NDIS Psychology: What It Covers, Rates and How to Access

The NDIS does fund psychology. What it funds is capacity-building psychological support tied directly to disability, not clinical treatment of a mental health condition. Many participants and families get this wrong, leading to declined funding, poorly framed reports, and participants not accessing support they need. This guide covers what NDIS funds and what it does not, the rate, the NDIS vs Medicare distinction, and how to access funding.

What Is NDIS Psychology?

NDIS-funded psychology is psychological support that builds functional capacity and independence related to a permanent disability. It is not clinical mental health treatment. The NDIS does not fund psychology to treat or stabilise the symptoms of a mental health condition. That is the health system’s responsibility, primarily through Medicare.

This distinction sounds technical but it matters practically. The same psychologist, seeing the same participant, can deliver NDIS-funded support or Medicare-funded treatment, depending on what the session is for. A session building emotional regulation so a participant can manage daily routines and participate in employment is NDIS territory. A session focused on treating generalised anxiety disorder is Medicare territory. The work may feel similar; the funding framework and purpose are different.

NDIS psychology sits primarily under Capacity Building: Improved Daily Living (also called CB Daily Activity in the myplace portal). In some plans, psychology for behaviour and social interaction sits under Improved Relationships. In rarer circumstances, Core Supports funding can cover psychology where the plan design allows.

What Does NDIS Psychology Cover?

NDIS-funded psychology covers capacity-building supports directly tied to a participant’s disability and their NDIS goals. This includes:

• Emotional regulation skills training: Building the skills to manage emotional responses that affect daily functioning, relationships, and community participation
• Social skills programs: Developing the skills to initiate and maintain relationships, navigate social environments, and participate in group settings
• Strategies for managing daily routines: Cognitive and behavioural strategies for managing the daily living tasks that disability makes difficult
• Anxiety management linked to disability: Where anxiety arises from the functional impacts of a permanent disability, not as a general mental health condition
• Cognitive skill building: Building memory, attention, planning, and problem-solving skills affected by disability
• Functional assessment reports: Assessment and report writing that supports NDIS planning, plan reviews, and evidence of functional impact
• Behaviour-related supports: Psychological strategies for managing behaviours related to autism, intellectual disability, or acquired brain injury
• Group therapy with a skill-building focus: Social skills groups, emotion regulation programs, and independent living programs delivered in group format

What NDIS Psychology Does Not Cover

This is where many funding requests run into trouble. The exclusion list is specific and has been tightened significantly since October 2024.

NDIS psychology does not fund:

• Clinical diagnosis or psychiatric assessment, including assessment for ASD, ADHD, PTSD, or other conditions
• Risk assessment and safety management services
• Crisis support and acute mental health intervention
• Treatment or stabilisation of mental health symptoms, including treatment for PTSD, depression, anxiety as a standalone condition, or trauma
• Alcohol and drug dependency assessment or treatment
• Hospital or inpatient mental health services
• School-based adjustments to support learning
• Supports the health system or state services are responsible for
• Low-cost assistive technology items such as iPads, weighted blankets, or self-regulation apps claimed under psychology line items (removed from the 2025-26 PAPL)

From 30 June 2025, Disability-Related Health Supports including psychology were moved from Core funding to Capacity Building only. From 30 June 2025, Disability-Related Health Supports including psychology were moved to Capacity Building only. The 2025-26 PAPL also clarified that group therapy and capacity-building programs remain fundable, but they must have a therapeutic or skill-building focus. Non-therapeutic activities without explicit skill development, such as general art groups or sports without capacity-building outcomes, are not funded under psychology line items.

NDIS Psychology Rate in 2025-26

Under the PAPL v1.1 (effective 24 November 2025), the maximum rate for psychology is $232.99 per hour. This is a national standardised rate that now applies uniformly across all states, following the 2025-26 pricing review.

Remote areas apply a 40% loading ($326.19/hr, MMM 6) and very remote a 50% loading ($349.49/hr, MMM 7).

Travel by a psychologist is billed at 50% of the hourly rate, which is $116.50 per hour. Report writing and case notes can be billed under the same code where the service agreement allows, up to the 20% non-face-to-face limit.

The Right Line Item Matters

The 2025-26 PAPL introduced an important rule: where a line item exists for a specific profession, that line item must be used. Psychologists must claim under psychology-specific line items, not under generic “Other Professional” codes. This change affects billing and has implications for plan management and claiming compliance.

