Fee schedule
NDIS speech pathology price limits 2026-27
From 1 July 2026 NDIS pays $193.99 an hour nationally for speech pathology (item 01_665_0128_1_3, Therapy - Speech Pathologist - Direct Service), unchanged from 2025-26. A participant under 9 uses a different item code at the same rate, and AAC assessment bills under the standard hourly item, not a separate one.
Last checked 25 Sep 2026 against the sources listed at the end of this page.
- Payer
- NDIS
- Effective from
- 1 Jul 2026
- Official schedule
- Source document
What changed this year
- The speech pathology price limit is unchanged for 2026-27: item 01_665_0128_1_3 held at $193.99 national, $271.59 remote and $290.99 very remote, the same figures as the schedule effective 24 November 2025.
- There is still no separate NDIS item number for AAC (augmentative and alternative communication) assessment or prescription. A speech pathologist's AAC work bills under the same standard hourly item as any other speech pathology session; the AAC device itself is priced separately as assistive technology.
- Speech pathology prices identically to occupational therapy at $193.99, ahead of podiatry, physiotherapy and dietetics, and well below psychology's $252.99.
All 6 speech pathology items
| Item | Description | Fee | Previous |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01_665_0128_1_3 | Therapy - Speech Pathologist - Direct Service, national (participants 9 and over) | $193.99 | $193.99 |
| 01_665_0128_1_3 | Therapy - Speech Pathologist - Direct Service, remote (40 per cent loading) | $271.59 | |
| 01_665_0128_1_3 | Therapy - Speech Pathologist - Direct Service, very remote (50 per cent loading) | $290.99 | |
| 01_653_0118_1_3 | ECI Professional - Speech Pathologist - Direct Service, national (participants under 9, early childhood) | $193.99 | |
| 01_665_0128_1_3_PT | Therapy - Speech Pathologist - Provider Travel, national (50 per cent of the direct rate) | $97.00 | |
| 10_622_0128_5_3 | Employment Therapy - Speech Pathologist - Direct Service, national | $193.99 |
What NDIS pays for speech pathology in 2026-27
The NDIS Pricing Schedule for 2026-27, effective 1 July 2026, holds the speech pathology price limit at $193.99 an hour nationally, item 01_665_0128_1_3, unchanged from the arrangements that ran from 24 November 2025. Remote areas carry the standard 40 per cent loading to $271.59 and very remote areas a 50 per cent loading to $290.99.
This item covers speech pathology delivered to participants aged 9 and over under the Therapeutic Supports registration group. A younger participant's speech pathology is priced the same but coded differently.
Early childhood participants use a different item code at the same price
A large share of speech pathology caseloads are children under 9 receiving early childhood intervention. For them, the equivalent support is billed under item 01_653_0118_1_3, ECI Professional - Speech Pathologist - Direct Service, which sits in the Early Intervention Supports for Early Childhood registration group rather than Therapeutic Supports. The national rate is identical at $193.99, and the remote and very remote loadings match exactly.
The distinction is administrative rather than financial, but it is not optional. A plan funding early childhood supports expects claims against the early childhood item codes, and using the general therapeutic supports code for a 6 year old, even at the same price, does not match how the participant's plan is structured.
AAC assessment bills as a standard session, the device does not
Augmentative and alternative communication, AAC, assessment and prescription work is one of the more specialised parts of a speech pathology caseload, and it has no NDIS item number of its own. The assessment, trial and recommendation time is billed under the same standard hourly item as any other session, whichever of the two age-based item codes applies to the participant.
What is priced separately is the AAC device or communication equipment itself. That sits under the Communication and Information Equipment registration group, priced through the NDIS Assistive Technology, Home Modifications and Consumables Code Guide, and is typically claimed by an AT supplier rather than by the speech pathologist who assessed and recommended it.
Setting these up as billable items in Cliniko
Cliniko's billable item import and bulk price update tools handle the mechanics for both the general and early childhood item codes. Keeping both as separate billable items, even though they price identically, means invoices and any reporting to a plan manager correctly reflect which registration group, and which part of a participant's plan, funded the session.
