Key Takeaways
- The NDIA's annual price reset takes effect on 1 July 2026. You cannot bill a changed rate until the affected participant has agreed to it in a signed, updated service agreement: charging first breaches the NDIS Terms of Business, even when the change is an increase in the participant's favour.
- A written service agreement is mandatory only for Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA). For all other supports the NDIA does not legally require a written agreement, but the NDIS Practice Standards require every registered provider to have a service agreement (preferably in writing) with each participant.
- As at 18 June 2026 the NDIA has not yet published the 2026-27 Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits (PAPL). The current document is the 2025-26 PAPL (last updated 24 November 2025); the 2026-27 version is expected in late June and takes effect 1 July.
- Participant plan budgets are automatically indexed on 1 July, so a price increase does not reduce the hours a participant can fund. The obligation to re-paper the agreement and notify the participant still sits with the provider.
- The NDIA sets no single statutory notice period for price changes. Your agreement must state how changes are made and notified; compliant agreements typically specify written notice of at least 14 to 28 days and a re-signed agreement or addendum before the new rate is billed.
- From 1 July 2026, SIL and NDIS platform providers must be registered. Registered providers' service agreements are assessed against the NDIS Practice Standards at audit, so the agreement is compliance evidence, not just an invoice authority.
- Every agreement, across every provider type, must cover the same core: participant and provider details, the supports and NDIS line items, prices aligned to the current PAPL, how changes are made, cancellation terms, the complaints and dispute process, GST status, and how the agreement ends.
Do you need to update NDIS service agreements for the 1 July 2026 price changes?
Yes. When the NDIA's annual price limits change on 1 July, you cannot bill the new rate until each affected participant has agreed to it in a signed, updated service agreement. The plan is indexed automatically so the funding is there, but charging the new amount before the agreement is updated breaches the NDIS Terms of Business and the pricing rules. Update first, then bill.
This is the single most common 1 July compliance failure: providers apply the new price limits to their invoicing the moment the NDIS Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits are released, but leave the participant's signed agreement showing the old rate. At audit, or when a plan manager queries an invoice, the agreement and the claim do not match. This post sets out what a compliant agreement must contain in 2026 and the exact steps to update it before 1 July, across SIL, support coordination, behaviour support and allied health.
For the allied-health-specific detail (report writing, non-face-to-face time, travel and cancellation line items), see our guide to non-face-to-face allied health billing. This post is the cross-provider view: the inclusions every provider type shares and the price-change update process.
What must every NDIS service agreement include in 2026?
A service agreement is the written record of what you will deliver, at what price, and on what terms. The NDIA's guidance on making a service agreement sets out the contents it expects, and the NDIS Practice Standards turn those into auditable requirements for registered providers. Regardless of the support type, a compliant 2026 agreement must contain the core elements below. Missing inclusions are a frequent source of payment disputes and audit non-conformities.
| Mandatory inclusion | What it must state | Why it matters at audit |
|---|---|---|
| Participant and provider details | Full names, NDIS number, contact details, plan management type (agency, plan or self-managed) | Confirms who the agreement binds and how claims are made |
| Supports to be delivered | Each support type, the NDIS line item or support category, and how and when it is delivered | Pre-authorises every item you bill; you cannot claim a support the agreement does not describe |
| Prices and how they are set | The agreed price for each support, stated as aligned to the current NDIS Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits | An agreement quoting a superseded rate is the source of the 1 July mismatch problem |
| How changes are made | The process and notice period for changing prices or supports, agreed in writing by both parties | This clause is what lets you update for a price change without starting from scratch |
| Cancellation terms | Your cancellation and short-notice policy, applying the current NDIA cancellation rule | Short-notice cancellation claims are a common audit and fraud-flag target |
| Complaints and disputes | How a participant raises a concern, and that they can contact the NDIS Commission | Required by the NDIS Code of Conduct and Practice Standards |
| GST status | Whether GST applies (most NDIS supports to a participant are GST-free) | Incorrect GST treatment is a billing-integrity issue |
| Ending the agreement | Notice required to end, and what happens to bookings and outstanding claims | Protects both parties and is checked in audit sampling |
Keep the language plain. Participants have the right to receive their service agreement in a format they can understand, and a registered provider is expected to evidence that the participant understood and agreed to it.
