How NDIS behaviour support funding works: rates, line items and what's covered (2026–27)
NDIS funding language is its own dialect: budgets, categories, line items, price limits. If you just want to know whether your child's plan covers behaviour support and what the money actually pays for, this guide answers the questions parents ask us most, in plain English.
Which NDIS budget pays for behaviour support?
Positive Behaviour Support is funded from the Improved Relationships budget, which sits inside the Capacity Building part of your child's NDIS plan. In newer PACE-style plans it usually appears as "Behaviour Support" or "CB Relationships". If you can see one of those labels with a dollar amount next to it, your child has behaviour support funding.
What is the NDIS line item for positive behaviour support?
The main line item is 11_022_0110_7_3, Specialist Behavioural Intervention Support. That is the item a behaviour support provider claims against for assessment and for developing a behaviour support plan. You don't need to memorise it, but it is useful to recognise on quotes and invoices.
What is the NDIS rate for behaviour support in 2026–27?
The NDIS price limit for specialist behaviour support is $252.99 per hour for 2026–27. Registered providers cannot charge NDIS participants more than the price limit. At AkindaCo we bill per appointment for the actual time delivered, never in prepaid blocks.
What does behaviour support funding actually pay for?
More than the sessions you see. Good behaviour support includes real work that happens away from your child: analysing observations and data, writing the assessment and the plan itself, and working with your child's school, therapists and support workers so everyone responds the same way. That non-face-to-face time is a legitimate, claimable part of behaviour support under the NDIS, and any honest provider will tell you up front roughly how the hours will be split.
How many hours does a behaviour support plan take?
At AkindaCo, an initial, interim behaviour support plan usually takes around 10–15 hours of professional time spread over several weeks. A comprehensive plan with a full Functional Behaviour Assessment takes much longer when it is done genuinely comprehensively, because it involves research, observation and monitoring over time, regular check-ins with your family and care team, and adjusting strategies as everyone learns what works. Before we begin, we map out how your funding will be used across the stages, so there are no surprises partway through.
Will we have out-of-pocket costs?
If your child's plan is agency-managed or plan-managed, invoices go straight to the NDIA or your plan manager and there are usually no out-of-pocket costs. If the plan is self-managed, you pay the invoice and claim it back through the NDIS portal. Either way, the first 15-minute phone call with us is free, and we charge for everything from that point onwards, so you always know where the paid work starts.
What if my child's plan has no behaviour support funding?
It happens often, especially in a first plan. If behaviours of concern are affecting your child's safety, learning or family life, talk to your support coordinator, early childhood partner or local area coordinator about whether behaviour support should be added when the plan is reviewed or reassessed. Reports and letters from the professionals who know your child, describing the behaviours and their impact, are the evidence that carries weight. We're happy to talk through what that pathway looks like in the free first call.
Can we pay privately instead?
Yes. Most of our behaviour support clients are NDIS-funded, but we're open to privately funded families too, and we'll be upfront about costs before anything begins.
How do we start?
Book the free 15-minute call. Tell us what's been happening, have your child's plan handy if you can, and we'll tell you honestly what funding you have to work with and what it can achieve. We support families across Salisbury, North Adelaide and Adelaide's northern suburbs, at home, at school, online and in clinic.
Funding details on this page reflect the 2026–27 NDIS pricing arrangements at the time of writing. Always check your own plan, or ask us, for how they apply to your child.
AkindaCo · Positive Behaviour Support · pbs.akindaco.com · (08) 7081 5886 · hello@akindaco.com
Paula Gillespie is the Founder and Managing Director of AkindaCo, a Behaviour Support Practitioner, an Art Psychotherapist and an Adjunct Lecturer at the University of Adelaide.