Invoicing for NDIS support workersin Australia
Most NDIS supports are GST-free when a few conditions are met, which changes what your invoice needs to show. Add a plan manager who checks your invoice against the NDIS price schedule before you get paid, and NDIS invoicing has its own shape that a generic sole-trader template does not cover.
No credit card required - 5 free invoices a month. This page is general information, not tax or legal advice - check the NDIS and the ATO for the rules that apply to your situation.
The three ways an NDIS participant's plan is managed, and who you invoice
Sourced directly to ndis.gov.au's own pages for each management type, checked 28 September 2026.
| Plan type | Who you invoice | What that means for you |
|---|---|---|
| Plan typeSelf-managed | Who you invoiceThe participant directly | What that means for youThe NDIS pays the participant, who then pays you from their own funding. You can be an unregistered provider, and there is no maximum price - you and the participant negotiate the rate directly. |
| Plan typePlan-managed | Who you invoiceThe participant's plan manager | What that means for youYou send your invoice to the plan manager, who checks it, claims from the NDIS, then pays you. You can still be an unregistered provider - but your rate has to sit within the NDIS Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits for that support. |
| Plan typeNDIA-managed (agency-managed) | Who you invoiceYou cannot invoice the NDIA directly as an unregistered provider | What that means for youThe NDIS itself pays providers directly for this funding type, and those providers must be registered with the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission. Unregistered providers cannot be used for NDIA-managed supports. |
Self-managed: Source, ndis.gov.au (registration rules); who pays whom, ndis.gov.au, checked 28 September 2026.
Plan-managed: Source, ndis.gov.au (registration rules); who pays whom, ndis.gov.au, checked 28 September 2026.
NDIA-managed (agency-managed): Source, ndis.gov.au, checked 28 September 2026.
Unregistered providers can invoice self-managed and plan-managed participants. They cannot invoice the NDIS directly for NDIA-managed supports. Most sole-trader support workers work with self-managed or plan-managed participants for exactly this reason. Separately, providers delivering Supported Independent Living or operating an NDIS digital platform became subject to mandatory registration from 1 July 2026 - ndis.gov.au, checked 28 September 2026. That specific change does not apply to general community support work unless you deliver one of those two services.
GST - the part that differs most from other sole-trader invoicing
The ATO states a supply to an NDIS participant is GST-free if all of these are met (you must also be registered for GST for the question to arise at all):
01
Reasonable and necessary
The supply is of a reasonable and necessary support specified in the statement of supports in the participant's NDIS plan.
02
A written agreement
There is a written agreement between you and the participant, or whoever manages their plan and funding, made before you deliver the support.
03
Covered by the Determination
The specific support is covered by one of the tables in the GST-free Supply (NDIS Supports) Determination 2021.
If any of those three is not met, for example no written agreement exists, the support may not qualify as GST-free. Source, ato.gov.au, checked 28 September 2026.
The written agreement is not just a tax formality. It can also set your rate, cancellation terms and travel charges in writing, which is useful if a plan manager or self-managed participant later queries an invoice.
Sample invoice
A GST-registered support worker, invoicing a plan manager for support delivered under a written service agreement.Example figures, not a real jobMaria Csenge
Trading as: Support Work Services
14 Grevillea Crescent
Frankston VIC 3199
0412 558 214
ABN: 74 603 217 845
TAX INVOICE
INV-0034
Issue: 24 Sep 2026
Due: 08 Oct 2026
Sent
Bill To
NDIS Plan Manager
| Description | Qty | Rate | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Community access support, per service agreement dated 3 Jun 2026 (GST-free per s38-38)4 x A$65.00 | 4 | A$65.00 | A$260.00 |
| Travel, per agreed kilometre rate (GST-free)22 x A$1.00 | 22 | A$1.00 | A$22.00 |
Payment Details
Please use the following details to make a payment.
Bank: ANZ
Account name: Maria Csenge
Account: 8213 9905
BSB: 013-241
Reference: INV-0034
Notes
Support delivered per NDIS plan; written service agreement dated 3 Jun 2026. Invoiced to the participant's plan manager on the participant's behalf - participant name withheld from this invoice per the service agreement. Every line on this invoice is GST-free under s38-38 of the GST Act, which is why no GST line appears below - see the GST-free conditions on this page.
Thank you for your business!
Maria is GST-registered, so the heading reads "TAX INVOICE", even though every line on this document is GST-free. Invio's heading follows the business's own GST-registration status, not whether any particular invoice happens to carry GST. The document itself only shows a GST line when an invoice actually carries GST, so on an entirely GST-free invoice like this one, that row does not appear at all - the reasoning for the GST-free total, and who the invoice is really for, are written into the invoice's own Notes instead.
What this invoice should carry
Business details
Your name or trading name, ABN, phone and email. No NDIS registration number is needed if you are unregistered and invoicing a self-managed or plan-managed client - only registered providers show one.
Invoice identifiers
A sequential invoice number, the issue and due dates, and who you are billing - the participant directly (self-managed) or their plan manager (plan-managed), never the NDIS directly if you are unregistered.
Support and line items
Each support type on its own line, referencing the service agreement, with hours or units delivered. Travel, if agreed in the service agreement, sits on its own line. Note the amount is GST-free and why.
Pricing check
For plan-managed invoices, your rate should sit within the current NDIS Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits for that support category - plan managers check this before paying. Self-managed participants can agree a rate above or below those limits directly with you, since the maximum prices only apply to NDIA- managed and plan-managed supports.
Source, ndis.gov.au, checked 28 September 2026Common mistakes
| Mistake | Why it costs you |
|---|---|
| MistakeNo written service agreement before the support starts | Why it costs youWithout it, the GST-free treatment under s38-38 may not apply, and there is no documented rate if a dispute arises later. |
| MistakeInvoicing the NDIS directly for NDIA-managed support while unregistered | Why it costs youUnregistered providers can invoice a self-managed participant or a plan manager, not the NDIS itself for agency-managed supports. |
| MistakeCharging GST on a support that should be GST-free | Why it costs youOvercharges the participant or plan manager and creates a reconciliation problem at tax time for both sides. |
| MistakeA rate above the NDIS Price Limit sent to a plan manager | Why it costs youPlan managers check invoices against the price schedule before paying - an above-cap rate on a plan-managed invoice is likely to be queried or only partly paid. |
| MistakeNo reference to the service agreement on the invoice | Why it costs youMakes it harder for a plan manager to verify the claim quickly, which slows down payment. |