What's Covered · Services & therapies
Does the NDIS Cover Psychology?
Psychology and the NDIS: the catalogue items and hourly price limits, the health-system boundary, and what decides whether your plan funds therapy.
The short answer
Psychology has its own line items in the Support Catalogue with hourly price limits, so existence is not the question. Whether therapy belongs in your plan is.
Two different questions hide inside this one. Is psychology an NDIS support? Yes - therapy delivered by a psychologist has dedicated catalogue line items with published hourly price limits. Is it in your plan? That is a separate question, decided on your goals and the reasonable-and-necessary test rather than on any diagnosis.
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
A parallel line item exists under core daily-activities support, and telehealth delivery carries the same limit as face-to-face work. Price limits are the ceiling for plan-managed and NDIA-managed arrangements - not a fixed fee.
Psychology delivered as 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 - Psychologist - Direct Service (per hour) | 15_054_0128_1_3 | $252.99 | $354.19 | $379.49 |
| Therapy - Psychologist - Telehealth (per hour) | 15_054_0128_1_3_TH | $252.99 | $354.19 | $379.49 |
| Therapy - Psychologist - Direct Service (per hour) | 01_701_0128_1_3 | $252.99 | $354.19 | $379.49 |
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.
The health-system boundary
The not-NDIS-supports list excludes supports that belong to another government system or community service, and that is the line this question keeps running into. Where therapy for a mental health condition belongs - health system or NDIS plan - is exactly the kind of judgement the NDIA makes when it builds a plan around your goals.
The practical consequence: the same kind of session can sit inside one person’s plan and outside another’s. The deciding material is your plan, not the profession.
Choosing a psychologist
Provider search is a separate job from this verdict, and suburb-level lists age badly. Start from the directory instead, and confirm any provider’s registration status against the official register.
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 psychology 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
Does the NDIS cover psychology for autism?
Diagnosis alone does not settle it. Psychology line items exist in the catalogue whatever the disability, and plans are built on goals and the reasonable-and-necessary test rather than condition names. Whether therapy sessions belong in a particular plan is confirmed by the planner, plan manager, or support coordinator.
What can a psychologist charge under the NDIS?
The current catalogue sets an hourly price limit for psychology, shown in the table on this page, and it applies to plan-managed and NDIA-managed arrangements as a ceiling rather than a fee. Self-managed participants can agree different prices with their provider under the published rules.
Is telehealth psychology priced differently?
No. The current catalogue carries a dedicated telehealth line item for psychology at the same hourly limit as direct face-to-face service, so delivery mode does not change the ceiling. What changes the claim is the arrangement in your plan and the agreement you hold with the provider.
Is NDIS psychology the same as a mental health care plan?
They are different systems. The not-NDIS-supports list excludes supports that belong to another government program, and health-system therapy sits on that boundary. Which side a given course of sessions falls on is a plan-level question, so put it to your planner or plan manager directly.
Can I see a psychologist who is not registered with the NDIS?
It depends on how your plan is managed. NDIA-managed funding can only be spent with registered providers, while plan-managed and self-managed participants can also use unregistered providers under the published rules. Your plan documents state which arrangement applies to your therapy budget.
Official sources
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