NDIS Funding Guide · 2026–27
Eight services appear under Level 3 disability support worker pricing. Although all eight share the same hourly maximum, they fund very different kinds of capacity building.
Verified against the attached NDIS Pricing Schedule, effective 24 September 2026 • Appendix 1, Table 3, page 16 • Reviewed 20 October 2026.
The short answer
The correct item is chosen by the skill being taught and the participant's funded need. A tenancy lesson, employment assistance and social skills programme are not interchangeable just because each has a national maximum of $83.87/hour.
What does Level 3 capacity building mean?
These items focus on helping a participant learn, plan and develop practical skills rather than only receiving hands-on assistance. Teaching a participant to complete a task can have a different support purpose from a worker completing that task for the participant. The presence of a higher price is not a justification for using the code if the learning component is absent.
The schedule calculates DSW Level 3 maximums using the costs of a SCHADS Schedule B Level 3.2 worker. That is the price model; it is not a universal rule that a particular vocational qualification alone makes all eight interventions appropriate. The worker still needs knowledge of the intervention, suitable training, competence, safeguarding and supervision.
All eight current codes and prices
| Full support item number | Support item | National/hour | Remote/hour | Very remote/hour |
|---|---|---|---|---|
01_134_0117_8_1 |
Capacity Building and Training in Self-Management and Plan Management | $83.87 | $117.42 | $125.81 |
08_005_0106_2_3 |
Assistance With Accommodation And Tenancy Obligations | $83.87 | $117.42 | $125.81 |
09_006_0106_6_3 |
Life Transition Planning Incl. Mentoring Peer-Support And Indiv Skill Develop | $83.87 | $117.42 | $125.81 |
09_009_0117_6_3 |
Skills Development And Training | $83.87 | $117.42 | $125.81 |
10_016_0102_5_3 |
Employment Assistance | $83.87 | $117.42 | $125.81 |
11_024_0117_7_3 |
Individual Social Skills Development | $83.87 | $117.42 | $125.81 |
13_030_0102_4_3 |
Transition Through School And To Further Education | $83.87 | $117.42 | $125.81 |
15_038_0117_1_3 |
Training For Carers/Parents | $83.87 | $117.42 | $125.81 |
These are the listed maximums, not compulsory provider fees. Rates are location-specific based on where the service occurs, including the isolated-town rules.
When each code should and should not be used
Capacity Building and Training in Self-Management and Plan Management
Appropriate purpose: Learning to organise supports, keep records, understand service agreements and build the skills to manage plan decisions and spending.
Example: A participant learns to check a service invoice against the agreed session and to keep a monthly record of NDIS spending.
When not to use: Do not confuse teaching these skills with a plan manager's own monthly invoice processing. The purpose must be to build the participant's capability.
Item code: 01_134_0117_8_1 • Hour unit • National maximum $83.87, remote $117.42, very remote $125.81.
Assistance With Accommodation And Tenancy Obligations
Appropriate purpose: Developing practical capability to understand, obtain or maintain a tenancy and meet related obligations where those barriers are disability-related.
Example: A worker teaches a participant how to use a rent calendar, report repairs, keep home access records and communicate with a property manager.
When not to use: This does not itself pay rent, a bond, groceries or unrelated property maintenance.
Item code: 08_005_0106_2_3 • Hour unit • National maximum $83.87, remote $117.42, very remote $125.81.
Life Transition Planning Incl. Mentoring Peer-Support And Indiv Skill Develop
Appropriate purpose: Supporting significant life changes, with structured transition planning, mentoring and individual skill development related to disability.
Example: A participant moving to independent living builds a step-by-step transition plan, rehearses new routines and establishes connections with community supports.
When not to use: Ordinary moving costs, generic coaching and unrelated administration are not automatically covered.
Item code: 09_006_0106_6_3 • Hour unit • National maximum $83.87, remote $117.42, very remote $125.81.
Skills Development And Training
Appropriate purpose: Individualised training that builds disability-related daily living capability and the participant's capacity to do tasks with greater independence.
Example: Teaching a participant to prepare a safe weekday meal by practising sequencing, budgeting and kitchen safety over several sessions.
When not to use: Repeatedly doing a task for the participant without building their capacity may fit an assistance item rather than this training code.
