FAQS: July 2025 Pricing + service Model Updates

WHAT’S CHANGING + WHEN

1. What is changing?

There are two key sets of changes taking place:

A. NDIS-Mandated Pricing Changes – Effective 1 July 2025

Behaviour Support hourly rate will increase by $10, rising to $232.99/hour.
Travel labour charges will be reduced to 50% of the therapy hourly rate, calculated based on travel time to appointments.
These changes are mandated by the NDIA and apply to all providers nationally.

B. Back to Basics Health Group Service Model Updates – Effective 21 July 2025

Appointment duration will increase from 60 to 70 minutes for all therapy types to reflect the time required for preparation, documentation, communication, and planning.
Updated travel time calculation: Travel will be charged from our Rowville office in six-minute blocks. For appointments more than 30 minutes away, return travel time may apply.
New travel vehicle charge: A fee of $0.99 per km will apply from our office to your appointment location to cover the cost of fuel, insurance, and vehicle use.

These changes are essential to ensure our services remain high-quality, sustainable, and available where clients need them most — in homes, schools, and community settings.

2. When will the changes take effect?

These changes will occur in two stages:

1 July 2025: NDIS-mandated pricing changes will become effective, including additional $10 per hour for Behaviour Support services and 50% reduction in travel time charges.
21 July 2025: Back to Basics Service Model and Travel changes will apply, including standard 70 minute appointments, travel time charges calculation from our office in Rowville and a $0.99 per kilometre travel vehicle cost.

WHY + HOW THESE CHANGES ARE BEING MADE

3. Why are you making these changes?

We’re updating our pricing and service model to ensure we can keep delivering high-quality, mobile therapy in a sustainable way.

Our costs have increased by around 30% every year, while the NDIS therapy rate has remained frozen since 2019. At the same time, the NDIS has cut travel labour charges by 50%, and compliance requirements — like Section 33 changes and funding period reporting — now require significantly more admin, planning, and documentation.

In fact, only around one-third of the work we do is billable. The rest is essential behind-the-scenes work to meet NDIS registration requirements and deliver safe and effective care, on top of normal business operational activities.

We’ve absorbed these pressures for as long as possible. These changes are necessary to keep our services high quality, mobile, and focused on the outcomes that matter to you.

4. How do these changes compare to other providers?

A lot of providers have already made these changes over the last few years. And many have reduced mobile services due to unsustainable costs. We’ve chosen to maintain our mobile model, but to do so, we must update our structure to remain fair, effective, and financially responsible.

5. Have you consulted with client families about these changes?

Yes. We have consulted our Parent Advisory Group throughout this process. Their feedback directly influenced our decisions, and they fully support these changes to ensure quality, continuity, and fairness for all families.

6. When will I receive a new Service Agreement and Schedule?

You’ll receive a personalised agreement by 30 June 2025. You’ll need to sign and return it by 13 July 2025 to ensure services continue without interruption under the new model.

APPOINTMENT QUESTIONS

7. Why are you increasing appointment times from 60 to 70 minutes?

To ensure the full scope of work involved in delivering quality therapy is recognised. This includes communication with care teams and other therapists, documentation, planning, and preparing for appointments, all of which are critical to achieving better therapeutic outcomes. In the past we have absorbed this cost, but due to costs increasing 30% year on year and the price freeze on NDIS therapy fees, we are no longer able to do this and have to make this change to make sure we are sustainable and able to continue delivering high quality service to our clients and families.

8. What are the new fees for a standard 70-minute appointment?

Behaviour Support: $271.82 per 70 min session
Occupational Therapy, Speech Pathology, Social Work, Developmental Education: $226.32 per 70 min session
These reflect the updated appointment duration and account for both direct and indirect client support activities.

9. What does the extra 10 minutes in each session actually cover?

The additional time accounts for the essential work that happens outside of your direct session, such as brief communications with therapists and other members of your care team, therapy session planning and preparation, and other therapy-related administration activities.

These activities are essential to ensuring your therapy is high-quality, goal-directed, and coordinated, and up until now they’ve been completed outside of paid time until now.

10. Can I choose to keep a 60-minute session instead of 70 minutes?

No. The new 70-minute session model is standard for all clients, as it reflects the actual time required to deliver high-quality therapy.

11. Will the face-to-face time for appointments increase?

No. The face-to-face component of your appointment will remain the same at 45 mins.

