NDIS Public Holiday Rates 2026: Complete Guide for Participants and Providers

Booking an NDIS support on a public holiday? Whether you’re a participant, family member, support coordinator, or provider, knowing the exact NDIS public holiday rates matters. Public holiday support costs almost twice as much per hour as a standard weekday, and using the wrong rate can blow through a month of plan budget in a single shift.

This guide breaks down every NDIS public holiday rate for 2026-27, why those rates are so much higher, which days count as public holidays in NSW for 2026, and what to know if you’re using your NDIS funding around Easter, Christmas, or any of the other public holidays this year. All rates are verified directly from the NDIS Pricing Schedule 2026-27, effective from 1 July 2026.

What Are NDIS Public Holiday Rates?

The NDIS public holiday rates are the maximum hourly amounts a provider can charge a participant for support delivered on a recognised public holiday. They are set by the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) in the annual NDIS Pricing Schedule.

Public holiday rates are higher than weekday rates because the SCHADS Award, the industrial award covering disability support workers, requires employers to pay 250% of the ordinary hourly rate on public holidays. The NDIS public holiday rates are designed to cover that penalty, plus on-costs (super, workers comp, insurance) and a small margin.

For a participant, the practical effect is simple: every hour of support on a public holiday costs roughly twice what the same hour costs on a Tuesday morning. Plan accordingly.

NDIS Public Holiday Rates 2026-27, At a Glance

Here are the official maximum NDIS public holiday rates for the 2026-27 financial year, as published in the NDIS Pricing Schedule 2026-27 (effective 1 July 2026). All figures are per hour.

If you live in metropolitan Sydney, Western Sydney, the Central Coast, the Hunter, or any major regional centre in NSW, the National (MMM 1-5) rate applies to you.

How NDIS Public Holiday Rates Compare to Other Days

To put the NDIS public holiday rates in context, here’s how they compare to other days of the week for Standard Support, Assistance with Self-Care Activities (the most common NDIS support type):

The pattern is clear, every step away from a standard weekday adds cost. A public holiday is the most expensive day to use NDIS support, costing more than 2× the weekday rate.

NSW Public Holidays 2026, The Full List

Public holidays vary slightly between Australian states and territories. Here are the 13 declared public holidays in New South Wales for 2026. Note that the Bank Holiday on Monday 3 August is not a declared public holiday: it applies only to retail banks and certain financial institutions, so NDIS supports on that day are charged at the normal rate for that day of the week.

NSW residents will benefit from two extra public holidays in 2026 compared to a typical year, Monday 27 April (after ANZAC Day fell on a Saturday) and Monday 28 December (after Boxing Day fell on a Saturday). For NDIS budgeting, that means two extra days where supports cost the public holiday rate.

How NDIS Public Holiday Rates Are Defined

The NDIS Pricing Schedule defines a Public Holiday Support precisely:

“A Public Holiday Support is any support to a participant that starts at or after midnight on the night prior to a Public Holiday and ends before or at midnight of that Public Holiday.”

, NDIS Pricing Schedule 2026-27 (NDIA)

In practice, this means:

• A 6am-2pm shift on Christmas Day → all 8 hours billed at the public holiday rate
• A shift starting at 11pm Christmas Eve and ending at 7am Christmas Day → the first hour is at evening/night rate, then 7 hours public holiday
• A sleepover starting Monday 27 April (ANZAC additional holiday) → uses the public holiday sleepover rate of $311.79

If a public holiday only applies in some states or only in part of a state, the NDIA’s rule is that the public holiday rate applies wherever the support is delivered, on the local public holiday. So a participant in Sydney getting support on the NSW ANZAC Day additional holiday gets the public holiday rate, but the same support delivered to a participant in another state (where that day isn’t a public holiday) does not.

NDIS Public Holiday Rates for High Intensity Supports

“High Intensity” supports are for participants with complex behavioural or clinical needs that require additional staff training, supervision, or qualifications. The NDIS public holiday rates for high intensity are higher than for standard supports.

The difference between standard and high intensity grows on weekends and public holidays, reflecting the higher penalty rates that apply to all support workers, not just high-intensity-trained ones.

Public Holiday Rates for Other NDIS Supports

It’s not just support workers whose rates change on public holidays. Several other NDIS support types also have public holiday loadings:

Note that not every NDIS support has a public holiday loading. Some don’t, including:

• Support Coordination (Levels 1, 2, and 3), same rate any day of the week
• Plan Management, fixed monthly fee, no PH loading
• Specialist Behavioural Intervention Support (practitioner work), same rate any day
• Therapy supports (OT, speech, physio, psychology), generally no PH loading
• Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA), annualised, includes public holidays in the calculation

This is intentional, the NDIA recognises that these supports either don’t typically run on public holidays, or already factor public holiday operations into their pricing structure.

