For practices in Australia

NDIS Service Agreement Template for Allied Health Providers

Most NDIS service agreement templates are written for support workers: rosters, shifts, weekend rates and transport to community activities. If you're an occupational therapist, physio, speech pathologist, psychologist or dietitian, much of that doesn't apply, and the things that matter most to you (assessment and report time, travel to home and school visits, short-notice cancellations) are often missing. This NDIS service agreement template is built for therapy supports. You can copy it section by section, then adapt it to your practice.

It isn't legal advice. NDIS pricing and claiming rules change, sometimes more than once a year, so check each clause against the NDIA's current documents before you use it. We've linked them throughout.

The NDIS service agreement template

Copy the wording below and replace the bracketed parts. Keep the language plain: the agreement has to be understood by the participant, so offer an Easy Read version, an interpreter or a walk-through if they need it.

1. Parties and key details

This agreement is between [participant's name] (NDIS number [number], date of birth [date]) and [your name or business name] (ABN [ABN]), who provides [profession, e.g. occupational therapy] supports. If the participant has a nominee, guardian or parent signing for them, their name is [name].

The agreement starts on [date] and ends on [date], unless it's ended earlier under section 10. We will review it [e.g. every six months] or when the participant's plan changes.

Set the end date on or before the participant's plan reassessment date. A new plan usually means a new agreement.

2. Goals and supports

The participant's NDIS plan goals that these supports relate to are: [goal, e.g. "to shower and dress independently"]. We will provide [e.g. assessment, therapy sessions, a home program and equipment recommendations] at [location: clinic, home, school, telehealth], about [frequency, e.g. fortnightly]. These supports are reasonable and necessary supports specified in the participant's NDIS plan.

Linking each support to a plan goal shows how it relates to the participant's plan, and it gives your progress reports something to measure against.

3. Schedule of supports

This is the part support worker templates get wrong for therapists. List each type of support as its own line, using the item numbers in the current NDIS Support Catalogue. Most therapy supports are funded under Capacity Building – Improved Daily Living.

Since 1 July 2026, each therapy support has its own item numbers for non-face-to-face work, telehealth, provider travel, NDIA-requested reports and short-notice cancellations, ending in _NF, _TH, _PT, _RR and _CA.

Short-notice cancellations are claimed under the _CA item for the relevant support, as set out in section 6. They are not in addition to the total above.

4. Prices and price limits

Our prices are at or below the NDIS price limits (in the NDIS Pricing Schedule) current at the time the support is delivered. If price limits go up during this agreement, we will [keep our current prices / move to no more than the new limit] and tell you in writing first. If a limit falls below our price, we will reduce our price to the new limit from the date it applies.

We will not charge gap fees, booking fees, card surcharges or any other amount on top of the price of a support.

Price limits apply to NDIA-managed and plan-managed participants. Self-managed participants aren't bound by them, but many therapists keep one price list for everyone. Registered providers can't add gap fees or surcharges. The NDIS sets these out in its update on travel claiming rules, gap fees and other costs.

5. How payment works

This participant's funding is [NDIA-managed / plan-managed / self-managed].

• NDIA-managed: we claim payment from the NDIA through the NDIA's provider portal (registered providers only).
• Plan-managed: we send invoices to [plan manager's name and email].
• Self-managed: we invoice [the participant or their representative], and payment is due within [e.g. 7 days].

6. Cancellations and no-shows

If you need to cancel or change an appointment, please give us at least [2 clear business days] notice by [phone, SMS or email]. If you cancel with less notice, don't attend, or aren't there when we arrive, we may claim up to [100%] of the agreed price for that support, in line with the NDIA's current pricing arrangements. We may waive this fee at our discretion.

At the time of writing, the NDIA's short-notice period for therapy and other non-support-worker supports is two clear business days. The cancellation can be claimed only if your service agreement provides for it. Check the current pricing updates before you set your terms, since this is one of the rules that has changed in recent years.

7. Provider travel

If we deliver supports away from our clinic, we will claim our travel time at the rate the NDIS allows for provider travel, up to the time cap for your area, and show travel separately on each invoice. Non-labour travel costs such as [kilometres at $__ per km, parking and tolls] must be agreed with you in advance, and we will claim them as the NDIA's current guidance allows. We will tell you the expected travel time before the first visit.

At the time of writing, therapists can claim travel time at half their hourly price limit. The cap is 30 minutes each way in metropolitan areas (MMM 1–3) and 60 minutes in regional areas (MMM 4–5), with no cap in remote and very remote areas (MMM 6–7). Confirm these numbers each year.

8. Reports and non-face-to-face work

Some of our work happens outside sessions, such as writing reports, preparing home programs, and talking with your support coordinator, teachers or other providers. With your agreement, we will claim this time at our hourly rate. We will tell you before starting any piece of work expected to take more than [e.g. 1 hour].

We will provide a progress report [e.g. 6 weeks before your plan reassessment date], estimated at [hours].

Spell this out. Report time is a common source of disputes for therapists, because a participant who sees a one-hour session on the calendar doesn't expect a two-hour report invoice.

9. Responsibilities

We will: provide supports safely and respectfully, in a way that suits you; communicate openly; keep your information private; give you notice of changes; give you a copy of this agreement; and follow the NDIS Code of Conduct.

