NDIS Cleaning in Australia: Registration, Pricing and Compliance

What NDIS Cleaning Actually Covers

House cleaning is funded under the NDIS support item 01_020_0120_1_1, "House Cleaning and Other Household Activities," sitting within Core Supports, Assistance with Daily Life. It's intended for participants whose disability makes it genuinely difficult to manage tasks like vacuuming, mopping, bathroom and kitchen cleaning, and general tidying independently.

It's worth being clear about the boundary: the NDIS generally won't fund a task a participant can safely do themselves, and in shared housing, it typically only covers a participant's personal space, not common areas other residents are capable of managing.

The Current Price Limit

Under the NDIS Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits 2026–27, effective from 1 July 2026, the national price limit for this support item sits at $60.10 per hour for standard weekday daytime hours, higher for evenings, weekends, public holidays, and for remote and very remote areas. This is a maximum, not a set price, providers may charge less, and participants who are self-managed can negotiate a different rate directly.

Because this figure is reviewed and typically changes every 1 July, always confirm the current rate against the official NDIS Pricing Arrangements before quoting a job, rather than relying on last year's number or a figure quoted on a third-party site.

Registered Versus Unregistered Provider

A registered NDIS provider can accept NDIA-managed funding directly and must charge at or below the published price limit. An unregistered provider can still deliver services to plan-managed or self-managed participants, generally with more pricing flexibility, but can't accept NDIA-managed funding directly.

Deciding whether to register is a genuine business decision: registration opens up NDIA-managed participants (a larger pool) but comes with its own compliance and audit requirements, worth weighing against your expected volume of NDIS work.

What a Service Agreement Should Include

A clear, written service agreement matters more for NDIS work than for standard residential cleaning, since it needs to align with what's actually approved in the participant's plan. At minimum: the specific support item and rate being charged, the frequency and duration of visits, cancellation terms, and how invoicing and claims will be handled (directly through the NDIA portal, through a plan manager, or paid directly by a self-managed participant).

Practical Considerations Beyond Pricing

Working with Disability screening. Depending on the nature of the work and direct contact involved, appropriate worker screening checks may be required; confirm current requirements for your state before taking on NDIS clients.

Communication and flexibility. NDIS clients may have specific communication needs or preferences worth understanding upfront, and consistency of the same cleaner attending each visit is often valued more here than in standard residential work.

Invoicing accuracy. Invoices need to clearly reference the correct support item and align with the agreed rate, since plan managers and the NDIA will check this against the participant's plan before paying.

Why This Is a Genuine Growth Opportunity

NDIS-funded household support represents a large and growing pool of consistent, recurring work, generally less price-sensitive than a purely price-driven residential market, provided the compliance and documentation side is handled properly from the start.