A practical 2026 guide to NDIS psychology billing for sessions, telehealth, reports, non-face-to-face work, travel and cancellations.
The 2026–27 NDIS Pricing Schedule contains separate psychologist items for direct services, telehealth, non-face-to-face work, provider travel, cancellations and NDIA-requested reports.
That does not mean every activity with one of those labels can automatically be charged to a participant's plan.
A defensible psychology invoice needs more than a matching item number. The work must be an NDIS support for that participant, relate to their disability and plan, fit the selected item and claim type, comply with the current pricing rules, and have been explained and agreed in advance where required.
This guide explains the practical differences.
Information current at 10 October 2026. The Minister made the first statutory NDIS pricing determination on 24 September 2026. The NDIA says the 2026–27 Pricing Schedule will be updated later in 2026 following Fair Work Commission changes. The schedule chiefly sets support items and maximum prices. Unlike the former Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits document, it does not contain the complete detailed claiming rules, so the support catalogue and forthcoming updated claiming guidance still matter. The government is also consulting on differentiated pricing based on whether a provider is registered or unregistered. The NDIA recommended a 1 January 2027 start, but no such change is in force at the date of this article. Check the current pricing arrangements and schedule, pricing updates and support catalogue before relying on a claim type. This article provides general information, not billing, legal or financial advice.
A psychologist may be able to charge NDIS funding for:
A psychologist should not assume they can charge NDIS funding for:
The NDIS Support Catalogue lists the available support items and identifies which claim types may apply. The pricing schedule sets maximum prices for NDIA-managed and plan-managed participants.
Neither document independently decides whether a particular piece of work can be paid from a particular participant's plan.
Before invoicing, ask five questions:
If one of those questions cannot be answered clearly, the presence of an item number does not resolve the problem.
The current schedule includes psychologist items across therapy and professional supports, employment supports and early-childhood supports.
For several psychologist items, the published hourly maximums are below. The national figure is up from $232.99 in 2025–26.
| Location | Direct, telehealth, non-face-to-face, cancellation and NDIA-requested report items | Provider travel |
|---|---|---|
| National | $252.99 | $126.50 |
| Remote | $354.19 | $177.10 |
| Very remote | $379.49 | $189.75 |
These are maximum prices, not compulsory fees or an entitlement to charge the maximum. The limits apply to NDIA-managed and plan-managed participants. Self-managed participants can negotiate prices above or below the schedule, but the purchase must still be an NDIS support, relate to the participant's disability and be in line with the plan.
Providers must also consider the NDIS Code of Conduct and fair-pricing requirements. Charging an NDIS participant materially more than another customer for the same service without a defensible reason may raise price-differentiation concerns. Registered providers also cannot add charges on top of the price of a support, such as gap fees or card surcharges.
A direct-service item is the clearest category, but the clinical purpose still matters.
The NDIS may fund psychology directed towards disability-related functional capacity, independence and participation. Examples might include work on:
An appointment does not become an NDIS support simply because the client is an NDIS participant. Diagnosis, medication management and treatment of a mental-health condition are generally health-system responsibilities. Some sessions involve both clinical treatment and disability-related capacity building, which makes the goals, records and funding decision especially important.
For the broader funding distinction, see Does the NDIS Still Fund Psychology in 2026?.
The schedule contains separate psychologist telehealth items at the same published maximum hourly amounts as direct service.
Telehealth should still be:
The availability of a telehealth item does not justify charging for a failed connection, an unplanned telephone exchange or ordinary appointment administration as though a full therapy session occurred.
The service agreement should explain when telehealth may be used, the applicable price, how privacy will be managed and what happens if technology fails.
Non-face-to-face work is easy to get wrong.
It does not mean any work completed while the client is absent. It should be participant-specific work that forms part of delivering the agreed disability support.
Depending on the current catalogue and claiming guidance, examples may include:
The provider should be able to explain:
Routine business activities should not be relabelled as clinical work. Examples include:
Older NDIS pricing guidance expressly treated these activities as provider overhead rather than participant-specific non-face-to-face supports. Because updated 2026–27 claiming guidance is still being published, providers should confirm the current rules rather than assuming the wording has carried forward unchanged.
A case conference, telephone call or email is not automatically billable because it concerns a participant.
The stronger case for claiming exists when the communication:
General networking, chasing routine paperwork, discussing business arrangements or attending a meeting primarily for another organisation's administrative purpose should not automatically be charged to the participant.
Where several providers attend, the participant should understand that multiple services may invoice for the same meeting. Advance cost disclosure matters because one meeting can reduce several parts of a participant's budget at once.