Item code: 09_009_0117_6_3 • Hour unit • National maximum $83.87, remote $117.42, very remote $125.81.
Employment Assistance
Appropriate purpose: Help developing disability-related work readiness, employment capabilities and participation, where that intervention fits the approved funding purpose.
Example: Supporting a participant to practise workplace communication and maintain a routine for job applications related to their disability barriers.
When not to use: Do not charge a therapeutic employment item or routine employer management hours as this support without meeting the item's purpose.
Item code: 10_016_0102_5_3 • Hour unit • National maximum $83.87, remote $117.42, very remote $125.81.
Individual Social Skills Development
Appropriate purpose: Explicit teaching and practice of skills for communication, social problem-solving and interacting with others.
Example: A worker teaches how to recognise turn-taking cues and rehearses requesting a break in a social situation; progress is recorded against goals.
When not to use: Attending a social event with a worker is not automatically structured social skills development.
Item code: 11_024_0117_7_3 • Hour unit • National maximum $83.87, remote $117.42, very remote $125.81.
Transition Through School And To Further Education
Appropriate purpose: Disability-related skills and transition assistance for moving through education stages or towards tertiary and other further education.
Example: A student develops routines for planning travel to TAFE, navigating new environments and seeking disability-related adjustments.
When not to use: The school or education institution still has its own responsibilities. Do not bill ordinary curriculum teaching or compulsory school activities as NDIS support.
Item code: 13_030_0102_4_3 • Hour unit • National maximum $83.87, remote $117.42, very remote $125.81.
Training For Carers/Parents
Appropriate purpose: Teaching carers or parents strategies and techniques necessary to help the participant achieve disability-related functional goals.
Example: A therapist-directed or suitably delivered training session shows a parent how to use an agreed prompting sequence consistently at home.
When not to use: It is not an automatic allowance for a parent’s ordinary caring hours or unrelated family counselling.
Item code: 15_038_0117_1_3 • Hour unit • National maximum $83.87, remote $117.42, very remote $125.81.
Who can deliver a Level 3 intervention?
These supports should be delivered by a worker who can actually teach the relevant skills, respond to risks and assess progress. The pricing schedule does not say one Certificate III or Certificate IV is a mandatory qualification for every Level 3 item. For a participant with complex learning or behavioural support needs, the worker's competence and the appropriateness of supervision and existing support plans matter. Some activities may need allied-health involvement or coordination with the participant's other supports, but an allied-health professional is not automatically required to provide every listed Level 3 training task.
How should a Level 3 session be documented and invoiced?
The progress note should identify the skill being learned, the participant's starting capability, structured teaching delivered, prompts used, safety considerations, participation and next steps. An invoice showing only “Support – 2 hours” gives less useful evidence than “Tenancy obligations training: budgeting for rent and reporting maintenance, 90 minutes”.
A transport-training session may involve accompanying a participant as they rehearse routes; the important feature is the structured learning objective rather than merely providing a lift. Another separate NDIS item for skill development including public transport training appears in Table 1 (15_037_0117_1_3, national maximum $73.58/hour). Choose the applicable item family and funding category rather than treating the two as identical.
Travel labour time, kilometres, tolls, cancellations and non-face-to-face work do not become automatically claimable merely because one of these codes is listed. Verify the corresponding current Support Catalogue rules and agreement. The time billed should reflect the eligible service actually delivered.
Common questions
Why do eight different codes all cost $83.87 per hour nationally?
The NDIS schedule uses the same DSW Level 3 cost model across these eight supports. The different codes identify what service is being provided, not a different price calculation.
Can a worker charge this rate for completing ordinary paperwork?
Not simply because paperwork is involved. The actual intervention must match the relevant funded training or capacity-building purpose.
Can two people attend one group session and each be charged $83.87?
Group-based claiming has separate allocation rules. Part 1 of the schedule requires dividing the relevant maximum by the group size where support is delivered as a group.
Original source: NDIS Pricing Schedule 2026–27, effective 24 September 2026. Claimability and registration conditions also need to be checked in the current NDIS Support Catalogue and other operative rules. This independent article explains published prices; it is not a funding decision for a specific participant. All dollar amounts are AUD and may change.