You (or your representative) will: tell us what you need and what's working; give notice if you can't attend; tell us about changes to your plan, funding or contact details; and let us know if a home visit isn't safe, for example if anyone at home is unwell.

10. Changes, ending the agreement and concerns

Changes to this agreement must be agreed in writing by both of us. Either of us can end it with [e.g. 14 days] written notice, or immediately if there's a serious breach.

If you're unhappy with our service, please tell [name and contact]. If you're not satisfied with our response, you can contact the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission.

For small changes, such as more hours, add a signed variation to the original agreement. For a new plan or a big change in supports, make a new agreement.

11. Privacy and consent

We collect and store your information under the Privacy Act 1988 and the Australian Privacy Principles. With your consent, we will share relevant information and reports with: [e.g. your plan manager, support coordinator, the NDIA, your GP].

12. Signatures

Participant or representative: [name, signature, date] Provider: [name, signature, date]

NDIS service agreement example: a sole trader OT

Here's how the schedule might look for a sole trader occupational therapist who visits a plan-managed participant at home, about 20 minutes' drive away in a metro area, every fortnight for six months.

• Initial assessment: 2 hours face-to-face, plus 3 hours non-face-to-face to write the report
• Therapy sessions: 12 sessions of 1 hour = 12 hours face-to-face
• Home program and liaison with the school: 2 hours non-face-to-face
• Progress report before plan reassessment: 3 hours non-face-to-face
• Travel time: 13 visits × 40 minutes return (under the 30-minute cap each way) = about 8.7 hours, claimed at the travel rate
• Non-labour travel: 13 visits × 30 km return, at the per-km rate you've agreed

At the 2026–27 occupational therapy price limit of $193.99 an hour, that's 22 hours of therapy and report time (about $4,268) plus about 8.7 hours of travel at half the limit (about $840): roughly $5,110 before kilometres. Totalling it like this before the participant signs shows you both whether their Improved Daily Living budget covers the plan. If it doesn't, it's much easier to adjust frequency now than to stop therapy halfway through.

Do you need an NDIS service agreement?

A service agreement is a written agreement between you and the participant (or their representative) about which supports you'll provide and on what terms. The NDIA isn't a party to it, but it expects the terms to be consistent with the NDIS Act, the NDIS Pricing Schedule and the NDIA's pricing arrangements.

• For therapy supports, a written agreement isn't mandatory. It's required for Specialist Disability Accommodation, and the NDIS recommends one whenever a participant starts with a new provider or their needs change. See the NDIS page on how to make a service agreement.
• Registered providers audited against the core module of the NDIS Practice Standards (certification, for example if you're registered for early childhood supports) must work with each participant on a service agreement: give them a copy, or record why that wasn't practical or why the participant declined. If you're registered only for verification groups such as therapeutic supports, that standard isn't part of your audit, but an agreement is still good practice.
• Unregistered sole traders should use one anyway. Without a signed agreement that sets out your cancellation, travel and report terms, those charges are hard to justify to a plan manager or participant, and harder still if a claim is questioned.
• GST-registered providers: a written agreement is one of the ATO's conditions for a support to be GST-free as an NDIS supply, along with a plan in effect, the support being in the plan, and the support being a type covered by the Minister's GST-free NDIS supports determination (see GST and the NDIS). Many therapy services are GST-free as health services anyway, so check with your accountant which applies to you.

The NDIS has also released its own service agreement template, checklist and Easy Read resources. Using its template is optional, and it's general, so it's worth reading alongside the therapy-specific clauses above.

How to send your service agreement for e-signature

Printing an agreement, posting it and chasing the signed copy is slow, especially when a representative signs for the participant. A digital agreement works better:

1. Build it once as a form with the template's sections and fields, and leave the schedule of supports editable for each participant.
2. Pre-fill what you know: name, NDIS number, plan dates and plan manager details.
3. Send it by SMS or email before the first appointment, so there's time for questions.
4. Collect a signature from the participant or their representative on any device.
5. Save the signed copy to their record and send them a copy (required if you're audited against the core module).
6. Offer another way if digital doesn't suit them: go through it together at the first session, or use an Easy Read version.

In Caspen, you can build your agreement with the online forms builder, pre-fill the participant's details, send it by SMS or email with a signature request, and have the signed response saved to their file automatically.

Keep the agreement and the plan budget in step

A signed agreement is only useful if what you deliver matches it. Two habits help:

• Track hours against the schedule. When non-face-to-face time builds up, you'll see it before a plan manager queries an invoice. Caspen's cases track a participant's NDIS funding as you use it, with alerts before it runs low or the plan ends.
• Claim with the same line items. Caspen's NDIS tools include the NDIS price guide and line-item codes on each activity, plus travel claiming. Invoices then use the same items as the agreement.

Review your template every time the NDIA releases a new pricing schedule or pricing arrangements, and whenever a participant gets a new plan, so your terms never refer to rules that no longer apply.

Next steps

Copy the template above, check the cancellation, travel and pricing clauses against the NDIA's current documents, and have a lawyer review it if you're unsure about any term. Then build it once so every new participant gets the same complete agreement.

If you'd like to send agreements, track NDIS budgets and claim from one place, start a free trial of Caspen.