NDIS Therapy Assistants
What NDIS therapy assistants do, the current hourly price limits for both levels, and how sessions are claimed.
A therapy assistant delivers the practice: the exercise program the physiotherapist wrote, the communication drills the speech pathologist set, the daily-living practice the occupational therapist designed. They work under the supervision of the qualified therapist, who stays responsible for the program and reviews progress.
The Support Catalogue prices therapy assistants at two levels - a basic delivery level and a higher level for assistants working with more independence - each at a fraction of the qualified-therapist rate. That gap is the point: frequent practice hours run at assistant rates while the therapist's hours go to assessment and program design. Both levels and their early-childhood counterparts render below.
Does the NDIS fund therapy assistant?
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.
Therapy assistant support appears under Improved Daily Living (Capacity Building) in the current NDIS Support Catalogue. Whether therapy assistant 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 therapy assistant 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_052_0128_1_3 | Therapy Assistant - Level 1 - Direct Service | per hour | $56.16 | $78.62 | $84.24 |
15_053_0128_1_3 | Therapy Assistant - Level 2 - Direct Service | per hour | $86.79 | $121.51 | $130.19 |
15_007_0118_1_3 | ECI Professional - Therapy Assistant - Level 1 - Direct Service | per hour | $56.16 | $78.62 | $84.24 |
15_008_0118_1_3 | ECI Professional - Therapy Assistant - Level 2 - Direct Service | per hour | $86.79 | $121.51 | $130.19 |
Source: NDIS Support Catalogue, effective . Price limits are GST-exclusive per the Pricing Arrangements.
How therapy assistant 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 therapy assistant
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 therapy assistant 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 therapy assistant FAQs
What do therapy assistants cost under the NDIS?
Two hourly limits apply - one for each assistant level - both well under the qualified-therapist rate, as the table above shows. Which level bills depends on how independently the assistant works within the therapist's program. Your service agreement should name the level and the supervising therapist.
Does the NDIS fund therapy assistant 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.
What is the difference between the two assistant levels?
The first level covers delivery under direct supervision; the second covers assistants working with greater independence inside an established program, at a higher hourly limit. The supervising therapist decides what the program needs. Both levels appear in the rates table above with their own catalogue codes.
Why use a therapy assistant instead of the therapist?
Budget arithmetic. Practice needs frequency, and assistant hours cost a fraction of therapist hours - so a common structure is periodic therapist sessions for assessment and program updates, with assistant-delivered practice in between. The therapist remains responsible for the program throughout, which is what the catalogue model assumes.