What's Covered · Services & therapies
Is Music Therapy Covered by the NDIS?
Music therapy and the NDIS: the current catalogue line items and hourly price limits, the art therapy comparison, and what decides your own plan.
The short answer
Music therapy has its own line in the current Support Catalogue with an hourly price limit. Whether sessions belong in your plan is the live question.
Music therapy exists in the scheme in the plainest sense: the current catalogue carries dedicated line items for therapy delivered by a music therapist, face-to-face and by telehealth. Catalogue settings for therapy do change, though - the pricing documents are re-issued each July - so always read rates as current-year facts rather than permanent ones.
The NDIS funds supports it decides are reasonable and necessary for your goals. The same item can be approved for one participant and not another, so no list or website can tell you what your plan will include.
Where it sits and what providers can charge
The current catalogue sets the same hourly limit for art therapy as for music therapy, which makes the pair easy to read together. Telehealth delivery carries the same ceiling as direct service.
Music therapy appears under Improved Daily Living (Capacity Building) in the current NDIS Support Catalogue.
Price limits carry a 40% loading in remote areas (MMM 6) and 50% in very remote areas (MMM 7) under the Pricing Arrangements. As of 2026-07-01 · NDIS Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits
| Support item | Code | National | Remote | Very remote |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Therapy - Music Therapist - Direct Service (per hour) | 15_615_0128_1_3 | $156.16 | $218.62 | $234.24 |
| Therapy - Music Therapist - Telehealth (per hour) | 15_615_0128_1_3_TH | $156.16 | $218.62 | $234.24 |
| Therapy - Art Therapist - Direct Service (per hour) | 15_610_0128_1_3 | $156.16 | $218.62 | $234.24 |
Source: NDIS Support Catalogue, effective (Pricing Arrangements). Price limits are GST-exclusive and are ceilings, not fixed prices. Self-managed participants can agree different prices.
What decides your plan
A therapy line existing in the catalogue is the start of the question, not the end. The case for sessions rests on your goals: what the therapy is building towards, how it relates to your disability, and which budget in your plan it draws from. Your plan documents and planner settle that, and the answer differs from person to person.
Finding a therapist
Agency-managed participants generally need to purchase through registered NDIS providers. Self-managed and plan-managed participants can buy from any suitable supplier.
Before you act on this
If you intend to claim, check with your plan manager or support coordinator before purchasing.
Whether music therapy can be claimed depends on your individual plan, your goals, and how your funding is managed. Your plan manager or support coordinator can confirm what applies to you.
Questions people ask
Is music therapy an NDIS support?
The current Support Catalogue lists therapy delivered by a music therapist as its own line item, with an hourly price limit and a telehealth equivalent at the same ceiling. Whether sessions enter your plan depends on your goals and the reasonable-and-necessary test, decided plan by plan.
What does the NDIS pay for music therapy?
The catalogue sets an hourly price limit, shown in the table on this page, which acts as a ceiling for plan-managed and NDIA-managed arrangements. Self-managed participants can agree different prices. Remote and very remote delivery carries loadings on top of the national limit.
Is art therapy priced the same as music therapy?
In the current catalogue, yes - both therapies carry the same hourly price limit, and both are listed as their own line items under the therapy supports grouping. The exact figures are in the table above, sourced from the catalogue effective this financial year.
Why do people say music therapy funding is changing?
Therapy settings are re-set when the pricing documents are re-issued each July, and line items, limits, and rules can all move at that point. Read the current catalogue as the source of truth, and re-check it at the start of each financial year before relying on a rate.
How do I make the case for music therapy in a plan?
Anchor it to goals. The conversation with your planner covers what the therapy is building towards, how it relates to your disability, and which budget it would draw from. Evidence from the treating therapist about purpose and progress does more work than any general claim about the therapy.
Official sources
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