NDIS Social Work
What NDIS social work involves, the current hourly price limits, and how sessions are claimed.
Social workers look at the whole situation - you, your family, your housing, your services, the systems you deal with - and work on the points where things jam. That can mean counselling-style sessions, family work, crisis planning, or untangling interactions with housing, justice, or child-protection systems.
The Support Catalogue carries social work as an hourly professional item at the standard therapy rate, with an early-childhood counterpart. Both items and their current price limits are in the table below.
Does the NDIS fund social work?
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.
Social Work appears under Improved Daily Living (Capacity Building) in the current NDIS Support Catalogue. Whether social work 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 social work 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_621_0128_1_3 | Therapy - Social Worker - Direct Service | per hour | $193.99 | $271.59 | $290.99 |
15_621_0118_1_3 | ECI Professional - Social worker - Direct Service | per hour | $193.99 | $271.59 | $290.99 |
Source: NDIS Support Catalogue, effective . Price limits are GST-exclusive per the Pricing Arrangements.
How social work 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 social work
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 social work 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 social work FAQs
What is the NDIS rate for social work?
Social work bills hourly at the standard therapy price limit - the table above shows the national figure and the loaded remote and very remote figures from the Support Catalogue. The limit is a ceiling under managed arrangements; the working rate is agreed in your service agreement.
Does the NDIS fund social work?
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.
How is social work different from support coordination?
Support coordination implements a plan - finding providers, making agreements work. Social work is a therapy item aimed at you and your circumstances: family dynamics, adjustment, safety planning, system advocacy. They bill on different items at different rates, and plenty of participants use both for different jobs.
Can a social worker help with other government systems?
Yes - working the seams between systems is core social work: housing applications, justice matters, child protection, guardianship. The NDIS-billed hours must still tie to disability-related goals in your plan, so keep the service agreement clear about scope and let mainstream systems carry their own responsibilities.