NDIS time of day and public holiday pricing, and the shifts that cross midnight

What's changed for 2026–27

Prices and these definitions are now set by the NDIS Pricing Schedule 2026–27, in force from 24 September 2026. It replaces the yearly Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits document. The definitions are the same in substance as 2025–26, with two changes: a written list of public holidays, and a shorter rule for shifts that cross between rates, both covered below.

The definitions

A weekday is Monday to Friday, unless it's a public holiday. Sleepovers have their own rules and price: see NDIS sleepovers and awake time. Nursing supports use different times.

Shifts that cross between rates

The schedule's rule (Part 1, clause 2.4(c)) is short: where a support crosses between different times of day or days of the week and is delivered by a single worker, the higher of the amounts applies to the whole support. It isn't decided by the start time, or by where most of the hours fall.

When to claim the higher rate, and when not to

The 2025–26 Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits (page 20) set out the rule in full:

“If a support to a participant does not meet one of the above criteria, then it needs to be billed as two or more separate supports. An exception to this general rule occurs when a particular support crosses a shift boundary and the same worker delivers the entire support. In this case, the higher of the relevant price limits applies to the entire support and the provider should make the claim against the relevant support item. Providers are required to discuss this billing arrangement with the participant.”

In practice:

• Claim the higher rate for the whole supportwhen the same worker delivers the entire support and it crosses a boundary. One worker from 4:00 pm to 9:00 pm on a Tuesday is claimed at the evening rate for all 5 hours.
• Don't claim the higher rate for the whole supportwhen different workers deliver different parts of it. If one worker supports from 4:00 pm to 8:00 pm and hands over to another until 9:00 pm, bill two separate supports: 4 hours at the daytime rate and 1 hour at the evening rate.
• Talk it through with the participant firstbefore claiming the higher rate for the whole support. The 2025–26 guidance required it.

The 2026–27 schedule keeps the same-worker rule (clause 2.4(c)) but doesn't repeat the separate-supports rule or the requirement to discuss it with the participant. Updated claiming guidance has been promised. Until it's published, we're still following the 2025–26 approach in full.

Public holidays

For the first time, the schedule lists them:

• 1 January, 26 January, Good Friday, Easter Monday, 25 April, 25 December and 26 December
• the King's Birthday holiday, on the day it's celebrated in a state or territory, or a region of one
• any other day or part-day declared a public holiday in the state or territory where the support is delivered

So the location of the support decides it, not where your office is, and part-day holidays such as Christmas Eve or New Year's Eve evenings count where they're declared. The wording doesn't say whether purely local holidays, such as a regional show day, count. If you deliver supports where they apply, check with the NDIA.

Item numbers and price limits

For Assistance with Self-Care Activities at standard intensity, the 2026–27 national price limits per hour are:

Remote and very remote areas have higher limits, listed alongside in the schedule.

Time of day pricing applies to the items in Appendices 1, 2 and 3 of the schedule: disability support workers, accommodation, and nursing and other labour supports. That includes self-care, Supported Independent Living, high intensity supports, community participation and group activities. Community participation (0125) items have no weekday night rate. Therapy supports aren't priced by time of day.

Watch the numbering: it doesn't follow the order of the day. In self-care, 011 is daytime and 012 is public holiday. In community participation, 04_104_0125_6_1 is daytime and 04_102_0125_6_1 is public holiday.

How Fully Funded Shifts handles it

Fully Funded Shifts prices each shift from the roster: it works out the time of day and day of week, applies the higher rate to the whole shift when it crosses between them, and uses each participant's public holiday list, so regional days are picked up. The rate and item number are on the invoice line before it's sent.

More about NDIS billing in Fully Funded Shifts

Sources

General information, not advice. Check the current NDIS pricing documents before you rely on it.

• NDIS Pricing Schedule 2026–27 (in force 24 September 2026): Part 1 clause 2.4 for the crossing rule; Part 4 Table 61 (pages 94–95) for the definitions and public holidays; Appendix 1 Table 1 for the item numbers and prices.
• NDIS Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits 2025–26 v1.1: last year's definitions and the earlier crossing guidance.
• NDIS Support Catalogue 2026–27: the same item numbers and prices, from 1 July 2026.
• NDIS pricing arrangements page: the current documents, and the promised updated claiming guidance.