NDIS software: what providers need for rostering, claiming and the 2026-27 pricing rules

What does NDIS software do?

• Rostering: Match support workers to participants by skills, location, availability and preference. Fill gaps when someone cancels.
• Shift records: Workers clock on and off on a phone app and write shift notes and progress against goals.
• Incidents and compliance: Log incidents, track worker screening checks and training, and keep audit evidence.
• Service agreements and budgets: Record what each participant agreed to and track spend against their plan.
• Claiming: Turn delivered supports into payment requests with the right support item numbers and prices.
• Invoicing: Send invoices to plan managers and self-managed participants.
• Payroll: Send worked hours, allowances and travel to payroll.

My staff scheduling guide goes deeper on rostering.

What changed in NDIS pricing for 2026-27?

On 24 September 2026, the Minister for Disability and the NDIS, Mark Butler, made the first NDIS pricing determination under the new NDIS legislation. It set the maximum prices for 2026-27, and they took effect straight away. The government says the schedule will be updated later this year to reflect any required changes.

The government is also consulting on different prices for registered and unregistered providers. The NDIA recommended this start on 1 January 2027, but it is not in effect yet. RSM Australia reports that the proposal would cut unregistered prices for social and community participation by 10%, with weekday daytime falling from $73.58 to $66.22.

The old price guide has not been replaced yet. The NDIS pricing arrangements page still lists only the 2025-26 Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits document. It says the NDIA will shortly publish updated pricing and claiming guidance. Until then, the 2026-27 schedule is mostly a list of items, codes and prices.

Pay rates are moving too. The Fair Work Commission ruled on the SCHADS award on 11 September 2026, and those changes take effect on 1 December 2026.

For your software, that means:

• Fast updates: The vendor must load new prices soon after each change, and tell you when it has.
• Registered status: If differentiated pricing goes ahead, the software must apply the right price for your registration status.
• Payroll: Your pay rules must pick up the SCHADS changes from 1 December 2026.

Do you need to be a registered NDIS provider?

Many providers do not have to register with the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission. The NDIS Code of Conduct applies to registered and unregistered providers alike.

The NDIS says these supports must come from a registered provider:

• Specialist disability accommodation: Housing built for people with very high support needs.
• Specialist behaviour support: Services that create behaviour support plans.
• NDIA-managed funding: Any support for a participant whose funding the NDIA manages.
• Plan management: Services that manage a participant's funds.
• Aged care providers: Aged care providers who support NDIS participants.

You must also be registered if you use regulated restrictive practices. To register, you apply to the NDIS Commission and get audited against the NDIS practice standards. The Commission then checks your suitability, issues a certificate and handles renewals.

If you register, your software becomes part of your audit evidence. It must keep clear records of incidents, complaints, worker checks and training.

How do NDIS claims work, and what must the software get right?

Each claim needs the participant's name and NDIS number, the dates of support, the support item number and the price. You must submit claims within 2 years of delivering the support.

How you claim depends on how the participant's plan is managed.

• NDIA-managed: You submit the request through the myplace provider portal. The NDIA says claims made within 90 days of delivery help avoid delays. Later claims get extra checks and may be held for up to 28 days.
• Plan-managed: You invoice the plan manager, and the invoice must include your ABN. The plan manager then claims.
• Self-managed: You invoice the participant, who pays you and claims from their plan.

The maximum prices apply to NDIA-managed and plan-managed participants, and the NDIA cannot pay a claim above them. You can agree a lower price. Your software must stop you charging above the limit and must match each claim to the funding in the plan.

Which NDIS software do providers use?

All prices below come from each vendor's own page as of October 2026 and exclude GST.

ShiftCare

ShiftCare charges per user, and every login counts, including support workers. It needs at least five staff. Basic costs $8 a user a month billed yearly, or $9 monthly. Professional costs $13 yearly or $15 monthly, and adds bulk invoicing and NDIS claim file uploads. Premium costs $20 yearly or $25 monthly, and adds direct NDIA claims through PRODA, the government's provider login system. NDIS price limits are built in on every plan.