These activities are essential to ensuring your therapy is high-quality, goal-directed, and coordinated, and up until now they’ve been completed outside of paid time until now.

TRAVEL CHARGES

12. Why are you introducing a travel vehicle cost of $0.99/km?

This per-kilometre fee helps cover the actual cost of providing mobile services, including fuel, insurance, and vehicle wear and tear, which we’ve previously absorbed to keep your costs down.

13. How is travel time now calculated?

Travel time is charged in six-minute increments from our Rowville office to your appointment location. If your appointment is over 30 minutes away, we may also charge for the return travel time. In addition there will be a $0.99 charge per kilometre to the appointment location to cover the rising costs of fuel, insurance and vehicle wear and tear.

14. Will I be charged for return travel?

Not usually. We only charge return travel for sessions located more than 35 minutes away from our Rowville office.

15. Why is travel now charged from the Rowville office?

To ensure fairness and consistency, all travel is now calculated from our registered office in Rowville. This provides a clear and measurable starting point for travel time and distance, and reflects actual time and vehicle usage.

16. How did you calculate the adjusted travel times?

To ensure travel times are fair, consistent, and reflective of real-world conditions, we’ve conducted a detailed review using Google Maps travel data.

For each suburb, we:

Took multiple travel time readings at different times of day (including morning, mid-day, and afternoon)
Factored in typical congestion and peak traffic conditions
Averaged those results to determine a reasonable estimated travel time from our Rowville office

These updated times help us provide a transparent and evidence-based approach to travel billing, especially as road congestion has increased significantly across Melbourne.

FINANCIAL / FUNDING QUESTIONS

17. How do I know what the financial impact of these changes will be on my NDIS funding?

We’ll send you a new personalised Service Agreement and Service Schedule by 30 June 2025 that provides a quote for your current services under the new service and pricing model.

18. What happens if I don’t have enough NDIS funding to cover these additional costs?

If you’re concerned that your current NDIS plan won’t cover the updated fees, we encourage you to reach out to us as soon as possible. We’ll work with you, your Support Coordinator and Plan Manager (if you have them) to explore options.

These may include:

Helping you connect with funding sources you might be eligible for (e.g. Medicare, private health insurance etc)
Reviewing your service plan to adjust frequency or duration of sessions
Prioritising essential services within your available budget
Seeking a plan reassessment if your funding no longer meets your support needs

We’re here to help you navigate the changes and make sure your supports remain aligned with your goals and circumstances. Please don’t hesitate to get in touch if you need support or have questions.

19. I pay privately for therapy appointments. What if I can’t afford these additional costs?

We understand that any increase in fees can be challenging, especially for privately funded clients. If you’re worried about affording the updated pricing, please reach out to us directly.

We may be able to:

Adjust the frequency or duration of sessions to suit your budget
Explore flexible payment options
Help you connect with funding sources you might be eligible for (e.g. Medicare, private health insurance etc).

20. Do these changes affect clients who receive don’t have NDIS funding?

Yes, these changes apply to all clients, including those funded through Aged Care, private funding, or other sources. While some updates are based on changes to NDIS pricing and policies, our service model updates, including longer appointments and updated travel charges, are being introduced across the board to ensure consistency, fairness, and sustainability for all clients.

NDIS SECTION 33 FUNDING PERIOD QUESTIONS

21. How do I know if I have a funding period in my NDIS Plan?

You may have a funding period if your plan was recently reviewed or reassessed. Check your plan or contact your Support Coordinator, or reach out to us and we’ll help you check.

22. What are funding periods, and how do they affect me?

From 19 May 2025, new and reassessed NDIS Plans may include funding periods under Section 33 of the NDIS Act. The default funding period for therapy services is 3 months and you are not able to overspend the amount allocated. These changes require us to plan and track your supports in more detail. If you’ve had a recent Plan Review or reassessment, please let us know immediately.

23. What should I do if I have questions or concerns?

Please get in touch with us. We’re happy to talk through any part of the changes, help you understand your new agreement, or support you with any funding-related queries.

24. Will my therapy goals or supports change because of these updates?

No. The structure and pricing may change, but your therapeutic goals and the quality of support you receive will stay the same. In fact making these changes will allow your Back to Basic therapists to continue providing the exceptional support you expect from us (and we expect from ourselves).