The current schedule includes a psychologist item specifically labelled NDIA Requested Reports.
The label matters. It should not be treated as a general report-writing item for every letter, progress summary, plan reassessment report or privately requested document.
Before using an NDIA-requested report item, retain evidence of:
Other participant-specific reporting may sometimes be claimable through an eligible non-face-to-face pathway, but that depends on the item, plan, current claiming guidance and prior agreement. Providers should not quietly deduct several hours for a report when the participant was not told the scope and likely cost.
A useful report quotation should explain:
An access report prepared before a person has NDIS funding cannot simply be retrospectively charged to a plan that did not yet fund the work.
For the content and evidence structure, use the NDIS report template checklist. A useful template does not establish permission to charge for the report.
The current psychologist travel items are priced at half the corresponding psychologist hourly maximum.
Current NDIA information states that therapy providers may claim travel time in both directions, subject to the applicable conditions and these usual location caps:
Travel time and therapy time should be shown separately on the invoice.
Providers may also negotiate reasonable non-labour travel costs, such as parking, tolls and vehicle running costs, where the current rules permit them. These costs should be discussed in advance. A provider should not add an unexplained travel fee after the service.
Before charging travel, confirm:
The schedule contains separate cancellation items for psychology. That does not mean every missed appointment can be charged.
NDIA pricing guidance sets the short-notice period for supports not delivered by disability support workers at two business days. Providers must still check the complete current cancellation conditions in the support catalogue and updated claiming guidance.
At minimum, the provider should be able to show:
No fee should be charged for a provider cancellation as though the participant failed to attend.
Clinicians should also consider whether rigid cancellation practices create disability-related access barriers. A claim can be lawful and still create an access barrier. Policies can include accessible reminders, telehealth conversion, rescheduling options and discretion for exceptional circumstances.
A written service agreement is not mandatory for most NDIS supports, but the NDIA recommends one whenever a participant begins with a new provider. For psychology practices, it is difficult to demonstrate informed financial agreement without clear written terms.
The agreement should cover:
The current pricing schedule says providers must discuss proposed changes to existing service agreements and participants must agree to the changes.
A broad clause stating that a provider may charge for “all administration” is not a substitute for identifying which participant-specific activities may be invoiced and how they will be costed.
The 2026–27 Pricing Schedule now clarifies how provisional psychologists may be billed.
The psychologist direct-service items state that they include paid provisionally registered psychologists operating under supervision. The schedule also states that paid provisionally registered psychologists who are not operating under supervision for the relevant service may use the lower-priced counsellor items.
The schedule's use of “under supervision” and “unsupervised” describes the pricing pathway. It does not remove or modify a provisional psychologist's Ahpra supervision obligations. It should not be read as permission to practise outside their registration requirements, internship plan, competence or supervision arrangements.
The NDIA's allied-health provider guide also says:
Before claiming, the practice should verify:
The supervision itself should not be quietly passed to the participant as non-face-to-face therapy unless a current rule clearly permits that specific charge. Ordinary staff supervision is generally a provider responsibility.
How a plan is managed affects pricing and payment, but it does not turn an ineligible service into an eligible one.
| Management type | Practical billing point |
|---|---|
| NDIA-managed | The provider generally needs to be registered for the relevant support and claims through the applicable NDIS system. Current maximum prices apply. |
| Plan-managed | The plan manager pays compliant invoices. Current maximum prices apply to registered and unregistered providers. |
| Self-managed | The participant purchases and claims supports directly and can negotiate prices above or below the schedule. The purchase must still be an NDIS support and in line with the plan. |
A plan manager approving an invoice does not necessarily establish that the underlying claim was correct. Likewise, a plan manager questioning an invoice does not determine the clinical value of the work. The item, purpose, agreement and current rules still need to align.
Before submitting an NDIS psychology invoice, confirm:
If the provider cannot explain the charge in plain language to the participant, plan manager and NDIA, pause before submitting it.
For clearer session-by-session evidence, see how to write psychology progress notes. The documentation standard and permission to bill remain separate questions.
Before you invoice, ask whether this was agreed, participant-specific work that delivered an eligible NDIS support under the correct current item and claiming rules. An item number only tells you what is on the price list.
Browse NDIS resources for report templates and functional-impact tools, or explore the therapist resources hub for clinical documentation guides. Review each resource's purpose and adapt it to the participant. No template can decide whether an activity is claimable.
This article does not determine whether a particular activity can be claimed. Confirm the participant's plan, service agreement, current support catalogue, pricing schedule and applicable claiming guidance before invoicing.
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