The NDIA has published the 2024/2025 Annual Pricing Review .This review will inform the 2025/2026 Pricing arrangements and Price Limits, which are yet to be published and are due to take effect from 1 July 2025.
No recommended change to Price Limits for common speech pathology supports
The review did not recommend increased price limits for Early Childhood Supports and Therapy Supports provided by speech pathologists or therapy assistants working under their supervision. This marks the 6th year that price limits for Therapy Supports delivered by speech pathologists have remained unchanged.
The review recommended reducing price limits for some other Therapy Support providers, such as physiotherapists, dietitians, and podiatrists. However, speech pathology was found to be aligned with benchmarking and it recommended to remain at $193.99.
This outcome is disappointing, particularly given our ongoing advice to the NDIA about the increasing economic pressures facing speech pathologist providers. The continued absence of price limit increases raises serious concerns about the long-term sustainability of the speech pathology workforce under the NDIS, and risks reducing access to vital care.
Therapy supports to be claimed in 10-minute increments
The review recommended that speech pathologists and other Therapy Support providers claim time in 10-minute increments (rather than 60 minutes). Price Limits would also be presented in 10-minute increments. The NDIA has indicated that this would “encourage greater flexibility in session lengths and improve alignment between claimed time and services delivered.”
Provider travel rates reduced by 50%
The review recommended that travel rates be reduced to 50% of the relevant therapy support rate. This would be claimable at the 10-minute price limit on a pro rata basis.
Why this has happened
The Australian Government announced their intention and drive to reduce NDIS spending, with a growth target of only 8% by 1 July 2026. This subsequently affects policy regarding price limits.
In addition, the NDIA did not conduct public consultation as part of the 2024/2025 pricing review process, further limiting opportunities for providers’ voices to be heard.
How Speech Pathology Australia is advocating on members’ behalf
We continue to pursue every opportunity to advocate for fair pricing that reflects the cost of service-provision. We have heard members’ growing frustration with the freeze on price limits and concerns for the sustainability of their practices.
We have responded in the following ways:
- Continually raising concerns with policy makers and decision makers about the impact of price freezes on the market and the viability of businesses that provide these vital services.
- Calling for annual therapy price indexation in line with CPI, at a minimum.
- Engaging directly with the NDIA’s pricing review team, even in the absence of formal public consultation, to ensure member views were still communicated.
- Providing evidence-based feedback to the NDIA pricing review team, including the detailed submissions that were informed by members’ feedback and SPA surveys in 2023 and 2024.
- Advocating for pricing to be determined by an independent body, separate to the NDIS, that sets pricing limits based upon a range of data, including provider consultation.
- Advocating for increased therapy price limits, and funding for supervision and training and group therapy in a submission to the review by the Independent Health and Aged Care Pricing Authority (IHACPA) in November 2024. However, the results of this review have not been publicly released.
Further pricing review to be conducted
A further comprehensive 18-month therapy pricing review is proposed, which would inform therapy supports pricing for 2026-2027.
We will continue to advocate on members’ behalf and keep you informed as this work progresses.