CEO Update 23 February

New pricing arrangements

NDIS has introduced a new pricing structure for all group based services. Previously providers were billed against a ratio of support whereas now they will be billed using a new apportioned pricing model. Group based providers are mandated to move to the new pricing model by 31st Dec 2023. Bayley House will move to this new pricing model from 13th April 2023 (Term 2).

For some clients there will be a slight increase in cost which is aligned to this NDIS billing model.

What are the changes?

• The new pricing arrangements mean people that we support, will no longer be billed by a ratio of support line item. An hourly rate will be applied by Bayley House for the provision of staff support that will be divided (apportioned) between the number of people utilising the support of that staff member.
• The current hourly rate includes a charge to operate the centre and an allowance for administrative tasks provided by the service. Under the new pricing model, the hourly rate will only cover direct face to face staff support. As a result, NDIA have introduced 2 new billing items,in addition to the hourly rate for direct support.
• The 2 new billable items are: Centre Capital Costs and Non Face-to-Face supports.
• Invoices will show the various types of billable supports which are; 1: direct face to face supports, 2. centre capital costs, 3. non face-to-face supports and 4. any other applicable items like transport.
• It is important to note that, overall, the charge will be very similar to your current charge with the potential for a slight increase.

What are Centre Capital Costs?

Centre Capital costs are a standard hourly rate set and funded by the NDIS to support providers like Bayley House who run activities in a centre to operate their sites.

What is Non Face to Face time?

The NDIA are encouraging providers like Bayley House to bill separately for administrative tasks under the term ‘Non face to face time’.

The NDIA have separated these costs out from the hourly rate to enable providers to more accurately claim for the time it takes to complete these tasks.

This is not an out of pocket cost it is funded through your NDIS plan.

The following are examples of some of the non face to face tasks that Bayley House staff complete:

• Daily Activity Notes
• Quarterly goal monitoring
• Annual Progress Reports
• Annual meetings with clients and families/supports to discuss goals and progress
• Planning time for activities in house
• Planning time for activities in the community
• Planning for disability specific training directly improving the level of support to clients
• General phone calls with families and supports
• General 1:1 discussions with clients
• Timetable planning
• Activity set up and pack up
• Activity planning and resourcing
• Individual diary notes
• Individual journal entries on Supportability

In addition to the items above, if you request staff to engage with an allied health worker and complete behaviour support charts etc. that is over and above the agreed non face to face time allocation, we can negotiate with you to add in an extra charge for these.

What Services ? Who does this impact?

The new apportioned pricing impacts all clients accessing Day Programs.
People who are accessing SIL (Supported Individual Living) and are already using the new pricing and they will be charged the non face to face charges from 13th April 2023.

How does this impact me?

• From 13th April you will see a number of new items on your invoices required by the NDIS.

These will be: charge for direct face to face activities, non face to face activities, centre capital costs and any other applicable costs such as transport.

Example of differences between the pricing arrangements:

Current pricing example:

Mary, Joan and Tim attend Bayley House on a Monday for 3 hours (9-12) to engage in a skill building program. They are supported by one support worker.

Mary, Joan and Tim are charged at the 1:3 ratio level @ $27.98 per person, per hour.

The total charge to each person for the 3 hours is: $83.94

New pricing example:

Mary, Joan and Tim attend Bayley House on a Monday for 3 hours (9-12) to engage in a skill building program. They are supported by one support worker.

The hourly rate funded by the NDIS for a support worker is $62.17 which is then divided between Mary, Joan and Tim equally ($20.72 each per hour)

A Centre Capital cost of $2.28 is applied to each person per hour ($6.84 each)

Staff complete 15 mins of Non face to face time per person which will cost each person $15.54 (15 minute portion of the hourly rate of $62.17)

The total charge to each person for the 3 hours is: $84.54

Agreements:

All schedules of support and quotes will reflect the new pricing model.

Bayley House has worked hard to ensure the overall charge to clients will be very similar to the charge you are receiving under the current pricing.

Next steps:

Bayley House will generate an updated schedule of supports to reflect the new pricing model before 13th April 2023.

If you have any questions about the new pricing model please do not hesitate to contact us, as we would be more than happy to explain the above in more detail.