Brevity

Brevity charges per client. Its Business plan costs $6.49 a client a month and covers rostering, a mobile app, NDIS bulk claims and a built-in price guide. It also includes supported independent living (SIL) and plan management modules, shift notes and incident management. A Plan Management plan costs $3.99 a client a month. Brevity says a setup fee applies to its Business and Enterprise plans.

SupportAbility

SupportAbility does not publish prices. It prices in brackets by the number of active staff, and its smallest bracket is 30 staff. Every subscription includes all modules, NDIS payment requests and unlimited client records. Subscriptions are yearly and paid at the start of each year.

How do they compare?

Product	Starting price (Oct 2026, ex GST)	Priced by	Good fit for
ShiftCare	$8 a user a month, billed yearly	Every login, minimum 5	Small and growing teams
Brevity	$6.49 a client a month	Client	Providers with SIL or plan management work
SupportAbility	Not published	Active staff, from 30	Larger providers that want every module

What should you check before you buy?

• Price updates: Ask how fast the vendor loaded the September 2026 prices, and how it will handle differentiated pricing.
• Claim checks: Ask to see a claim rejected inside the software before it reaches the NDIA, for example a price above the limit.
• Worker app: Have two support workers try the app. It must be simple to clock on and write notes with weak phone signal.
• Cost as you grow: Per-user pricing grows with staff. Per-client pricing grows with participants. Work out both for next year.
• Audit reports: If you are registered, ask for the reports your auditor will want.
• Privacy: The OAIC says the Privacy Act covers any health service provider, whatever its turnover. Ask where the vendor stores data and who can see it.

How can AI help an NDIS provider?

• Shift notes from voice: A worker speaks a short summary after a shift. AI turns it into a clear note linked to the participant's goals, ready for the worker to check.
• Claim checking: Before claims go out, AI compares each line with the participant's plan, the item code and the current price limit. It flags anything that looks wrong for a person to fix.
• After-hours calls: An AI receptionist answers participant and family calls at night, logs messages and passes urgent ones to the on-call coordinator. My AI receptionist guide for Australia covers the options.

Keep people in charge of care decisions and claims. AI can draft and flag, but a staff member must sign off.

When does custom software make sense for an NDIS provider?

Most providers should buy one of the products above. The vendors track every pricing change, and a build costs more than a subscription for a small team. A build is worth a look in these cases.

• You run several programmes: You deliver NDIS supports plus aged care, private clients or state-funded programmes, and no single product handles all of them.
• Your team copies data all day: Rostering, payroll, claiming and the CRM sit in different systems.
• You want your own participant app: Participants and families want to see bookings, notes and invoices in a client portal with your brand.
• You need reports across branches: Owners want one view of hours, margin and claim rejections across every site.

Often a small custom layer works best. It links to your main NDIS system through its API, which lets two systems share data. My build vs buy guide explains how to weigh the cost.

What mistakes do NDIS providers make with claims?

Most claim problems are not fraud, they are process mistakes that cost a provider real cash flow.

• Claiming more than 90 days after delivering a support. The NDIA says claims made within 90 days help avoid delays, and later claims get extra checks and can be held for up to two years in some cases. Build a habit of claiming weekly, not quarterly.
• Mixing up NDIA-managed, plan-managed and self-managed claim paths. Each one has a different process, and software that treats them identically will eventually submit a claim the wrong way for that participant's plan.
• Assuming any provider can deliver any support. Specialist disability accommodation, specialist behaviour support and NDIA-managed funding all require a registered provider. Check this before you commit staff time to a service you are not actually eligible to deliver and claim for.

How would Blur Studio approach this for an NDIS provider?

I start by following one participant from intake to paid claim, and I note every place someone re-types or double-checks something. If ShiftCare, Brevity or SupportAbility covers it, I will tell you to buy it. If there is a real gap, I build the missing piece and link it to the system you already use. The code and the accounts are held in the provider's name. I'm a one-person studio based in Dubai, and I work with NDIS providers across Australia remotely, and keep looking after the tool once it is live.