NDIS Provider Cancellation Policies: What They Can and Can't Charge You

You've had a rough morning. You're running late for your physio appointment, so you call to let them know you won't make it. A few days later, you notice a charge on your plan for the full session cost — $193.99 — and you didn't even attend. Is that allowed? The answer is: it depends. And honestly, the rules around NDIS cancellation fees are one of those things that trip people up all the time. Let's walk through what's fair, what's not, and what you can do about it.

The NDIS rules on cancellation — the short version

The NDIS Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits document (the big PDF everyone's supposed to read but nobody does) sets out when providers can charge for cancellations. Here's the quick version:

• Providers can charge a cancellation fee if you cancel with less than 2 clear business days' notice — and that's for most disability supports like therapy, support work, and community access
• For some group-based supports, the notice period is longer because the provider has committed to staff ratios and venue costs
• Providers cannot charge you if they're the ones who cancelled — no matter how short the notice
• The cancellation fee is typically 100% of the agreed fee, but only for the time you had booked — not the whole day, not a penalty on top

Notice the specific language: "2 clear business days." That means if your appointment is on a Tuesday, you need to cancel by the end of the previous Thursday. Saturday and Sunday don't count. This catches a lot of people out.

What "short notice cancellation" actually means

The NDIS defines a short notice cancellation as any cancellation where you give less than 2 clear business days' notice. Importantly, this only applies to what the NDIS calls "disability support items" — things like:

• Core supports (assistance with daily life, community participation, consumables are excluded)
• Capacity building supports (therapy, early childhood, behaviour support)
• Support coordination
• Plan management (though you're unlikely to be cancelling on your plan manager)

Capital supports — things like home modifications and assistive technology — don't use the same cancellation framework because they're not session-based in the same way.

When a provider is allowed to charge the full session fee

If you cancel inside that 2-day window, the provider can claim 100% of the agreed fee for the time that was booked. So if you had a one-hour physio session booked at $193.99, they can claim $193.99 from your plan. They can't claim for travel time they didn't incur, and they can't add a "late notice penalty" on top of the session fee.

Here's what often happens, though: a provider charges for the cancellation but then also books someone else into that slot and charges them too. That's called double-dipping and it's not allowed. If you find out this happened — maybe you hear through the grapevine that your slot got filled — you've got grounds to dispute the charge.

The NDIA's position on "no show" charges

The NDIA has been pretty clear about this: providers should have reasonable cancellation policies, and participants should be informed of them before services start. That's why your service agreement matters — it should spell out the cancellation terms in plain language. If a provider tries to charge a cancellation fee that wasn't in your service agreement, that's a problem.

The NDIA also expects providers to take a "reasonable approach." If you've got a chronic health condition and you cancel because of a flare-up, a decent provider will waive the fee. The rules allow flexibility here, and good providers use it. The ones who don't? Well, that tells you something about who you're working with.

What to do when you see a cancellation charge you didn't expect

First: don't panic. These charges are disputable. Here's the process:

1. Check your service agreement — what does it say about cancellations? If the charge doesn't match what you agreed to, you've got a strong case.
2. Contact the provider directly — sometimes it's an honest error. A quick call or email saying "I don't think this charge is correct because..." often resolves it.
3. Talk to your plan manager — if you're plan-managed, your plan manager can put the invoice on hold while you sort it out. They see this stuff all the time and can help you push back.
4. Make a complaint — if the provider won't budge, you can complain to the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission. You've got formal complaints pathways for exactly this kind of situation.

If you're self-managing, you're handling this on your own — which is one of the trade-offs of self-management. If you're plan-managed, you've got backup. Your plan manager can flag suspicious charges and help you push back, which honestly takes a load off when you're already dealing with enough.

What happens if you just refuse to pay?

If you're plan-managed, you don't pay — your plan manager processes invoices against your NDIS funding. So "refusing to pay" means asking your plan manager not to process the invoice, or disputing a charge that's already been claimed. Your plan manager can't unilaterally refuse a legitimate invoice, but they can flag concerns with both you and the provider.

If you're self-managed, you can refuse to submit the payment request — but the provider might pursue the debt through other means if they believe the charge is valid under your service agreement. This is one of those situations where having a clear, fair service agreement up front saves you a lot of grief later.

Can providers exclude you for too many cancellations?

Honestly — yes, they can. A provider isn't obligated to keep booking sessions if you're regularly cancelling at short notice. They've got a business to run and staff to pay. But a good provider will have a conversation with you about it before just dropping you. They might suggest a different schedule, shorter sessions, or telehealth options if getting to appointments is the issue.

If a provider does decide to stop working with you, they should give you reasonable notice and support the transition — especially if you're mid-treatment. That's part of their obligations under the NDIS Code of Conduct. If they just ghost you, you can report that to the NDIS Commission.

A quick note on provider cancellations going the other way

We've focused a lot on when you cancel, but what about when the provider cancels? You might be out of pocket for things like transport or time off work. Unfortunately, the NDIS doesn't provide a mechanism for you to charge the provider when they cancel late. The only thing you can do is make sure they don't charge your plan for the session (which they shouldn't) and raise the issue if it keeps happening.

If you're regularly being cancelled on, it's worth looking at whether there's a pattern of problems with that provider. A plan manager can help you spot these patterns in your monthly statements because they see every charge flowing through your plan.

The bottom line

Cancellation fees are a reality of the NDIS system — they exist to protect providers from lost income when slots go unfilled at short notice. But the rules aren't a blank cheque for providers to charge whatever they want. You have rights here: to be told the cancellation policy up front, to have it in your service agreement, and to push back when a charge doesn't seem right.

And if you're ever unsure whether a charge is legitimate, ask. Your plan manager (if you have one), the NDIA, or the NDIS Commission can all help you figure it out. You don't have to just accept it and move on.