The NDIA’s 2026-27 Annual Pricing Review has landed, and for allied health practice owners the headline numbers only tell half the story. Yes, Dietetics dropped from $188.99 to $178.99. Yes, Exercise Physiology fell from $166.99 to $161.99. Yes, Other Professionals took the sharpest cut — from $193.99 to $156.16. But the question that matters most for practice owners is not what changed. It’s what those changes do to your cash flow, your tax position, and ultimately your practice’s value.
This is the analysis that most NDIS commentary skips. Shuriken Advisory Group works exclusively with allied health practice owners on the commercial and financial side of their business. Here is what the 2026-27 pricing changes actually mean for your numbers.
The 2026-27 NDIS Price Changes — A Quick Summary
| Discipline | 2025-26 Rate | 2026-27 Rate | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Physiotherapy | $183.99 | $183.99 | Held (real cut) |
| Occupational Therapy | $193.99 | $193.99 | Held (real cut) |
| Speech Pathology | $193.99 | $193.99 | Held (real cut) |
| Psychology | $232.99 | $252.99 | +$20.00 |
| Dietetics | $188.99 | $178.99 | -$10.00 |
| Exercise Physiology | $166.99 | $161.99 | -$5.00 |
| Other Professionals | $193.99 | $156.16 | -$37.83 |
A “held” price is a real cut. Wages, rent, insurance, and software costs all rise with inflation. A frozen price means your margin compresses every year it stays flat. Physiotherapy, OT, and Speech Pathology have been frozen since 2019. That’s seven years of margin compression.
The Cash Flow Impact — Running the Numbers
The financial impact of a price change depends entirely on your NDIS revenue mix. Here’s how to model it for your practice:
Example: Exercise Physiology practice, 5 clinicians, 70% NDIS revenue mix
- Annual NDIS revenue (at old rate): 5 clinicians × $138,000 avg × 70% = $483,000
- Rate reduction: $166.99 → $161.99 = 3% reduction
- Annual revenue impact: -$14,490
- Over 3 years (assuming no rate increase): -$43,470
For a practice with a 15% net profit margin, a $14,490 revenue reduction represents nearly $97,000 in gross revenue you’d need to replace just to maintain the same net profit. That’s the leverage effect of margin compression.
Tax Implications of the Price Changes
The pricing changes have direct tax implications that most practice owners don’t model in advance.
1. Lower Revenue = Lower Tax — But Watch the Threshold Effects
A revenue reduction doesn’t automatically mean a lower tax bill. If your practice is structured as a company, the 25% small business tax rate applies to the first $50 million in turnover. A revenue drop doesn’t change your tax rate. But it does reduce your taxable income — which means less to distribute to shareholders or beneficiaries.
For practices structured as trusts, the distribution strategy becomes more important when revenue is under pressure. If the trust’s income drops, the distributions to lower-tax beneficiaries may need to be restructured to maintain the same after-tax outcome for the practice owner.
2. Instant Asset Write-Off — Use It Before Margins Compress Further
If you’ve been considering capital investment — new equipment, fit-out, software — the 2026-27 financial year is the time to act. The instant asset write-off allows eligible businesses to immediately deduct the full cost of assets under the threshold. Using this in a year when revenue is under pressure maximises the tax benefit relative to a year when margins are stronger.
3. Contractor vs Employee — The Pricing Change Makes This Decision More Urgent
With NDIS rates under pressure, many practice owners are reviewing their workforce model. The contractor vs employee question has significant tax and legal implications. Misclassifying employees as contractors is one of the ATO’s top audit targets for allied health practices. The cost of getting this wrong — back-pay of super, PAYG withholding, and penalties — can be far greater than the margin you’re trying to protect. See our detailed guide: Allied Health Contractor vs Employee.
What the Pricing Changes Mean for Your Practice Valuation
This is the number most practice owners never calculate — and it’s the most important one.
Allied health practices are typically valued on an EBITDA multiple — earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation. For a well-run allied health practice, that multiple is typically 2.5× to 4× EBITDA depending on discipline, size, and commercial maturity.
A $14,490 annual revenue reduction (our Exercise Physiology example above) flows through to EBITDA. If your EBITDA margin is 20%, the EBITDA impact is approximately $2,900. At a 3× valuation multiple, that’s an $8,700 reduction in practice value. At a 4× multiple, it’s $11,600.
That’s the compounding effect of NDIS pricing pressure on enterprise value. It’s why practice owners who are thinking about exit in the next 3-5 years need to be actively managing their NDIS revenue mix, not just accepting the rate cuts.
What to Do Now — The Shuriken Checklist
- Model your NDIS revenue under the new rates — calculate the exact dollar impact on your practice’s revenue and EBITDA
- Review your billing mix — are you maximising Psychology (which got a $20 increase) and minimising exposure to the cut disciplines?
- Check your contractor arrangements — the ATO’s scrutiny of allied health contractor arrangements is increasing alongside NDIS reform
- Review your business structure — is your current trust/company structure still optimal given the revenue changes?
- Calculate your AHPI score — take the free CARE Assessment to benchmark your practice’s commercial health and get a personalised V.A.L.U.E. Blueprint
The NDIS pricing review is an operational event. The financial and tax implications are what determine whether your practice survives and grows through it. If you want to understand the specific impact on your practice’s cash flow, tax position, and valuation, start with the free CARE Assessment.