Why NDIS Public Holiday Rates Are So High, The SCHADS Connection

To understand why a public holiday hour costs $163.46 instead of $73.58, it helps to look at what providers actually pay their workers. Under the SCHADS Award, a Level 2 SACS support worker earns approximately:

The “extra” money the NDIS allows isn’t pure profit, it covers the additional public holiday on-costs (super on the higher rate, workers compensation calculated on penalty rates, and fixed administrative overhead). For a deeper look at how worker pay rates connect to NDIS pricing, see our SCHADS Award Explained guide.

Planning Around NDIS Public Holiday Rates, Tips for Participants

If you have a tight NDIS budget, public holidays can quickly eat into your funding if you’re not careful. Here are practical tips:

• Map out the year, write down all 13 NSW declared public holidays and check whether you usually have supports scheduled on those days
• Reschedule where possible, if a regular Monday support falls on a public holiday and isn’t time-critical, consider moving it to Tuesday
• Use the public holiday rate intentionally, for genuinely needed supports (personal care, medication, social connection over Christmas), the cost is worthwhile
• Watch for double public holidays, 2026 has two: 27 April (after ANZAC Day) and 28 December (after Boxing Day). These add to your total annual public holiday spend
• Talk to your support coordinator, they can model the impact of public holidays on your annual budget
• Don’t cut essential supports, if you need personal care on Christmas Day, you need it. The NDIS funded that into your plan; use it

What Providers Need to Know About Charging NDIS Public Holiday Rates

If you’re a provider, charging the public holiday rate correctly is non-negotiable:

• Use the right service line, every standard support has separate item codes for weekday, evening, night, Saturday, Sunday, and public holiday. Using the wrong one is a billing error, even if accidental
• Charge the local rate, the public holiday rate applies based on where the support is delivered, not where the provider is based
• Apply the start/end rule, supports starting at or after midnight on a public holiday are billed at the PH rate until midnight at the end of that day
• Document staff training, public holiday penalty rates apply only to workers covered by SCHADS. If you’re using non-SCHADS workers, your cost base differs but the price limit is the same
• Don’t double-bill, a “weekend + public holiday” overlap (e.g. Easter Saturday) charges public holiday rate, not Saturday rate
• Cancellation rules apply, the NDIA’s standard cancellation rules still apply on public holidays. You can claim for short-notice cancellations under the standard rules

Real Examples, How NDIS Public Holiday Rates Affect Your Budget

Numbers in a table can feel abstract. Here are three real-world examples of how NDIS public holiday rates affect different participants’ plans:

Example 1: A Participant with 14 Hours of Weekly Personal Care

Sarah is an NDIS participant in Penrith with 14 hours of personal care support each week, 2 hours every morning. In a typical week, that costs her 14 × $73.58 = $1,030.12. But on a public holiday Monday, those 2 hours cost $326.92, more than double a normal Monday. NSW has 13 declared public holidays in 2026. Each one that falls on a support day costs her an extra 2 × ($163.46 − $73.58) = $179.76. Nine of the 13 fall on a weekday in 2026, so if her supports run Monday to Friday that is roughly $1,618 in additional cost across the year, money she needs to factor into her annual plan.

Example 2: A Participant Who Uses High Intensity Supports on Christmas Day

Mark has high intensity behaviour supports for 6 hours on Christmas Day each year. At the high intensity public holiday rate of $176.84/hr, that single day costs $1,061.04. The same support on a regular Tuesday would cost $477.60, Christmas Day costs $583.44 more for the same 6 hours. This isn’t price gouging; it’s the SCHADS Award penalty rates flowing through the system. Knowing it ahead of time lets Mark and his family plan the year correctly.

Example 3: An NDIS Participant in SIL on Easter Long Weekend

Priya lives in supported independent living with 24/7 support. The 2026 Easter long weekend includes Good Friday, Easter Saturday, Easter Sunday, and Easter Monday, four consecutive public holidays. SIL providers must pay public holiday penalty rates to all workers on shift across all four days. Even though the SIL rates are negotiated annually as a package, the underlying cost driver is the same, the SCHADS public holiday penalty applies, and the participant’s plan funding has to absorb it.

What Changed for 2026-27?

The NDIS public holiday rates for 2026-27 are largely consistent with prior years in structure, but there are a few notable changes:

• All rates increased from 1 July 2026, Standard PH went from $156.03 in 2025-26 to $163.46 in 2026-27
• Provider travel cut to 50%, major change. Travel time on a public holiday is now charged at half the public holiday rate, not the full rate
• The Annual Pricing Review for 2026-27 is complete. The NDIS Pricing Schedule 2026-27 was published and took effect on 1 July 2026, replacing the previous Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits

How to check these rates yourself

NDIS price limits change at least once a year, so any article can fall out of date between updates. It is worth knowing where the numbers come from so you can confirm them at any time.

• The NDIS Pricing Schedule is the authoritative document, published at ndis.gov.au/providers/pricing-arrangements. Every price limit in this article was read from its rate tables. Check the financial year printed on the title page before you rely on a copy, because the NDIA has renamed this document (it was previously called the Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits) and older versions stay in circulation.
• Search by support item number, not by keyword. Standard weekday daytime assistance with self-care is 01_011_0107_1_1, Saturday is 01_013_0107_1_1, Sunday 01_014_0107_1_1, public holiday 01_012_0107_1_1 and weekday evening 01_015_0107_1_1. Item numbers are stable across years, which makes them a far more reliable way to find the right row than searching for a support name.
• For worker pay rather than participant prices, use the Fair Work Pay and Conditions Tool at calculate.fairwork.gov.au. NDIS price limits and SCHADS wages are two different systems on two different timetables, so a change to one does not imply a change to the other.

