The Support Coordination Rate Freeze Explained (7 Years On)
The support coordination rate freeze is now in its 7th year. What frozen L1/L2/L3 price limits mean for your margin, and what to do about it.
What exactly is frozen
How long has the freeze actually run
Why a frozen price is a real-terms pay cut
A worked example: where the money goes
How the freeze differs across L1, L2 and L3
The freeze in the context of the 2028 reforms
Billing changes that compound the pressure
Levers that actually move your numbers
Common mistakes coordinators make about the freeze
What to do next
Frequently asked questions
Will the support coordination rate freeze end in 2026-27?
There is no announced increase, and the price limits are frozen for a seventh consecutive year as at the 2026-27 PAPL. With the sector moving toward the commissioned model from 1 July 2028, the safer planning assumption is that the freeze holds. Verify the current figures against the PAPL on ndis.gov.au each cycle.
Is the frozen price limit the same as what a support coordinator gets paid?
No. The price limit (for example ~$100.14/hr for Level 2) is the maximum you can bill a participant's plan. What an employed coordinator is paid is set by the SCHADS award (MA000100) through Fair Work, and out of the billed amount you also fund on-costs, non-billable time and overheads. The two figures are set by different bodies and should never be conflated.
Why haven't NDIS support coordination rates gone up with inflation?
NDIS price limits are not automatically indexed to inflation. The NDIA sets them each year through its pricing review, and for support coordination the decision has been to hold rather than increase, even as wages and costs have risen. That gap between a frozen ceiling and rising input costs is the core of the viability pressure.
Does the freeze apply to Specialist Support Coordination (Level 3) too?
Yes. Level 3 sits under the same freeze, with an indicative ceiling around $190.54/hr. It carries a higher rate because it requires suitably qualified practitioners and mandatory registration under group 0132, including the Core Module and Specialist Module 4 audits, so the higher ceiling comes with higher compliance cost.
How does the 90-day claim window interact with the frozen rate?
From 1 December 2026 you must claim within 90 days of delivering a support, down from two years. On a frozen rate you cannot recover a lost claim through higher pricing, so a missed window is a permanent write-off. Tight, weekly invoicing discipline becomes essential to protecting an already thin margin.