NDIS Plan Costs Explained in Australia 2026 — Core, Capacity, Capital

Last updated: September 2026

An NDIS plan in Australia is worth roughly $82,500 a year on average, but that number hides an enormous spread — a child with mild developmental delay might have a $15,000 plan while an adult in Supported Independent Living (SIL) can have one worth more than $450,000. Two participants with the same diagnosis can receive vastly different funding, because the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) builds each plan around what is "reasonable and necessary" for that individual, not around the diagnosis itself.

This guide breaks down every major component of NDIS plan costs for 2026: the three budget categories (Core Supports, Capacity Building and Capital Supports), the 2026–27 price limits that took effect on 1 July 2026, plan management options, indicative plan sizes by scenario, and how to prepare for your planning meeting. Whether you're a new participant, a family member, or a support worker helping a client through the system, the numbers below are the ones you'll actually use.

If you want a ballpark before you read on, Leadkit's free NDIS calculators — including the NDIS Plan Cost Calculator — turn your weekly support hours and therapy needs into an indicative annual figure in a couple of minutes.

Key takeaways

• The average NDIS plan is worth about $82,500 a year (NDIA Quarterly Report, 30 June 2025). Outside Supported Independent Living the average is closer to $62,100; SIL participants average around $473,900.
• A standard support worker costs up to $73.58 an hour on a weekday under the 2026–27 NDIS Pricing Schedule, rising to $103.54 on Saturdays, $133.50 on Sundays and $163.46 on public holidays.
• Therapy price limits are $193.99/hr for OT and speech pathology, $183.99/hr for physiotherapy and $252.99/hr for psychology — most were frozen this year, psychology rose 8.6%.
• Plans are split into three budgets — Core (flexible), Capacity Building (stays in its sub-category) and Capital (locked to stated items). Money never moves between the three.
• Plan management costs you nothing extra: the NDIA funds the plan manager's $104.45 monthly fee on top of your other supports, and roughly two in three participants now use one.

Contents

1. What are the three NDIS budget categories?
2. How much does Core Supports cost in 2026?
3. What does Capacity Building typically fund?
4. What do Capital Supports cover and cost?
5. Which plan management option is cheapest?
6. How big is a typical NDIS plan?
7. How do you prepare for an NDIS planning meeting?
8. Frequently asked questions

What are the three NDIS budget categories?

Every NDIS plan is divided into up to three budgets — Core Supports, Capacity Building and Capital Supports — and funding in one budget cannot be moved into another. Knowing which bucket pays for which support is the single most useful thing to understand about your plan.

Not every participant receives funding in all three. Your plan only contains the supports the NDIA has assessed as reasonable and necessary for your goals, and since the October 2024 changes to the NDIS Act it must also be something on the official list of "NDIS supports" — everyday household costs, mainstream health care and most things another government system already funds are excluded.

Plans approved since May 2025 are also released in funding periods — typically three months at a time — rather than as one lump sum for the whole plan. The total is the same; you just can't spend a 12-month budget in the first four months.

How much does Core Supports cost in 2026?

Core Supports is usually the largest and most flexible part of an NDIS plan, and its cost is driven almost entirely by support worker hours multiplied by the 2026–27 price limits. A participant using two hours of weekday personal care every workday spends about $38,000 a year on that support alone.

1. Daily activities (assistance with daily life)

This sub-category funds personal care, help with household tasks and support at home. Support worker rates are set by the NDIS Pricing Schedule 2026–27 and track the SCHADS Award, which is why they moved on 1 July 2026 after the Fair Work Commission's annual wage review.

2026–27 price limits for a standard Disability Support Worker (metropolitan / MMM1–5):

Source: NDIS Pricing Schedule 2026–27, effective 1 July 2026. The weekday rate rose 4.8% from $70.23. Remote (MMM6) and very remote (MMM7) areas attract loadings of roughly 40% and 50%. Confirm current limits at ndis.gov.au.

The arithmetic behind the headline figure: 2 hours × 5 days × 52 weeks = 520 hours × $73.58 = $38,262 per year — before a single weekend or community-access hour. Add one three-hour Sunday shift a week and you're at roughly $59,000. This is a price indication only; the NDIA confirms your actual funding after your planning meeting.

