:format(webp))
Christmas, election night, even the tribal chaos of State of Origin - none of them hold a candle to the suspense of Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits (PAPL) Day...or so we thought. Rob’s been dreaming of the PAPL and refreshing the NDIA website like it’s Taylor Swift ticket drop day, ever since the Agency promised to release the Annual Pricing Review (APR) within five business days of the Fair Work decision. In a plot twist worthy of a Netflix docuseries, the NDIA actually delivered on time: the APR has landed.
But here’s the catch, the PAPL itself is still missing. We’ve got the trailer, but not the movie. It’s the ultimate teaser. And a word of warning: this one’s not shaping up to be a box-office hit.
So who is expected to get an “increase” in this year’s PAPL?
Disability Support Worker (DSW) Cost Model Supports
On 3 June, the Fair Work Commission announced that minimum wage (and with it, Award rates) would rise by 3.5%. This increase will be passed straight on to the price caps, along with the 0.5% minimum superannuation increase. This is mostly for Core supports, with a few additions (like Psychosocial Recovery Coaching and Level 1 Support Coordination which also fall under the DSW cost model).
Non-DSW
The APR has recommended the NDIA increase price limits for nursing and other supports not already covered by DSW-related or capital supports from 1 July 2025. It says the increase should be based on an 80/20 weighting of the Wage Price Index (WPI) and Consumer Price Index (CPI) over the 12 months leading up to March 2025. The APR clarifies this approach does not apply to Capital, Plan Management, Therapy, or Support Coordination. Which doesn’t leave a lot of non-DSW supports that will see this increase.
Psychology
Psychology prices have gone up by $10…sort of. The APR has recommended scrapping state-based price differences and creating a new national rate of $232.99 per hour, based on the lower prices in QLD, NSW, and VIC. This means a small increase for those states, but for psychologists in WA, SA, NT, and TAS, it’s effectively an $11.23 per hour pay cut.
Now, to who is NOT expected to get an increase in this year’s PAPL.
Intermediaries
Sorry guys, yes you read that right. The APR have recommended yet another year of price freezes (and with inflation still running at 2.4%, let’s be real - it’s a price cap reduction) for Support Coordinators and Plan Managers.
The APR notes continued growth in the support coordination market, with no signs of widespread unmet demand or supply issues. It says upcoming structural reform (such as mandatory registration and the new Navigator role) are expected to impact the market. The NDIA is currently piloting support coordination with established providers to improve participant outcomes and inform the future Navigator model. These insights will apparently shape future pricing and policy. You may recall a similar review was conducted during the 2021–22 APR to guide pricing reform. Deja vu.
Next Plan Managers are hit with a triple whammy - no price cap increase, removal of remote loadings, plus Plan Managers can no longer charge the set up fee. This means Plan Management will have a single national rate for the administration component of Plan Management, regardless of where in the country it’s delivered.
All pretty big blows for a set of providers already coping with several years of price freezes.
Therapy
This year, the NDIA didn’t just freeze some price caps - it reduced them. Physiotherapy will be cut by $10 per hour, while Dietetics and Podiatry will drop by $5 per hour.
When combined with the removal of jurisdictional loadings, this results in a total price cut of $40.63 per hour for physiotherapists in WA, SA, NT, and TAS.
The APR says the previous flat rate of $193.99 per hour for most therapies is no longer needed to support market growth. As the sector matures, the NDIA plans to explore more differentiated pricing models, and has committed to reviewing therapy pricing over the next 18 months to determine if a different approach is appropriate.
Policy changes
A major billing policy change for therapy supports is that price caps are now presented in 10 minute increments, to “encourage greater flexibility in session lengths and improve alignment between claimed time and services delivered.”
There is also now a cap on the provider travel that therapy providers can claim, limited to 50% of the relevant hourly cap.
Future approach to pricing
The APR has recommended that the NDIA commit to publishing a three-year work plan to implement key reforms arising from the Independent Pricing Committee’s Final Report and that the NDIA should reset the APR cycle by releasing future pricing recommendations earlier in the financial year. The timing of the next full pricing review will be determined based on the progress of reform initiatives and will be outlined in the NDIA Pricing Workplan.
Note that the APR is not the full PAPL. We still expect some surprises and changes when the full PAPL is released (date tbc) and will provide further updates on what these changes mean for providers then. Plus we’ve got a workshop coming up where we’ll break down the PAPL changes, and help you get prepared for what's shaping up to be a chilly winter.
Artwork by Helen Maysey
