NDIS Psychology
What NDIS psychology involves, the current hourly price limits, and how sessions are claimed.
Psychology under the NDIS is capacity building: a psychologist assesses how you think, feel, and respond to situations, then works with you on strategies for daily life, relationships, routines, and decision making. Sessions can also produce the formal assessments and reports that other parts of a plan rely on.
The Support Catalogue carries psychology at its own hourly rate - the highest of the therapy professions - with a separate early-childhood item. NDIS psychology sits alongside, not instead of, the health system: the official supports lists exclude services that belong with another government system, and your planner or coordinator can walk you through where that boundary falls for you.
Does the NDIS fund psychology?
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.
Psychology appears under Improved Daily Living (Capacity Building) in the current NDIS Support Catalogue. Whether psychology 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 psychology 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) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
15_054_0128_1_3 | Therapy - Psychologist - Direct Service | per hour | $252.99 | $354.19 | $379.49 |
15_001_0118_1_3 | ECI Professional - Psychologist - 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 psychology 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
The item codes above carry registration group 0128 in their item numbers - the group a provider registers for with the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission to deliver this service. The Commission's public register records who holds it.
Invoices and agreements for psychology
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 psychology 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 psychology FAQs
What is the NDIS rate for psychology sessions?
Psychology has its own hourly price limit in the Support Catalogue, higher than the standard therapy rate - the table above shows the current national and remote figures. Providers set their actual price in your service agreement, anywhere up to the limit under managed arrangements.
Does the NDIS fund psychology sessions?
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.
Which budget does psychology come from?
Psychology appears under Improved Daily Living (Capacity Building) in the current NDIS Support Catalogue. Whether psychology 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.
Is NDIS psychology the same as health-system treatment?
No - they run on separate systems. The official list of supports that are not NDIS supports excludes items that should be funded by another government system or community service, and clinical treatment sits there. NDIS psychology is capacity building tied to your plan goals, billed against the catalogue item above.