2. Transport

Transport funding helps participants get to work, appointments or community activities, and the amount depends on how often you need to travel and whether you can use public transport. It can pay for taxis, rideshare or a contribution to running your own vehicle. Someone attending five therapy sessions a week will typically receive far more transport funding than someone who only needs occasional community access.

3. Consumables

Consumables cover lower-cost disability-related products: continence aids, wound-care materials and low-cost assistive technology under $1,500. Participants with high clinical needs may have consumables budgets of several thousand dollars a year, while others have little or none.

4. Social, community and civic participation

This sub-category pays for a support worker to accompany you to community activities, social groups, sport, arts programmes or day programmes. The price limits mirror the daily activities rates above, so weekend and public holiday loadings apply. One thing to watch: from 1 January 2027 the NDIA is setting a price limit 10% lower for unregistered providers delivering these supports, so if your community-access worker is unregistered, check their rate before the new year.

What does Capacity Building typically fund?

Capacity Building funds the supports that build your independence over time — therapy, support coordination, employment help and skills development — and the money stays inside whichever sub-category it was allocated to. There are 12 sub-categories; these are the ones most plans actually contain.

Support coordination

A Support Coordinator helps you put your plan into action: finding providers, setting up service agreements and resolving problems when they arise. There are three levels, all frozen at 2025–26 prices this year:

• Support Connection (Level 1): $80.06/hr — light-touch help connecting to services
• Coordination of Supports (Level 2): $100.14/hr — the standard level for most funded participants
• Specialist Support Coordination (Level 3): $190.54/hr — for complex needs or high-risk circumstances

Typical allocations run from $3,000 to $12,000 a year depending on complexity. Not everyone gets it; the NDIA funds it where plan complexity or personal circumstances justify it.

Improved daily living (therapy)

This sub-category funds allied health, and the 2026–27 schedule now sets a separate price limit for each discipline rather than one blanket therapy rate:

A participant receiving one hour of OT and one hour of speech pathology every week spends about $20,200 a year on therapy at these limits (104 hours × $193.99). That's why participants with communication and functional needs often have Capacity Building budgets that rival their Core budget. For comparison, a private physio session outside the scheme is typically cheaper — see our physiotherapy cost guide — because NDIS limits are ceilings that include report writing and travel overheads, not floors.

Two things trimmed therapy budgets in the last 18 months. Since 1 July 2025 therapists can only claim travel time at 50% of their hourly rate, and in metropolitan areas that claim is capped at 30 minutes each way. And the price limits for most disciplines have now been frozen for two consecutive years while support worker rates rose — so the gap between what a therapist charges privately and what the NDIS pays has narrowed.

Improved living arrangements

Funds help to explore and secure appropriate housing, including Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA) eligibility assessments and tenancy support.

Finding and keeping a job

Covers employment supports the mainstream Disability Employment Services system doesn't fund, plus School Leaver Employment Supports (SLES) for young participants moving from school into work.

Improved learning

Supports the transition from school into further education, training or life-skills programmes.

What do Capital Supports cover and cost?

Capital Supports pays for assistive technology and home modifications, and it is the least flexible NDIS budget — every dollar is tied to a specific approved item and cannot be redirected anywhere else in the plan. Anything over $1,500 generally needs an assessment (usually by an OT) before the NDIA will fund it.

Assistive technology (AT)

Low-cost AT is normally funded through Core consumables so you can buy it without a quote. Mid- and high-cost AT needs an AT assessor's report and, above $15,000, usually two quotes.

Home modifications

An OT assessment and quotes from qualified builders are required before home modification funding is approved, and the NDIA must sign off before works begin. The bathroom ranges above are consistent with the accessible-bathroom estimates people run through Leadkit's renovation calculators — the wet-area conversion is the item families most often under-budget, because the waterproofing and fall-to-waste work costs as much as the fixtures.

Which plan management option is cheapest?

