From June 2023 onward, all NDIS providers delivering group supports must move away from their existing ratio-based pricing and adopt the new apportioned pricing model. This transition raises a crucial question:

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How to transition your NDIS Group of Supports to the new apportioned prices?

Apportioned simply means that the unit price is multiplied by the worker's time, and the total is divided equally among the participants in the group. It is therefore also called ‘Divided pricing’. Have a look at some of the best practices to transition your business to the new pricing model.

Now before you start a Group of Support, there needs to be much planning and calculation to ensure you are charging each participant correctly along with keeping your profit margin in mind. Group of Supports can be delivered in:

• Core Supports
• Community Access
• Supported Employment
• Support independent living (SIL)
• Workplace assistance
• Transition through school to further education, and
• Early Childhood Intervention Supports (ECI)

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How to calculate apportioned pricing for a community based group activity that is part of the Core supports?

Let's say you have been running Saturday Karaoke every Saturday from 2 to 4:30, with 10 participants and 2 support workers. We have also agreed on a flat 20 Km transport fee for all participants, on the current ratio based pricing your line items will look something like this;

So every week we would be claiming $110.90 per participant.

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How to transition this community program to the new apportioned ratio?

The key is to calculate the apportioned pricing that will be charged based on the NDIS Price Guide (I know the name changed a few years ago but I still call it by its old name)- divided by the number of participants, multiplied by the number of support workers:

Apportioned Pricing = (Unit Price * Number of Support Workers)/Number of participants

So for our example: $ 16.08 = ($ 80.39 * 2 support workers)/ 10 participants

This leaves us with:

Note the following: On the unit price we used, the calculated apportioned is $16.08.

We have a new 04_599_0136_6_1 Centre Capital Cost to claim for the additional amount for the costs of running and maintaining the facility. It includes the time spent on supports as well as the preparation time the staff requires before the session.

We have the support time 04_104_0136_6_1 a 3rd time with “1 to 1 support” that has not been “apportioned” at $80.39 - this line item will be used to claim for 1 to 1 supports like report writing, meetings with parents, etc.

This new "1 to 1 support" line is key for the viability of your service and your business. As you can see there is a gap of almost $30 per participant. The intention is to cover this gap by keeping track of those fractions of time spent on meetings and phone calls apart from the main service. Good and accurate tracking of these 1-to-1 services can make or break your business, and comm.care has your back.

Just imagine the amount of admin time and energy required to keep track of these support services, plus the extra time spent for each participant at the end of each session. Isn’t it daunting? You have 2 ways to fix it. Either hire more admin staff to keep manually processing the support after every session (which you aren’t getting paid for!) or work smarter by using a case management system that does the same thing for you in minutes and allows you to focus on the actual delivery.

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Transition Stress-free with Comm.care

As you know, the deadline for your business to transition to the new pricing model is 31st December 2023. Time is of the essence! Not adhering to these changes could result in regulatory noncompliance, posing severe risks to the continuity and operational viability of your business.

We understand that such transitions can be challenging and time-consuming. Our software, Comm.care, can the burden off your shoulders by automatically updating the new pricing model so that you can focus on providing the best care to your participants.

Book a demo now to explore how we can help you transition stress-free.