Are NDIS service agreements mandatory?
For most providers a written service agreement is strongly expected rather than strictly compulsory, with one clear exception. Under the NDIS Commission's Practice Standards and Quality Indicators, a written service agreement is mandatory for Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA). For all other support types the NDIA does not legally require a written agreement, but the Practice Standards require registered providers to have a service agreement (preferably in writing) with each participant, and the Commission treats it as core evidence at audit.
In practice this means three things. First, if you deliver SDA, a written agreement is non-negotiable. Second, if you are a registered provider of any other support, you should treat a written agreement as required, because your auditor will. Third, even unregistered providers working with self-managed or plan-managed participants need an agreement to claim payment and to evidence that supports were agreed and reasonable and necessary. The mandatory-registration wave makes this sharper: from 1 July 2026, SIL and platform providers move into the registered category and onto this evidence standard. See our SIL mandatory registration checklist for who is captured.
Why do the 1 July 2026 price changes force an agreement update?
Each financial year the NDIA runs its Annual Pricing Review and resets the price limits that take effect on 1 July. The 2025-26 review, for example, lifted support worker rates by 3.95% to track SCHADS Award wage movements and the superannuation guarantee rise to 12%. The 2026-27 figures are expected to be published in late June 2026; as at 18 June they were not yet released, so providers should watch the NDIA pricing page and apply the figures the day they land.
The reason an update is forced is structural. NDIS price limits are caps, and your service agreement states the price you charge against those caps. When the cap moves, your stated price is out of date. Two rules then bite together: you must not charge above the price limit, and under the NDIS Terms of Business you must not charge a price the participant has not agreed to in the service agreement. A participant's plan is topped up automatically on 1 July so the funding exists, but that does not amend your agreement. Until the agreement reflects the new price and the participant has re-signed, billing the new rate is non-compliant. For a roundup of everything else changing on the same date, see our NDIS 1 July 2026 changes hub.
How do you update a service agreement when prices change?
You do not need to negotiate a brand new agreement for every participant. If your existing agreement contains a properly drafted "how changes are made" clause, you can issue a price-change variation. The steps below work for an increase, and the same process applies if a support's price is reduced.
- Confirm the new figures. Download the new PAPL and the support catalogue from the NDIA the day they publish. Identify every line item you bill and the exact new limit for each.
- Map the change to each participant. List every active agreement affected. Different participants may have different supports, so the change is not identical across your caseload.
- Prepare the variation. Update the price for each affected line item, keeping the figure at or under the new limit. Date the change as effective 1 July 2026. Either issue an addendum that references the original agreement or reissue the full agreement, depending on how your template is built.
- Give written notice. Send each affected participant clear written notice of the new prices and the effective date, within the notice period your agreement specifies.
- Obtain agreement before billing. Get the participant's signature (or recorded agreement, if your agreement allows) on the updated price before you submit a single claim at the new rate.
- Update your billing system and bookings. Change the rates in your practice management or claiming software and amend any active service bookings so claims validate against the new figures.
- File the evidence. Store the signed variation, the notice, and the date against the participant's record so the agreement, the notice and the claim line up if an auditor or plan manager asks.
How must you notify participants of a price change?
You must give participants clear, advance, written notice of the new prices and when they start, and you must give them the chance to agree before you bill. The NDIA does not set a single statutory notice period, so the requirement comes from your own agreement: a compliant agreement states how much notice you will give for a price change. Most providers specify written notice of at least 14 to 28 days, and the NDIA's sample agreement requires changes to be agreed by both parties in writing.
