NDIS Behaviour Support
What NDIS specialist behaviour support involves, the current hourly price limits, and how it is claimed.
Specialist behaviour support starts with understanding why a behaviour happens - what it communicates, what triggers it, what it achieves - and builds a written behaviour support plan around that understanding: environment changes, skill building, and clear guidance for the people providing daily support. Implementation support then trains those people to follow the plan consistently.
This is one of the most regulated corners of the scheme. Behaviour support items sit in their own registration group, providers delivering specialist behaviour support must be registered with the NDIS Commission, and any plan containing regulated restrictive practices carries additional oversight. The Support Catalogue prices both the plan-writing and implementation items at the same specialist hourly rate, shown below.
Does the NDIS fund behaviour support?
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.
Behaviour Support appears under Improved Relationships (Capacity Building) in the current NDIS Support Catalogue. Whether behaviour support supports 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.
If you intend to claim, check with your plan manager or support coordinator before purchasing.
NDIS behaviour support rates: current price limits
Each price limit below is the most a provider can charge for that item under managed arrangements. The agreed price in your service agreement can sit anywhere up to it.
| Item code | Support item | Unit | National limit | Remote (MMM 6) | Very remote (MMM 7) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
11_022_0110_7_3 | Specialist Behavioural Intervention Support - Direct Service | per hour | $252.99 | $354.19 | $379.49 |
11_023_0110_7_3 | Behaviour Management Plan Implementation - Direct Service | per hour | $252.99 | $354.19 | $379.49 |
Source: NDIS Support Catalogue, effective . Price limits are GST-exclusive per the Pricing Arrangements.
How behaviour support is claimed
Supports are billed against the item codes above, at or below the price limit, under a service agreement that records the agreed price, how provider travel is charged, and the cancellation terms. Invoices quote the item code, the date, the quantity, and the rate - which is what plan managers check before paying.
How your plan is managed - self-managed, plan-managed, or agency-managed - changes who you can buy from and how invoices are paid. Your plan documents state which applies to you. Agency-managed participants generally need to purchase through registered NDIS providers. Self-managed and plan-managed participants can buy from any suitable supplier.
| Claiming rule | What the Pricing Arrangements say |
|---|---|
| Provider travel time | Up to 30 minutes each way per worker in MMM 1-3 areas; up to 60 minutes in MMM 4-5; no time limit in Remote (MMM 6) and Very Remote (MMM 7) areas. |
| Travel price limit | Travel time is claimable at up to 50% of the item's hourly price limit, plus non-labour costs (e.g. per-kilometre vehicle costs) per the PAPL worked examples. |
| Short-notice cancellation | Notice window: 7 days for disability support worker supports; 2 clear business days for other supports. A late cancellation or no-show can be billed at up to 100% of the agreed fee if the provider could not find other billable work (and pays the worker); providers may waive the fee. Terms must be documented in the service agreement. |
| Remote loadings | National price limits carry a 40% loading in Remote (MMM 6) areas and a 50% loading in Very Remote (MMM 7) areas, as the loaded columns in the rates table show. |
Source: NDIS Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits (claiming rules narrative, published ), via ndis.gov.au pricing arrangements. Read .
Provider registration
Behaviour support items sit in registration group 0110 (Specialist Positive Behaviour Support), one of the professional registration groups. Registration with the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission is mandatory for providers delivering specialist behaviour support, and also for any provider using regulated restrictive practices.
Invoices and agreements for behaviour support
Two documents carry the admin: the service agreement sets the price, travel billing, and cancellation terms before supports start, and the invoice quotes the item code and rate so the claim goes through first time.
Find behaviour support providers
The provider directory is where our provider coverage lives, organised by service and state. Whoever you shortlist, verify their registration status on the NDIS Commission's public register before signing an agreement.
NDIS behaviour support FAQs
What does behaviour support cost under the NDIS?
Both catalogue items - writing the behaviour support plan and supporting its implementation - carry the same specialist hourly price limit, tabled above with remote loadings. It matches the psychology rate, reflecting the qualification level involved. Your service agreement records the agreed rate within that limit.
Does the NDIS fund behaviour support?
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. If you intend to claim, check with your plan manager or support coordinator before purchasing.
Does a behaviour support provider have to be registered?
Yes. Specialist behaviour support is on the list of supports where registration with the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission is mandatory, whatever way your funding is managed. Providers using regulated restrictive practices must also be registered. The Commission's public register is where you verify a practitioner's status.
What is in a behaviour support plan?
A written plan covers what the assessment found - the situations and needs behind the behaviour - and the strategies that respond to it: environment changes, skills to build, and step-by-step guidance for supporters. Where any restrictive practice appears, the plan carries the extra authorisation and reporting the Commission requires.
Who follows the behaviour support plan day to day?
The people around you - family and support workers - carry the plan in practice, which is why the catalogue has a dedicated implementation item: specialist hours spent training and coaching your support team. That item bills at the same hourly limit as plan writing, as the rates table shows.