Breaking Down The 2022/23 NDIS Price Guide Changes

Written by: Edwina Wilkens l Marketing + Business Development Manager for Canny Plan Management

 

The NDIS Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits (previously the NDIS Price Guide) assist NDIS Participants and disability support providers to understand the way the price controls for supports and services work in the National Disability Insurance Scheme.

The National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) is responsible for setting price limits for many of the supports that NDIS providers deliver.  Pricing arrangements are the rules around when and how a provider can claim for supports and services from NDIS Participants allocated NDIS Funds.

With every new financial year brings new changes to the NDIS Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits guide and we wanted to take some time to go through some of the major changes you can see with the 2022/23 Price Guide.

Changes for NDIS Funds in the form of a new NDIS Price Guide

As with any new financial year comes changes to the NDIS Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits, but there are some notable exceptions to those that didn’t see increases in pricing to date.  We wanted to take you through some of the ‘big ticket’ item changes…

Changes For Support Workers

Support Work prices have seen an increase of 9%.

Prices dependent on the Disability Support Worker Cost Model have been increased by 9%.  This includes:

• Assistance with self-care activities and establishment fees;
• Self and plan management capacity building;
• Assistance in Support Independent Living (SIL);
• Assistance to access community, social and recreational activities, including group supports and establishment fees;
• Support in employment;
• Psychosocial Recovery Coaching;
• Tenancy support;
• Life transition planning;
• Individual skills development;
• Transition through school and to further education; and
• Training for carers and/or parents.

The reason behind this significant increase is to address the major cost pressures on those NDIS Providers, including changes to the Social, Community, Home Care and Disability Services (SCHADS) Industry Award, minimum wage and superannuation guarantee as well as the costs associated with NDIS registration and the COVID-19 pandemic.  It has been calculated on the following:

• 1.7% increase to base prices;
• 2% temporary loading, reviewed annually;
• 4.6% increase in award minimum wage; and
• 0.5% increase to superannuation guarantee charge.

Changes to Provider Travel + How Much Does NDIS Pay

Core support providers are now also able to charge for travel from the NDIS Participant(s) back to their usual place of work, provided that the person consents and the worker is paid for the trip (or that the worker is a sole trader).

The maximum billable time per trip is 30 minutes (i.e. 60 minutes return) or 60 minutes for people in remote/very remote areas.  This brings core supports in line with the existing rules for Capacity Building Supports.

Manage Your Funding Carefully with changes to Short Notice Cancellations – Now Seven Days

A pretty major change that we have seen in the 2022/23 Price Guide changes is the definition of “short notice” and how it has been extended in the provider’s favour.

Previously, the short notice cancellation period was set at two days for shorter supports or five days for other supports, the definition is now set as a situation where a person:

• Does not show up for a scheduled support within a reasonable time, or is not present at the agreed place and within a reasonable time when the provider is travelling to deliver supports; or
• Has given less than seven clear days’ notice for a support.

NDIS Providers are also allowed to invoice for Centre Capital Costs in the event of a short notice cancellation.

NDIS Budgets Can See The Removal of Level Three High-Intensity Supports

Previously, NDIS Price Guides included support work prices for three levels of complexity, the new NDIS Price Guide includes only two such levels:  the standard price, and a single “high intensity” price, which is defined as the support provided to a person:

• For whom frequent (at least one instance per shift) assistance is required to manage challenging behaviours that require intensive positive behaviour support; and/or
• Who requires assistance from a disability support worker who has one or more of the high-intensity support skills specified in the NDIS Commission’s NDIS Practice Standards: skills descriptors.

The National Disability Insurance Agency has introduced this change as “simplifying” the arrangements.

NDIS Management Changes With Restructured Line Items

The Improved Daily Living support category has also had some changes, with new line items created for each allied health professional.

There are no longer line items for capacity building in plan management under either the plan management or support coordination support categories.  People are now being encouraged to access this support from core budgets, using the line item “Capacity Building and Training in Self-Management and Plan Management”.

How Much Does NDIS Pay + Who Decides How Much An NDIS Provider Can Charge?

The National Disability Insurance Agency sets price limits for some of the supports that are included in an NDIS Participants, NDIS Plan.  The price limit is the maximum price that a registered provider can charge you for your NDIS-funded disability support service.

NDIS Providers decide their prices based on the cost of delivering their supports or services.  The National Disability Insurance Agency does not set the price that providers charge the NDIS Participants – as the NDIS Participant, you can negotiate with your NDIS Providers and they cannot charge you more than the set price limit.

Canny Group + Your NDIS Plan Management

Canny Plan Management is up to date and across all the changes announced in the 2022/23 NDIS Price Guide.  We have only highlighted a handful of the ‘big ticket’ item changes in this article.

Our team have experience and expertise in the disability sector, and keeping up to date with the constant changes in the National Disability Insurance Scheme is just one of them.  We care about you and helping you in achieving your goals and aspirations.  Trust, expertise and understanding are what you want to be looking for when it comes to working with a registered NDIS Plan Management team.

Get in touch to have a chat with our NDIS Plan Management team to find out if we can become part of your support network to help you navigate the NDIS and make the most of your allocated NDIS funding.