Psychology line items sit under registration group 0128 (Therapeutic Supports). The primary Capacity Building line item for individual psychology sessions is 15_056_0128_1_3. For some Core-funded psychology (in specific plan designs), the item 01_701_0128_1_3 applies.

October 2024 Rule Changes: What Changed and Why It Matters

From 3 October 2024, new NDIS legislation changed how supports must be justified. Psychology funding must now clearly relate to the specific impairments for which the participant meets NDIS disability or early intervention requirements. This is tighter than the pre-October 2024 position.

In practice, psychology reports for NDIS planning can no longer be framed in general mental health terms. A report that describes treating anxiety or depression without connecting it to a permanent disability and functional impacts will not support NDIS funding. A report describing how anxiety from autism creates specific functional barriers, and how psychological intervention will build functional capacity, is fundable.

The shift also brought greater scrutiny at plan reviews. Planners are more closely evaluating whether psychology is linked to a permanent disability or better met through Medicare or state mental health services. If the NDIS planner concludes the psychology support is better suited to another system, they will decline or not renew it.

NDIS Psychology vs Medicare: How the Two Systems Work Together

One of the most important and consistently misunderstood areas in NDIS psychology is how NDIS and Medicare interact. They are not in competition. They fund different things. Most participants with psychosocial disability or mental health needs alongside their disability can and should be using both.

Medicare Psychology

Medicare funds clinical treatment of mental health conditions through the Better Access initiative. With a GP Mental Health Treatment Plan, a participant can access up to 10 sessions per year. Medicare is appropriate for treating mental health symptoms: CBT for depression, trauma processing, medication management, and clinical monitoring.

NDIS Psychology

NDIS funds capacity building tied to permanent disability, with no session cap. Funding is individualised and based on assessed need. NDIS is appropriate for building the skills a person needs because of their disability: emotional regulation, social skills development, independence training, and functional assessment.

Running Side by Side

Medicare and NDIS can fund psychology simultaneously, for different purposes. A participant might use 10 Medicare sessions for treating PTSD while separately using NDIS funding to build daily living skills that PTSD has affected.

NDIS and Medicare cannot be claimed for the same session. This double billing prohibition applies equally to providers and participants. A single psychology session must be billed through one system or the other. Double billing is not permitted and creates compliance risk for providers. Double billing is not permitted and creates compliance risk for providers.

The NDIA is explicit that clinical care should not stop once a participant accesses the NDIS. NDIS supplements the health system; it does not replace it.

Psychosocial Disability and NDIS Psychology

Psychosocial disability refers to disability arising from a mental health condition that has a significant and lasting impact on daily functioning. This is one of the most complex areas in NDIS psychology, and one where many participants are confused about their entitlements.

The NDIS funds based on functional impact, not diagnosis. Having a mental health condition does not automatically mean someone has a psychosocial disability under NDIS rules. What determines eligibility is whether the condition is permanent and whether it substantially affects functional capacity.

For psychosocial disability participants, the NDIS covers non-clinical supports focused on functional ability, independence, and participation. The mental health system remains responsible for clinical treatment and diagnosis. Both systems can operate simultaneously, covering different needs.

What Good NDIS Psychology Reports Look Like

Most psychology funding requests that get declined do so because the supporting report uses clinical treatment language rather than functional capacity language. Understanding what planners are looking for is as important as knowing what the NDIS funds.

A strong NDIS psychology report does not describe a mental health condition and its treatment. It names the functional barriers a participant faces, the NDIS goals psychology will contribute to, and how support will build measurable functional capacity.

Key language: functional goals, capacity building, independence, participation in daily living, community engagement, measurable outcomes. Language to avoid includes: treating symptoms, diagnosis, stabilisation, clinical intervention, and ongoing treatment without functional endpoints.

A report saying “this participant needs twelve months of psychology to build emotional regulation and social skills for employment and participation” will succeed. A report saying “this participant has major depression and requires ongoing psychological support” will not.

Psychology for People in Complex Circumstances

Standard guides to NDIS psychology focus almost entirely on autism spectrum disorder and intellectual disability. What they leave out is the significant group who need NDIS psychology because disability intersects with trauma, family violence, or sustained adversity.

For women with disability who have experienced family violence, the psychological need is real, significant, and often poorly served by both systems. Medicare sessions are frequently insufficient, particularly where the trauma history is extensive and the disability creates additional barriers to engagement. The NDIS can fund psychology to build independence after leaving an unsafe situation: self-regulation, daily living management, and community access.