Claiming notes
- The item name changed from Assessment Recommendation Therapy or Training Supports - Speech Pathologist in the 2025-26 arrangements to Therapy - Speech Pathologist - Direct Service in the 2026-27 schedule, at the same $193.99 rate, for participants aged 9 and over.
- For a participant under 9, the equivalent support is billed under item 01_653_0118_1_3, ECI Professional - Speech Pathologist - Direct Service, part of the Early Intervention Supports for Early Childhood registration group rather than Therapeutic Supports. The price is identical, $193.99 national, but using the wrong item code for a young child's plan is a claiming error even where the dollar figure would come out the same.
- AAC assessment, trial and prescription work is not a distinct support item. It is billed under the standard speech pathology hourly rate, 01_665_0128_1_3 for a participant 9 or over or 01_653_0118_1_3 for a participant under 9, the same item used for any other speech pathology session.
- The AAC device or communication equipment a speech pathologist recommends is priced separately as assistive technology, under the Communication and Information Equipment registration group and the NDIS Assistive Technology, Home Modifications and Consumables Code Guide, and is usually claimed by an AT supplier, not the speech pathologist.
- A near-identical item, 10_622_0128_5_3 (Employment Therapy - Speech Pathologist), prices the same $193.99 an hour but is claimed under a participant's Finding and Keeping a Job supports for employment-related assessment, counselling and advice.
- Provider travel prices at 50 per cent of the direct rate, $97.00 an hour, and short notice cancellation lets you claim up to 100 per cent of the fee for less than 2 clear business days' notice or a no show.
Load these fees into your practice software
- Create the general item under Settings, then Billable items, with Item code 01_665_0128_1_3, or bulk import it via CSV using Cliniko's billable item import fields (Item code, Name, Price ex. tax, Item type).
- If your caseload includes participants under 9, add 01_653_0118_1_3 as a separate billable item even though it is priced the same, so invoices and plan manager reports show the correct early childhood registration group for that participant's age.
- AAC assessment sessions do not need a separate billable item; bill them against the standard speech pathology item and record the AAC recommendation in the clinical note, since the device itself is invoiced by a different provider under a different code.
- Refresh prices each 1 July with Cliniko's bulk price update: export billable items, edit the price column, then re-import with only the price field enabled. There is no undo, so keep the original export.
- Cliniko's Tyro Health integration is built for DVA and Medicare claiming, and its help centre has nothing describing an equivalent real-time NDIS pathway. Speech pathology invoices, whether general or early childhood coded, go to the participant or plan manager to pay directly.
Sources
- The NDIS price limit for Therapy - Speech Pathologist - Direct Service (item 01_665_0128_1_3, for participants 9 and over) is $193.99 national, $271.59 remote and $290.99 very remote, effective 1 July 2026. National Disability Insurance Agency, checked 25 Sep 2026.
- The NDIS price limit for ECI Professional - Speech Pathologist - Direct Service (item 01_653_0118_1_3, for participants under 9) is also $193.99 national, $271.59 remote and $290.99 very remote, effective 1 July 2026. National Disability Insurance Agency, checked 25 Sep 2026.
- Under the NDIS Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits 2025-26 (effective 24 November 2025), the price limit for the general speech pathology item, then named Assessment Recommendation Therapy or Training Supports - Speech Pathologist, was also $193.99 national, $271.59 remote and $290.99 very remote. National Disability Insurance Agency, checked 25 Sep 2026.
- Information on the pricing arrangements for assistive technology, including communication equipment, is set out in the NDIS Assistive Technology, Home Modifications and Consumables Code Guide, a separate document from the main pricing schedule. National Disability Insurance Agency, checked 25 Sep 2026.
- Provider travel for therapy supports is priced at 50 per cent of the regular hourly price limit, illustrated with a worked example of a speech pathologist travelling to a participant. National Disability Insurance Agency, checked 25 Sep 2026.
- Cliniko's billable item import accepts a CSV with the fields Item code, Name, Price (ex. tax), Taxable and Item type, and its bulk price update tool refreshes existing billable item prices from a re-imported export with no undo. Cliniko, checked 25 Sep 2026.