No relief for OTs: NDIS price freeze enters seventh year with services at breaking point

No relief for OTs: NDIS price freeze enters seventh year with services at breaking point

• In its Annual Pricing Review handed down today, the NDIA has frozen pricing for occupational therapy services for the sixth time in a row, despite soaring demand and rising operating costs.

• In 2023-24 60% of OT practices expected to report a loss or only break even, with that figure expected to rise in 2025-26 if pricing remains unchanged.

• At least 8 percent of occupational therapists have already exited the NDIS market since last year’s pricing decision, affecting over 7,000 participants.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Australia, 11 June 2025: Thousands of NDIS participants are facing longer waitlists and reduced access to critical occupational therapy services after the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) today confirmed that therapy support prices will remain frozen into a seventh consecutive year.

Occupational Therapy Australia (OTA), the national peak body for the profession, says the decision will further destabilise an already strained workforce, with more occupational therapists (OTs) walking away from NDIS work amid rising costs, burnout and unsustainable pricing.

The therapy support rate, which remains at $193.99 per hour, has not changed since 2019. This comes despite rising inflation and ongoing increases to operational costs. Meanwhile, the NDIA has adjusted prices in other areas in response to changing market conditions.

Earlier in June, the Fair Work Commission (FWC) awarded a 3.5% increase to the National Minimum Wage and award rates, highlighting the growing disparity between frontline therapy professionals and the broader workforce.

“It’s devastating to see that the highly skilled professionals keeping the NDIS afloat have once again been ignored,” says Michelle Oliver, Chief Occupational Therapist at OTA.

“The government expects occupational therapists to deliver complex, life-changing care to vulnerable Australians, but doesn’t think that work is worth even a cent more than it was in 2019.”

OTA warns that this latest pricing freeze will push even more providers to reduce services, close their clinics or exit the NDIS entirely. The continued pricing freeze risks not only the future of the therapy workforce but the long-term viability of the NDIS itself.

“This is not just about fairness for OTs. It’s about the future of disability support,” Oliver said. “If therapists can’t afford to keep going, people with disability miss out. It’s that simple.”

“There is no NDIS without allied health,” Oliver said. “Freezing prices for another year does not just threaten provider viability. It directly undermines participant outcomes. It is not just unfair, it is dangerous.”

OTA is concerned about the NDIA’s lack of consultation with providers in the lead-up to this year’s decision. Unlike in previous years, the NDIA did not hold a formal public consultation process. OTA will raise these concerns with new NDIS Minister Mark Butler in an upcoming meeting and will continue to campaign for urgent pricing reform to support both providers and participants.

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Editor’s note: 

Every year, the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) conducts an annual pricing review to look at the prices in the NDIS Price Guide, which sets the maximum rates that providers can charge if they provide services to NDIA plan-managed clients. 

OTs provide services under the ‘therapy supports’ NDIS item code, which is currently $193.33 per hour. This price has remained the same over the past six pricing reviews, meaning it has not increased in seven years despite rising inflation and business costs.

Pricing is a major issue for OT members, and many report they cannot remain sustainable when charging the current rate.