A psychologist working with this population must understand that effective therapy is not just about clinical technique. Physical and emotional safety must come first. The pace of therapy must be set by the participant. Trust is built gradually. The functional goals of therapy reflect the participant’s own vision for their life, not a clinical framework.

For young people with disability navigating mental health difficulties, the NDIS can fund psychology to build skills for daily life, relationships, and community participation. Where a young person is dealing with trauma or family disruption, coordination between NDIS psychology, school supports, and family services becomes critical. A Support Coordinator who understands all three systems can make the difference between psychology that works and support that falls over from poor coordination.

Why Choose Tenax Supports for NDIS Psychology

Psychological support takes time. It does not produce neat outcomes on a schedule, and it rarely looks the same from one participant to the next. Getting the right coordination in place around a participant's psychology supports makes a real difference, particularly when circumstances are complex.

Tenax Supports is a Victoria-based registered NDIS provider. We don't employ psychologists directly, but our Support Coordination service helps participants find and coordinate psychology alongside their other NDIS-funded supports, prepare for planning meetings, and frame psychology evidence in functional goal language. Where psychology has been declined or removed from a plan, a Support Coordinator can help build the evidence base for a plan review and navigate the NDIS-vs-Medicare interface.

For participants in complex situations where family violence, housing instability, child protection, or mental health crisis intersects with disability, Support Coordination can help find and coordinate the right mix of psychology and other supports and services involved.

For related reading, see our guides to the NDIS in Australia, NDIS occupational therapy, NDIS support coordination, and positive behaviour support NDIS.

For current information on Tenax Supports' NDIS registration, search the NDIS Commission Provider Register at ndiscommission.gov.au.

Contact Tenax Supports at tenaxsupports.com.au/contact or call 03 7018 8666. You can also reach the NDIS on 1800 800 110. Referrals can be submitted at tenaxsupports.com.au/referrals.

Frequently Asked Questions About NDIS Psychology

Does NDIS fund psychology?

Yes. The NDIS funds psychology for eligible participants when it is directly related to their disability and builds functional capacity. It sits primarily under Capacity Building: Improved Daily Living at $232.99 per hour (2025-26 PAPL). The NDIS does not fund clinical treatment of mental health conditions. The test is purpose: NDIS funds psychology that builds functional skills linked to a permanent disability. Medicare funds clinical treatment and symptom management.

NDIS-funded psychology covers emotional regulation training, social skills programs, anxiety management linked to disability, and skill-building group therapy. It does not cover clinical diagnosis, crisis services, trauma treatment as a standalone condition, or low-cost AT items previously claimed under psychology line items.

What is the NDIS psychology rate in 2025-26?

The 2025-26 NDIS rate for psychology is $232.99 per hour (PAPL v1.1, effective 24 November 2025). Remote areas: $326.19/hr (40% loading). Very remote: $349.49/hr (50% loading). Travel is billed at 50% of the hourly rate ($116.50/hr). Psychologists must use psychology-specific line items, not the generic Other Professional code. Non-face-to-face work can be billed under the same code where the service agreement allows.

What is the difference between NDIS and Medicare psychology?

Medicare (via a GP Mental Health Treatment Plan) funds clinical treatment of mental health conditions with up to 10 psychology sessions per year. NDIS funds disability-related capacity building with no session cap. Both can run side by side for different purposes. NDIS and Medicare cannot be claimed for the same session. The NDIS does not replace clinical care and does not require participants to exhaust Medicare before accessing NDIS psychology.

Who qualifies for NDIS psychology funding?

NDIS psychology is available to participants with a permanent disability that significantly affects daily functioning, where psychology can build functional capacity related to that disability. The NDIS funds based on functional impact, not diagnosis. Since 3 October 2024, psychology must clearly relate to the impairments that meet NDIS disability or early intervention requirements. Psychosocial disability participants can access NDIS psychology for functional supports alongside health system treatment.

What does NDIS psychology not cover?

NDIS does not fund clinical diagnosis, crisis services, mental health treatment, alcohol and drug treatment, hospital mental health services, or AT items removed from the 2025-26 PAPL.

How do I get psychology included in my NDIS plan?

Identify functional goals linked to your disability, not diagnostic symptoms. Get a psychologist’s report connecting psychological support to your disability-related functional barriers and NDIS goals, using functional language. Raise psychology explicitly at your planning meeting with frequency and type of support. If not currently in your plan, request a plan review with evidence. A Support Coordinator can help frame the evidence and prepare for the planning meeting.