Good notice does two jobs. It satisfies the agreement and the Code of Conduct expectation that you act with honesty and transparency, and it heads off disputes by explaining that the participant's plan is indexed automatically, so a rate rise does not cut the hours they can fund. Send the notice in a format the participant can understand, keep a copy, and record the date sent. If a participant does not agree to the new price, you cannot bill it to them; you continue at the old rate or, if that is no longer viable, follow your agreement's process for ending or renegotiating the arrangement.
Do different provider types have different requirements?
The core inclusions are the same for everyone, but several support types carry extra inclusions that auditors specifically look for. Build these into your template so the price-change update does not expose a gap.
| Provider type | Additional inclusions beyond the core | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Supported Independent Living (SIL) | Roster of care, shared-support ratios, how shared costs are split between participants, vacancy arrangements | Mandatory registration from 1 July 2026; agreement assessed against the new SIL Supplementary Module |
| Support coordination | Level of coordination (support connection, coordination or specialist), hours, and conflict-of-interest disclosure | Standard support coordination registration remains paused; obligations apply regardless |
| Specialist behaviour support | Link to the behaviour support plan, any regulated restrictive practices, and authorisation references | Must align with the participant's plan and state authorisation rules |
| Allied health (OT, physio, speech, psychology) | Non-face-to-face time, report writing, travel, and session versus hourly rates | Covered in detail in our non-face-to-face billing guide |
For SIL providers in particular, the agreement is now front-line audit evidence. Your service agreements, alongside rosters of care and incident records, are sampled directly against the Practice Standards, so the 1 July price update and the registration transition need to be handled together. Our NDIS audit preparation checklist sets out how service agreements are tested in a certification audit.
What happens if your agreement is missing a clause or you bill without updating it?
The consequences range from a rejected claim to a finding of non-compliance. A plan manager or the agency can refuse to pay an invoice that does not match a signed agreement, leaving you out of pocket for work already delivered. At audit, a missing mandatory inclusion or an agreement quoting a superseded rate is recorded as a non-conformity that you must rectify within the auditor's timeframe. Charging above the price limit, or charging a rate the participant never agreed to, is a billing-integrity breach that the NDIS Commission and the Fraud Fusion Taskforce treat seriously: it can trigger recovery of overpayments, compliance action, or in serious cases the new criminal penalties introduced by the 2025 integrity reforms. The fix is cheap and the failure is expensive, so update the paperwork before 1 July, not after the first rejected claim.
Frequently Asked Questions
What must every NDIS service agreement include?
Participant and provider details, the supports and their NDIS line items, the agreed price for each (aligned to the current Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits), how and when supports are delivered, how changes and price updates are made, cancellation terms, the complaints and dispute process, GST status, and how the agreement ends. SDA agreements must be in writing; registered providers should treat a written agreement as required for every support.
Do service agreements need to be updated every year?
Not automatically, but you must update an agreement whenever a price or support changes, and NDIS price limits are reset every 1 July through the Annual Pricing Review. In practice that means most providers update affected agreements each July. You only need to vary the prices that changed, using your agreement's "how changes are made" clause, rather than rewriting the whole document.
How must providers notify participants of a price change?
Give clear written notice of the new prices and their start date, within the notice period your agreement specifies (commonly at least 14 to 28 days), and obtain the participant's agreement before billing the new rate. Explain that their plan is indexed automatically on 1 July, so the increase does not reduce the supports they can fund. Keep a copy of the notice and the signed variation.
Are there different requirements for SIL versus allied health service agreements?
The core inclusions are the same, but each adds specifics. SIL agreements must cover the roster of care, shared-support ratios and how shared costs are split, and from 1 July 2026 are assessed against the new SIL Supplementary Module. Allied health agreements must spell out non-face-to-face time, report writing, travel and session rates. Both must pre-authorise every item you bill.
What happens if a service agreement is missing a mandatory clause?
Claims can be rejected by plan managers or the agency, and at audit a missing inclusion is recorded as a non-conformity you must rectify within a set timeframe. Charging a rate above the price limit or one the participant never agreed to is a billing-integrity breach that can lead to repayment, compliance action, or the criminal penalties introduced by the 2025 NDIS integrity reforms. Fix template gaps before issuing the next agreement.