None of the three management options reduces your plan — plan management is funded on top of your supports, and NDIA-managed and self-managed plans carry no fee at all — so the real trade-off is provider choice versus admin. Around 69% of participants are now plan-managed, about 25% self-manage all or part of their plan, and only about 6% are fully NDIA-managed.

Plan management is the popular middle ground. The NDIA funds the plan manager's $104.45 monthly fee (frozen for 2026–27) as its own line item, so it never eats into your Core or Capacity Building budgets. If you choose it, your plan will include a separate "Improved Life Choices" allocation for the fee.

A Local Area Coordinator (LAC) is different again: an NDIA partner from a community organisation who helps participants without a funded Support Coordinator to prepare plans and connect with services. LACs are paid by the NDIA, not from your plan.

Want to see what your support hours add up to? Leadkit's free NDIS Plan Cost Calculator turns weekly hours into an indicative annual figure — it sits alongside 200+ other tools in the Leadkit calculator library. Indication only; the NDIA confirms your actual funding after your planning meeting.

How big is a typical NDIS plan?

A typical NDIS plan in 2026 sits between $15,000 and $55,000 a year for participants living with family or independently, and between $80,000 and $500,000+ for participants with high physical support needs or 24-hour care. The scenarios below are illustrative; real plans come from a functional capacity assessment and the evidence you bring to your planning meeting.

These are indicative funding figures only. Your actual NDIS plan is determined by your individual needs assessment and planning meeting.

For context, the NDIA's Quarterly Report for the year to 30 June 2025 put the average annualised plan budget at $82,500 — $62,100 for participants not in SIL and $473,900 for those in SIL. The scheme had 774,456 participants with approved plans at 31 March 2026, and plan inflation (how much budgets grow at reassessment and within a plan) has slowed to 5.9% a year from 11% the year before. The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) publishes the longer-run breakdown by disability group and age.

When we built the Leadkit NDIS Plan Cost Calculator, the modelling that mattered most was the weekend and public holiday loadings: the same 14 hours of weekly support costs about 30% more if half of it falls on a Saturday or Sunday, which is the gap that most often surprises families comparing their estimate with their eventual plan.

How do you prepare for an NDIS planning meeting?

A well-prepared planning meeting is the single biggest lever you have over your plan outcome, and the preparation comes down to evidence, goals and numbers. Here's what to bring:

1. Evidence of your disability and its functional impact — reports from your GP, OT, specialists or treating therapists that describe how your disability affects daily life, not just the diagnosis.
2. A completed participant statement — write your short- and long-term goals before the meeting. The NDIA funds supports that help you reach goals, so vague goals produce vague plans.
3. A support-needs list — exactly what support you need, how many hours a week, at what times (weekday, evening, weekend), and who currently provides it.
4. Quotes for AT or home modifications — AT assessments and builder quotes in hand speed up Capital Supports approval considerably.
5. Your preferred management type — decide in advance between NDIA-managed, plan-managed and self-managed, and say so clearly.
6. A support person — a family member, carer, advocate or your Support Coordinator.

Use Leadkit's disability and aged care calculators to turn that support-needs list into dollar figures before you go in. Being able to say "two hours of weekday personal care and one Sunday community shift comes to about $59,000" is a far stronger position than "I think I need more hours."

Frequently asked questions

Q: What is the average NDIS plan cost in Australia?

A: The average annualised NDIS plan budget is about $82,500 per participant, according to the NDIA's Quarterly Report to 30 June 2025. Averages mislead here, though: the figure for participants not in Supported Independent Living is $62,100, while SIL participants average $473,900. Plans range from under $10,000 a year for a child with mild developmental delay to well over $300,000 for round-the-clock support. Your own number depends on your functional assessment, not on what the average participant receives.

Q: Can I move money between NDIS budget categories?

A: You can move funds between most Core Supports sub-categories, but never between Core, Capacity Building and Capital. Within Core, daily activities, transport, consumables and social participation are generally interchangeable — with the exception of some stated transport and "periodic payment" items. Capacity Building funds stay inside their own sub-category (therapy money can't become support coordination money), and Capital Supports are locked to the specific items the NDIA approved.

Q: How are NDIS support worker hourly rates set?

