NDIS Education
Supports Under the NDIS, and Which Ones You Can Be Paid From
Participant funding is split into three main budgets with very different rules about flexibility. Which budget your service is paid from shapes how you get work and how reliably you get paid.
The Short Answer
How is NDIS funding split, and which budget pays providers?
A participant's plan is split into budgets: Core supports for everyday activities, the most flexible; Capacity Building supports for skills and independence, spent on the categories in the plan; and Capital supports for assistive technology and home or vehicle modifications. Some plans also have a recurring budget. Which budget pays for your service shapes how you are paid.
01Three Budgets
Core, Capacity Building and Capital
| Budget | What it funds | How flexible |
|---|---|---|
| Core Supports | Everyday assistance: personal care, help around the home, community participation, consumables and transport. | Generally the most flexible — funding can usually move between most Core categories. |
| Capacity Building | Building skills and independence: therapies, support coordination, employment supports, improved daily living. | Much less flexible. Funding is allocated to a category and generally has to be used there. |
| Capital | Assistive technology, home and vehicle modifications, and specialist disability accommodation. | The least flexible. Usually tied to a specific item or dwelling and often quoted and approved individually. |
The practical consequence for a provider is predictability. A Core Supports service is competing for a budget the participant can move around, which means more opportunity and more churn. A Capital support is usually approved for a specific item at a specific price, which means a slower sale and a much more certain one.
02Getting Paid
Price Limits Are a Ceiling, Not a Rate Card
You cannot charge above the limit
The NDIA publishes maximum prices by support item. A registered provider cannot charge an NDIS participant more than the limit for that item.
Service agreements matter
What you will deliver, when, and at what price belongs in a written agreement with the participant. It is also what an auditor asks to see.
Claiming follows delivery
Claims are made through the NDIA’s systems against the participant’s plan, and records have to support every claim you make.
Limits change annually
Price limits are reviewed and reissued. Working from last year’s figures is one of the more common ways providers end up out of pocket.
The NDIA publishes the NDIS Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits, reissued each financial year and sometimes amended within it. It is the only authoritative source for what you may charge, and we deliberately do not reprint its figures here — a price limit copied into a web page is wrong the moment the next edition lands.
How the price guide works →03Where You Fit
Match Your Service to Your Registration Groups
Support categories are how a participant’s funding is organised. Registration groups are how the Commission describes what you are allowed to deliver. They are related but they are not the same list, and conflating them is a reliable way to apply for the wrong thing.
The question that matters for registration is not "which budget pays me" — it is "which registration groups cover the work I do". We work that out with you before anything is lodged.
Sources
Checked against these sources on 12 October 2026.
Work Out Where Your Service Sits
Tell us what you deliver and we will map it to the registration groups that cover it — and tell you what registering costs.
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between a support category and a registration group?
A support category describes how a participant’s funding is organised in their plan. A registration group describes what the NDIS Commission has approved you to deliver. One is about the money, the other is about your permission. You need to understand both, and only the second one determines your registration pathway.
Can a participant use Core funding for anything they like?
Within limits. Core is the most flexible budget and funding can generally move between most Core categories, but it still has to be spent on supports that are reasonable and necessary and related to their disability. Transport is commonly treated differently from the rest of Core.
Do price limits apply to unregistered providers?
The price limits bind registered providers. Self-managing participants engaging unregistered providers have more latitude on price. That is not an invitation to charge more — a participant comparing quotes will notice, and so will the plan manager who sees your invoice.
Where do I find the current price limits?
The NDIA publishes the NDIS Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits on ndis.gov.au, reissued each financial year. Always download it rather than relying on a figure reprinted elsewhere, including here.
Keep Reading
More NDIS Guides
- The NDIS, Explained for People Who Want to Work in ItHow the NDIS works for providers: the NDIA, the Commission, participants, plans and where your business sits.Read the guide →
- The NDIS Price Guide, and How to Read ItHow NDIS Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits work: support items, line item numbers, price limits,…Read the guide →
- What NDIS Registration Actually CostsThe real cost of NDIS registration: the Commission charges nothing, a consultant charges a fee, an auditor…Read the guide →
From Insights
By Profession
Checked against the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission and NDIA published guidance on 7 October 2026. NDIS rules and price limits change — confirm anything you are about to act on against ndiscommission.gov.au or ndis.gov.au, or ask us.
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