MTA Mid Term Accommodation: Planning for Flexible Supported Living

Every year, the NDIS Price Guide updates reshape how support is funded and delivered. These changes directly affect your plan budget, the services you can access, and what you will pay out of pocket. At Nursed Care, we’ve seen firsthand how confusing these updates can be for participants and their families. This definitive guide breaks down exactly what is changing and how to prepare.

What is Actually Changing in Your NDIS Prices

The 2025-26 NDIS price guide introduced changes on 24 November 2025 that go far beyond simple percentage increases. Support worker rates climbed 4%, with weekday daytime support rising from $67.56 to $70.23 per hour. The real clinical and financial shifts happened in therapy pricing and how you claim certain essential supports. Art and music therapy rates dropped significantly to $156.16 per hour, which forces providers to rethink how they structure clinical sessions. The NDIA based these changes on over 10.5 million therapy transactions—the largest dataset they have ever used for pricing decisions.

Physiotherapy and psychology now have single national rates at $183.99 and $232.99 per hour respectively, eliminating the state-based pricing differences that previously existed. Support coordination increased to $80.06 per hour, and psychosocial recovery coaching rose by approximately 3.95%.

How Claiming Works Differently Now

Several claiming rules changed fundamentally. The vague “Other Professional” therapy billing line no longer exists, so providers must bill under their specific registered profession like Occupational Therapist or Speech Pathologist. This stops ambiguity but means you need to verify your provider’s actual credentials. Low-cost assistive technology items now claim under Core Supports as Consumables, with the dedicated Low-Cost AT line item removed entirely.

Travel loadings shifted to the MMM 2023 classification system, which redefines which regional areas qualify for higher reimbursements. All COVID-era pricing rules disappeared, so temporary pandemic pricing no longer applies. The NDIA also capped provider travel labour costs for therapy at 50% of the therapy support’s price limit.

What Activities Can Actually Be Claimed as Therapy

The NDIA’s distinction between therapy and community participation is strict. Recreational activities, standard gym memberships, and hobby-based group classes cannot be claimed as therapy unless a registered allied health professional delivers them with clearly documented therapeutic goals. Structured art therapy by an accredited therapist counts. Clinical exercise programs run by physiotherapists or occupational therapists count. Participants often lose funding because activities lack proper documentation as therapeutic, so ask your provider exactly how they link each session to your plan goals in writing before starting.

How Price Changes Hit Your Plan Budget

The Real Cost of Rate Increases

Your total NDIS plan funding amount itself hasn’t changed, but what that money actually buys has shifted dramatically. A participant receiving 20 hours of weekday daytime support at the old $67.56 rate could access those hours for $1,351.20 monthly. At the new $70.23 rate, the same 20 hours now costs $1,404.60—a $53.40 monthly increase that compounds across the year. If your plan hasn’t increased proportionally, you are effectively getting fewer hours for the same budget.

For participants relying heavily on daily personal care or living in Supported Independent Living arrangements, this compounds quickly. Someone funded for 168 hours monthly of overnight support feels the impact acutely when roster-based pricing structures shift. Your support coordinator can run scenario modelling with you using the NDIA’s Price Guide Navigator to show exactly how these rates affect your specific allocation.

Regional Travel and Therapy Rate Shifts

Regional participants face a different budget reality under the MMM 2023 travel classification system. The critical action here is to audit your current service agreements immediately. Contact each provider and ask them explicitly how the 2025-26 price changes affect your rates, your session frequency, and your total monthly costs. Get this in writing before any changes take effect.

Taking Control of Your Budget Now

Track your Core Supports spending monthly using your plan management software to catch budget overruns early. If you exceed allocations, discuss alternative delivery methods with your support coordinator—group programmes, shared support arrangements, or assistive technology solutions that reduce ongoing paid support hours. The NDIA expects participants to actively manage these shifts, and passivity will cost you access.

Get Your Numbers Right Before Anything Else

Calculate Your Actual Costs Under New Rates

Pull your current plan documents and calculate exactly what your funded supports cost under the new 2025-26 rates. Locate your Core Supports allocation, then multiply each support type by the updated hourly rate from the NDIS Price Guide. This model is the basis of the price limits set by the NDIA for supports delivered by disability support workers, so use it to verify current price limits before you contact providers.

Most participants skip this calculation step and discover budget problems mid-year when providers invoice at new rates, leaving no time to adjust allocation. The numbers reveal whether your plan funding has kept pace with rate increases or whether you face a shortfall that requires immediate action.

Request a Formal Plan Review Meeting

Your support coordinator needs to see this calculation when you meet, because vague conversations about budget concerns never produce real results. Request a formal plan review meeting specifically focused on the price guide changes. If your plan funding hasn’t increased proportionally to the rate increases, ask directly what adjustment your coordinator recommends.

Explore Alternative Delivery Models

Group programmes and shared support arrangements often cost less per hour than individual delivery, allowing your plan to stretch further. Ask your providers whether they offer these options and how they compare in cost to your current individual sessions. Assistive technology solutions can also reduce ongoing paid support hours by enabling greater independence in specific areas.

Final Thoughts

The 2025-26 NDIS price guide updates reshape how your support funding works in ways that demand your immediate attention. Support worker rates increased 4%, therapy pricing shifted across multiple categories, and claiming rules changed to affect your budget and access to services directly. Your plan funding amount has not increased to match the rate rises, which means your funded hours effectively shrink without intervention. Pull your plan documents now, calculate your actual costs, and request a formal plan review meeting with your support coordinator.

We at Nursed Care help you navigate these changes and manage your daily living support as your plan adjusts under new pricing. Act now to get your numbers right and take control of your support before budget problems emerge mid-year.

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Funding Options & NDIS Support

Understanding exactly how to systematically utilize your NDIS budget and manage new rate changes is essential for maintaining your clinical support without interruption. At Nursed Care, we provide highly transparent guidance to ensure your allocated funding streams are maximized.

Our tailored care services and support coordination are typically funded under the following NDIS categories:

• Core Supports: The primary stream utilized for Assistance with Daily Life, which completely covers the flexible deployment of highly trained support workers based on updated NDIS rates.
• Capacity Building: Funding utilized for Community Nursing Care and Support Coordination, ensuring your NDIS funding is actively managed and mapped against your clinical goals.

We work collaboratively alongside NDIS planners and Allied Health Professionals to implement a completely seamless care integration framework. As a Top Ranked 5-Star NDIS Provider in Sydney, Nursed Care guarantees clinical excellence.