If a figure here does not match what you find at the source, trust the source and let us know so we can correct it.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the NDIS public holiday rate for 2025-26?

The standard NDIS public holiday rate for 2026-27 is $163.46/hr (national/MMM 1-5) for Assistance with Self-Care Activities. The high intensity rate is $176.84/hr. Remote and very remote rates are higher.

Are NDIS public holiday rates the same in every state?

The hourly rates are nationally standardised, but the days that count as public holidays vary by state. For example, NSW has a Labour Day on 5 October, while Victoria has its Labour Day on 9 March. The PH rate applies based on the state where the support is delivered.

How many public holidays are there in NSW in 2026?

NSW has 13 public holidays in 2026, including two additional days because ANZAC Day (25 April) falls on a Saturday and Boxing Day (26 December) also falls on a Saturday. The additional holidays are 27 April and 28 December.

Does the NDIS public holiday rate apply if I get support on the eve of a public holiday?

No. The PH rate applies from midnight at the start of the public holiday to midnight at the end of that day. Support delivered the evening before is charged at the weekday evening rate.

Why are NDIS public holiday rates so high?

Public holiday rates are high because the SCHADS Award requires employers to pay workers 250% of their ordinary rate on a public holiday. The NDIS rate is set to cover that penalty plus on-costs (super, workers comp, admin) and a small margin.

Do all NDIS supports have a public holiday rate?

No. Support Coordination, Plan Management, Specialist Behavioural Intervention (practitioner work), and most therapy supports have a single rate that applies any day of the week. Standard support workers, nursing, and intensive behaviour supports all have public holiday loadings.

How do I budget for NDIS public holidays?

Map out the 12-13 public holidays in your state, identify which ones you usually have supports scheduled on, and multiply your support hours by the public holiday rate. A good support coordinator can help you model this against your plan budget.

Is the night-time sleepover rate higher on public holidays?

Yes. Night-time sleepover support is $311.79 per shift on public holidays (national rate), compared to the standard sleepover rate. Sleepovers count as public holiday if more than half of the shift falls on the public holiday.

What’s the difference between Standard and High Intensity public holiday rates?

The Standard PH rate is $163.46/hr and the High Intensity PH rate is $176.84/hr, a difference of $13.38/hr. High Intensity supports require workers with additional training and qualifications for participants with complex behavioural or clinical needs.

Will NDIS public holiday rates change in 2026-27?

Yes. The 2026-27 NDIS Pricing Arrangements consultation closed on 8 February 2026. The NDIA’s Annual Pricing Review will release final 2026-27 rates around June 2026, effective from 1 July 2026. Most rates increase modestly each year in line with the Annual Pricing Review.

How Centre of Hope Can Help

Understanding NDIS public holiday rates is one piece of a much bigger budgeting puzzle. At Centre of Hope, we help participants across Western Sydney and NSW:

• Map your annual NDIS spend, including public holidays, so your plan lasts the full 12 months
• Identify supports you can flex around public holidays versus ones you can’t
• Negotiate service agreements that clearly state which rate applies on which day
• Check provider invoices to make sure they’re using the correct rate
• Plan ahead for high-cost periods like Christmas, Easter, and the December public holiday cluster
• Connect you with the right providers for your specific needs and budget

NDIS budgeting doesn’t have to be stressful. With the right support coordinator on your side, public holidays become a known and managed part of your year, not a budget surprise.

Your goals. Your plan. Our support.

📞 Call us: 0432 250 900
🌐 Visit: centreofhope.com.au
📝 Refer: Submit a referral

Related Reading

• NDIS Price Guide 2026-27: Every Rate Explained
• SCHADS Award Explained
• NDIS Funding Explained 2026
• NDIS Funding Periods Explained
• Positive Behaviour Support NDIS: Complete 2026 Guide
• NDIS Code of Conduct Explained: 8 Rules & 2026 Updates
• Understanding NDIS Support Coordination, What It Is and Why It Matters
• NDIS Planning Changes 2026
• How Does the NDIS Work? Complete Plain-Language Guide
• What Does NDIS Stand For? Plain-Language Guide

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial or legal advice. All NDIS rates are verified directly from the official NDIS Pricing Schedule 2026-27, effective from 1 July 2026 (published by the NDIA at ndis.gov.au). NSW public holiday dates are sourced from the NSW Government and Fair Work Ombudsman. SCHADS Award rates are sourced from the Fair Work Ombudsman. NDIS rates change at least annually, for advice specific to your situation or plan, speak with your support coordinator, or contact the NDIA on 1800 800 110. For workplace pay rate questions, contact the Fair Work Ombudsman on 13 13 94.