Providers accountable for unfair pricing under new NDIS Rules
The NDIS Commission Code of Conduct has been updated with new rules on price differentiation. Price differentiation is when a provider charges more to a participant for something they purchase than they would charge if the person was not a participant.
The new NDIS Rules are:
- Providers must not charge a higher price for goods to an NDIS participant than to a person who is not an NDIS participant. For example, a provider would not be allowed to sell a shower chair to a person who is not an NDIS participant for $100, but sell the same kind of chair to an NDIS participant for $170.
- Providers cannot say (for example advertise or tell people) they charge a higher price to NDIS participants. For example, they cannot advertise on their website a sale price of the shower chair, but say the sale price isn’t for NDIS participants.
This change is only about goods, not services. Goods are things that you can touch, feel and see. Services are work done or help provided to a person. In the future, further changes might be made about other supports, such as allied health services or in-home supports services.
The new rules also highlight that all key personnel of NDIS providers are bound by the Code of Conduct, stating:
- Key personnel of NDIS providers are subject to the NDIS Code of Conduct, in the same way as NDIS providers and workers.
- Key personnel include people who make executive decisions for an NDIS provider, like members of the board or senior executives.
Learn more about Fair pricing and the Australian Government's commitment to crack down on unfair NDIS participant pricing.