The NDIS Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits – commonly referred to as the Price Guide – sets the maximum amount that can be charged for any NDIS-funded support. Providers cannot charge above these limits, however they can charge less if they wish to. As your plan manager, we check every invoice against the current Price Guide before processing payment to ensure no services are exceeding the allocated price.

How the Price Guide is structured

The Price Guide is organised by support category (e.g. Category 15) and then by individual support item (e.g. 043). Each support item has:

• a unique support item number
• a description of the service
• a unit of measure (per hour, per session, or per item)
• price limits that vary by remoteness area and sometimes by time of day or day type.

Find the NDIS 2026-27 Pricing Arrangements:

Time-of-day and day-type pricing

Many support workers and providers charge different rates depending on when a service is delivered. The NDIS Pricing Arrangements define the following time bands:

Understanding these time bands matters when reviewing your invoices. A support worker who arrives at 7:30pm on a Tuesday and stays until 9:00pm, for example, may legitimately charge 30 minutes at the weekday daytime rate and 60 minutes at the weekday evening rate – you may see this split reflected on the invoice.

Friday night and Saturday rates – an important overlap

A common point of confusion arises with supports delivered on Friday evenings that continue into the early hours of Saturday morning. Because Saturday rates are higher than the weekday evening rate, recording accurate shift times matters significantly.

Key Points

1. Services delivered entirely on Friday – even late at night – should be billed at the applicable weekday evening or weekday night rate.
2. Once midnight arrives and the calendar date becomes Saturday, any support delivered from that point forward can be charged at the Saturday rate.
3. A shift running from 10:00pm Friday through to 2:00am Saturday would correctly attract two different rates – the weekday night rate up to midnight, and the Saturday rate from midnight onwards.

This is legitimate billing practice, not an error. If you see a split rate on a Friday-night invoice, the timing of the shift is what determines whether it is correct.

Overnight support codes – how they work

Overnight supports are claimed differently to standard hourly supports, and understanding how these codes work helps you make sense of invoices involving a support worker staying through the night.

The NDIS has specific support item codes for overnight supports, commonly known as sleepover or overnight codes. Rather than billing the entire night at an hourly rate, these codes cover a set overnight period (typically around 10:00pm through to 6:00am) as a single flat rate item. This flat rate reflects the nature of overnight support, where the worker is present but is not expected to be providing continuous active assistance throughout the night.

The two-hour active support inclusion

Built into the overnight code is an allowance of up to two hours of active support across the entire overnight period. This accounts for the reality that a participant may need assistance during the night, such as help going to the toilet, repositioning in bed, responding to distress, without those interactions being billed as separate hourly charges.

If the support worker provides two hours or less of active support across the entire overnight shift, the flat overnight rate is the only charge – no additional billing applies.

When active support exceeds two hours

Where a participant requires more than two hours of active support during the overnight period, the provider is entitled to charge for those additional hours. These additional hours are not charged at the standard weekday daytime rate. Instead, they are charged at the rate that applies to the following morning, which reflects the more demanding nature of active overnight support.

A practical example:

A support worker stays overnight from Sunday night into Monday morning. The participant requires 3.5 hours of active support across the shift for assistance with repositioning, managing distress, and personal care. The overnight flat rate covers the shift and includes the first two hours of active support. The remaining 1.5 hours are charged at the Saturday rate, because a weekday overnight (Sunday night rolling into Monday) attracts Saturday-equivalent penalty rates. The invoice will show the overnight support item plus an additional hourly charge at the Saturday rate for those 1.5 excess hours.

As your plan manager, we review all overnight invoices carefully to ensure the correct codes and rates are applied. If an overnight claim looks unusual, we follow up with the provider before processing payment.

How provider travel is charged

Travel is one of the most frequently misunderstood parts of NDIS invoicing. Here is how it works:

Provider travel – the worker travelling to you

• Travel time is charged at the same hourly rate as the support being delivered. If a support worker is providing Category 01 daily living supports, their travel time is also billed under Category 01 at the same time-of-day rate that applies to that shift.
• Exception: for most Category 01 and Category 15 therapy codes, travel time is charged at half (50%) of the service hourly rate.
• Travel kilometres can be claimed separately at the NDIS kilometre rate, but only where the provider is using their own vehicle.
• Travel claims must be reasonable. For example, providers in metropolitan Brisbane with a large client base are generally not expected to claim significant travel costs.

Participant transport – the worker transporting you

If a support worker is transporting you as part of a support – for example, driving you to an appointment — this is distinct from provider travel to reach you. The provider may charge for the time involved as part of the support and may also claim a per-kilometre rate for use of their vehicle. These are two different charges and should appear separately on an invoice.

Cancellations

Providers can claim for short-notice cancellations – generally those occurring within seven days of a scheduled support – at a set percentage of the support fee. Your service agreement should clearly outline your provider’s cancellation policy before you commit to any services. We review all cancellation claims as part of our standard invoice processing.

Our team tracks your budget across every category in real time and reviews every invoice before it is paid. Get in touch with Orange Plan Management today.