therapy reports or progress notes.
- Liaising with other professionals about participant goals.
- Developing service plans.
Similarly, you can often claim travel time (both to and from the participant) and kilometres costs, within the rules outlined in the Price Guide. These must be reasonable, clearly documented, and agreed upon in the Service Agreement. You can study in detail about NDIS Local Travel Reimbursement Rate for Support Workers in Regional NSW in our blog.
Example: Putting It All Together
Let’s say you’re an independent support worker providing personal care in a participant’s home in a regional area on a Saturday morning.
Here’s how you’d interpret the Price Guide:
- Locate the service: Core Supports - Assistance with Daily Personal Activities.
- Find the correct line item: 01_011_0107_1_1.
- Check the Saturday rate (higher than weekday).
- Apply the regional loading (e.g., +20%).
- Include travel time (if agreed upon).
Your hourly rate may rise from $71.38 (weekday metro) to $85.65 (Saturday regional).
That’s how the Price Guide helps you apply fair, transparent, and compliant pricing.
Common Pricing Scenarios for Sole Traders
Here are a few real-world examples of how the Price Guide applies to different sole traders:
Staying Compliant and Competitive
Running an NDIS business as a sole trader comes with both freedom and responsibility. While you have control over your services and pricing, it’s equally important to follow the NDIA’s rules and maintain professional standards. Compliance isn’t just about avoiding penalties - it’s about building trust, credibility, and long-term success in a highly regulated sector.
To maintain your reputation and compliance as an NDIS sole trader:
- Always check the latest Price Guide from the NDIA website.
- Use correct line item codes in invoices.
- Keep clear service agreements with participants.
- Maintain detailed records for auditing.
- Review and adjust rates annually to reflect cost changes.
- Communicate transparently about any pricing updates.
By following these steps, you’ll stay aligned with NDIS requirements while strengthening your competitive edge. Sole traders who operate transparently, keep accurate documentation, and adapt to yearly updates often build stronger client relationships and attract consistent referrals - ensuring their business remains both compliant and sustainable.
How imploy Helps Sole Traders?
Running an NDIS business on your own can be rewarding, but also challenging when it comes to staying compliant, managing pricing, and keeping up with constant updates. That’s where imploy can make a real difference.
imploy supports sole traders by simplifying compliance, improving transparency, and helping you focus more on delivering quality care rather than administrative tasks.
Here’s how imploy can help you succeed under the NDIS:
- Stay Compliant with Confidence
imploy helps you stay up to date with the latest NDIS Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits. Our resources guide you in applying correct line items, rates, and claiming rules to avoid compliance risks. - Easy, Professional Invoicing
Generate clear, NDIS-compliant invoices that include correct line item codes and descriptions. This reduces billing errors and makes plan manager approvals faster. - Access Helpful Resources
imploy regularly publishes practical guides, blogs, and tools that simplify complex NDIS topics, from pricing changes to support categories - helping you stay informed and confident. - Focus on Care, Not Admin
With streamlined tools and clear guidance, you can spend less time worrying about paperwork and more time supporting participants to achieve their goals.
imploy empowers sole traders to build trusted, compliant, and sustainable NDIS businesses - all while keeping participant outcomes at the heart of what you do.
Where to Find the Latest NDIS Price Guide?
You can always download the most recent NDIS Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits directly from the official NDIA website: www.ndis.gov.au/providers/pricing-arrangements.
This page also includes related documents, such as the NDIS Support Catalogue - which lists every support item and line number used in claiming and invoicing.
Here are some of the key pricing limits from the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA)’s NDIS Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits 2025‑26 (effective 1 July 2025) that are most relevant for sole traders.
Important Notes for Sole Traders
- These are maximum price limits - you can choose to charge less, but you cannot charge more (for NDIA-managed or plan-managed participants) if you’re registered.
- The price you actually charge may also vary depending on time of day, remoteness/region loadings, type of support (standard vs high-intensity), and travel/non-face-to-face time - though some of these loadings have been changed.
- The full document lists hundreds of line items each with unique codes, units (e.g., “per hour”, “each”), and conditions.
Final Thoughts
For NDIS sole traders, the Price Guide isn’t just about compliance, it’s a roadmap for running a fair, transparent, and sustainable business.
By understanding and correctly applying the NDIS pricing rules, you can:
- Deliver quality, participant-focused services.
- Build trust and credibility in your local community.
- Grow your income without breaching NDIS limits.
With the right knowledge, you can focus less on the admin and more on what really matters - helping participants achieve their goals and live more independently.
FAQs
1. What happens if I charge above NDIS price limits?
Charging above the approved NDIS price limits can lead to serious compliance issues. Always check the latest NDIS Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits before setting your rates.
2. Can I charge below the price limit?
Yes. The NDIS price limit is a maximum, not a fixed rate. You can set lower prices based on your qualifications, service type, or market competition - as long as your rates remain sustainable for your business.
3. How often does the Price Guide change?
The NDIA typically updates the Price Guide every July, in line with annual wage indexation and cost-of-living changes. However, occasional mid-year updates can also occur, especially after major policy or funding changes.
4. Can unregistered providers use the Price Guide?
Yes. Even unregistered providers are encouraged to use the Price Guide as a benchmark. It ensures transparency and fairness, particularly when working with plan-managed or self-managed participants.
5. What is the difference between a registered and unregistered provider in terms of pricing?
Registered providers must strictly follow the NDIS price limits for NDIA-managed participants. Unregistered providers work mainly with plan-managed or self-managed clients, who may allow flexible pricing. However, using the Price Guide helps both maintain fairness and professionalism.
6. How can I make sure I’m using the right line item codes?
Use the official NDIS Support Catalogue (available on the NDIA website). It lists every line item number, description, and category. Always double-check that your invoice codes match your service type.
