Why does the NDIS Pricing Review have experts on the edge?

The Australian Physiotherapy Association has deemed the decision to cut price limits and travel expenses for physiotherapists and other allied health professionals to be shortsighted and neglectful.

The NDIA has released the outcomes of the 2024 – ‘25 Annual Pricing Review and the NDIA is responsible for setting price limits for services delivered to NDIS participants, with the 2025 – ‘26 limits coming into effect from July 1, 2025.

The pricing changes include:

• reducing price limits for some therapy supports;
• removing the higher price loading in WA, SA, Tas and NT for physiotherapy and psychology;
• reducing amounts that can be claimed for travel costs for therapists;
• ceasing plan management set-up fees and remote loadings.

A petition on Change.org to reverse the NDIA’s decision has already attracted over 44,000 signatures from verified profiles, with more rolling in each minute.

Although the agency has stated the review assessed ‘millions more therapy data points than ever before,’ the APA has claimed the price guide was based on flawed data.

APA National President Dr Rik Dawson said that the NDIA’s actions are rushed and deeply flawed.

“The NDIS was built to ensure that Australians living with disability have access to the unique and complex care that they need to thrive,” Dr Dawson said.

“For the past five years, we’ve watched the founding tenets of the NDIS erode, with the NDIA ignoring the growing shortfall between actual costs and their price guide.

“This decision represents a dangerous disconnect between government policy and on-the-ground expertise.

“It disregards our data, our warnings and, most importantly, the needs of the people it was designed to serve.

“Instead of addressing five years of price stagnation, the NDIA has doubled down on an extraordinarily shortsighted decision — a cost-cutting exercise disguised as reform, targeting a highly qualified profession that accounts for around 1.3 percent of the overall NDIS budget,” he said.

Independent financial modelling from the Ability Roundtable, which draws on data from registered therapy providers responsible for nearly one in five NDIS therapy hours, shows the median financial impact of these pricing changes would result in financial losses of 24.6 percent for providers.

“This is not speculation, this is real data,” Dr Dawson said.

“We are staring down the barrel of mass provider exits and market failure within weeks. That’s what the modelling tells us.

“These are quality, registered therapy providers already operating on thin margins after five years without indexation and now they’re being hit with a pricing cut and a halving of travel reimbursement with no warning and two weeks’ notice.

“It’s not just unsustainable, it’s reckless.

“Let’s be clear: these changes will not save money. They will shift costs downstream and increase the cost of care to Australia’s broader healthcare system, as the functional mobility of NDIS participants deteriorates from diminished access to physiotherapy.

‘If the NDIA ignores industry warnings and proceeds with the implementation of these changes on July 1, the cascade effect will be almost immediate, with physiotherapists forced to leave the NDIS.

“Participants will have no choice but to turn to overburdened hospitals who are left to deal with an influx of injuries, including falls, chest infections, pressure sores, declining condition and unnecessary surgeries which could have been prevented through physiotherapy,” Dr Dawson said.

“The outrage is widespread,” Dr Dawson said.

What do you think about the changes to the NDIS and the timeframe for change? Let the team at Talking Disability know and subscribe to the newsletter for more information, news and industry updates.

Related content:

Government delays rollout of promised foundational supports

What Corri McKenzie’s exit means for people with disability

Shocking findings about Tourette syndrome in Australia