A: Rates are price limits set by the NDIA in the NDIS Pricing Schedule (formerly the Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits), updated each 1 July. The 2026–27 update lifted the standard weekday Disability Support Worker limit by 4.8% to $73.58/hr, following the Fair Work Commission's 4.75% annual wage review and the 12% superannuation guarantee. Providers can charge less than the limit but never more. Weekend, evening and public holiday shifts carry loadings on top of the base rate.

Q: Why is my NDIS plan released in three-month funding periods?

A: Since 19 May 2025, new and reassessed NDIS plans release funding in periods — usually three months — instead of making the full plan budget available on day one. The total plan value is unchanged; the aim is to stop budgets being exhausted early. Unspent money rolls forward into the next period within the same plan, so a quiet quarter isn't lost. If a support genuinely needs to be paid upfront (some AT and home modifications), the NDIA can set a longer funding period for that item.

Q: Does plan management cost me anything extra?

A: No. If you choose plan management, the NDIA funds the plan manager's fee — $104.45 a month in 2026–27 — as a separate line item in your plan. It doesn't reduce your Core Supports or Capacity Building budgets, which is why roughly two in three participants now use a plan manager. Self-managing and NDIA-managing are also free; the difference is who does the invoicing and which providers you can use.

Q: Does the NDIS pay for my therapist's travel?

A: Yes, but only partly. Since 1 July 2025, therapists can claim travel time at 50% of their hourly rate, capped at 30 minutes each way in metropolitan areas (MMM1–3) and 60 minutes in regional areas (MMM4–5). Support workers can still claim the full rate for travel up to the same caps. This comes out of the same budget as the session itself, so a mobile OT visiting your home costs more of your Improved Daily Living budget than a clinic appointment.

Q: What is the difference between a Support Coordinator and a Local Area Coordinator?

A: A Local Area Coordinator (LAC) is an NDIA-funded partner who helps you prepare your plan and connect with mainstream and community services at no cost to your plan. A Support Coordinator is a professional paid from your Capacity Building budget (from $80.06/hr to $190.54/hr depending on level) who implements a more complex plan — finding providers, managing service agreements and resolving issues. Not every participant gets funded Support Coordination; it depends on your assessed needs and plan complexity.

Q: What happens if I run out of NDIS funds before my plan ends?

A: Contact your LAC or Support Coordinator straight away — the NDIA can bring forward a plan reassessment and, in some circumstances, add funding. Funding periods now make full early exhaustion less likely, but you can still run short within a quarter. Reviewing your budget monthly (most plan managers provide a portal) is the best prevention. If you're also weighing up aged care for a parent, our aged care cost guide explains the separate My Aged Care system.

Final tips before your planning meeting

NDIS plan costs in Australia in 2026 come down to three budgets, one price schedule and one individual needs assessment. Core Supports covers daily living and community access at up to $73.58/hr on weekdays and considerably more on weekends. Capacity Building funds therapy and coordination at discipline-specific limits. Capital Supports pays for the assistive technology and home modifications that change what's physically possible at home.

Three things to remember: bring functional evidence, not just a diagnosis; document your support hours by time of day, because loadings change the total dramatically; and choose your management type before you sit down.

Ready to estimate your NDIS plan funding? Use the free NDIS Plan Cost Calculator to generate an indicative annual figure from your support hours and therapy needs — takes a couple of minutes, no signup. If you're managing aged care decisions alongside the NDIS, the Aged Care Cost Calculator lets you model both streams side by side. This is a price indication only; the NDIA confirms your actual funding after your planning meeting.

Methodology note: Hourly figures in this article are drawn from the NDIS Pricing Schedule 2026–27 (effective 1 July 2026), published by the NDIA at ndis.gov.au. Average plan and participant figures are from the NDIA Quarterly Reports to disability ministers (Q4 2024–25 and Q3 2025–26). Indicative plan sizes are modelled from those price limits and the support-hour scenarios used in Leadkit's own NDIS Plan Cost Calculator, which is a Leadkit tool, not independent data. These are indicative funding figures only; your actual NDIS plan is determined by your individual needs assessment and planning meeting.