How to find your NDIS MMM area and which rate applies
By Mick Lutton ยท Updated
The NDIS price limit follows where you deliver the support, not where the participant lives. Look up that place's
Modified Monash Model (MMM) category on the
Health Workforce Locator. MM 1 to 5 use the national limit, MM 6 the
remote limit and MM 7 the very remote limit. A short list of isolated towns, such as Broken Hill and Kalgoorlie, is
priced as remote even though the locator shows a lower category.
Accurate as at 27 September 2026. MMM classifications and the isolated towns list change, so check
the current
NDIS pricing arrangements page
before you invoice. If you are unsure which area applies, ask the participant's Local Area Coordinator (LAC), if they
have one, or their plan manager. Interpreting the rules is part of their role.
What does MMM mean?
MMM is the Modified Monash Model, the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing's way of sorting every location into
one of seven categories by remoteness and town size. The NDIS uses it to decide whether the national, remote or very
remote price limit applies. MM 1 is a major city and MM 7 is a very remote community.
Modified Monash Model categories and the NDIS price limit that applies
Category
Meaning
Price limit
MM 1
Major cities
National
MM 2
Regional centres
MM 3
Large rural towns
MM 4
Medium rural towns
MM 5
Small rural towns
MM 6
Remote communities
Remote
MM 7
Very remote communities
Very remote
Which NDIS rate applies in each area?
In MM 1 to 5 you use the national limit, in MM 6 the remote limit and in MM 7 the very remote limit
(NDIS Pricing Schedule 2026-27, section 2.3). For most supports the remote limit is 40% above national and very remote is
50% above.
Some supports have no loading. For example, the plan management monthly fee
is $104.45 in every area. Where the Schedule lists no remote or very remote amount
for a support, the national limit applies everywhere. Every line item page shows
all three limits.
How does the MMM area change travel?
The area where you deliver the support also sets how much travel time you can claim, if the support allows provider
travel and your service agreement covers it. Under the NDIS pricing arrangements for 2025-26, which stay current until
the NDIA publishes the 2026-27 guidance:
MM 1-3: up to 30 minutes of travel time to each participant, and up to 30 minutes back after your last participant.
MM 4-5: up to 60 minutes each way on the same basis.
MM 6-7: no set time cap. You agree travel costs with the participant, up to the hourly limit for the support (half the hourly limit for therapists).
Kilometres are the same everywhere: up to $0.99 a km in your own vehicle, plus tolls and parking at cost.
NDIS travel claims explained shows how to put them on an invoice.
How do I find the MMM area for an address?
Use the Health Workforce Locator,
the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing's tool, and type the full street address of where you deliver the
support. It wants a numerical street address (for example, 1 Lonsdale St Braddon ACT) with no business name or unit
number.
Open the locator and enter the street address where you deliver the support.
Find the Modified Monash Model group in the results. It shows a category for each of 2015, 2019 and 2023, such as "MM 1".
If the category is MM 1 to 5, check the isolated towns list below before you settle on the national limit.
The 2025-26 NDIS pricing arrangements say the NDIS uses the 2019 version, and the 2026-27 Schedule does not name one.
If the years show different categories for your address, ask the participant's LAC or plan manager which one to use
before you invoice.
What is an NDIS enclave (isolated town)?
An isolated town, which the NDIA also calls an enclave, is a location the NDIA prices as remote or very remote because
it is surrounded by remote or very remote areas, even though its MMM category is lower. The list sits in Part 3 of
the NDIS Pricing Schedule 2026-27, under "Isolated Towns Modification".
Examples on the current list include Broken Hill, Kalgoorlie, Geraldton, Roma, Emerald and Moranbah (remote) and
Gunbalanya (very remote). Some postcodes are only partly covered: the Schedule lists the localities, so check the
suburb as well as the postcode.
This guide does not reproduce the list because it changes. The first 2025-26 pricing arrangements (June 2025) listed
21 enclave postcodes, and the 2026-27 Schedule lists 26, with new towns and some localities dropped. Read the current list in
Part 3 of the Schedule, at the
NDIS pricing arrangements page,
and search it for your suburb and postcode before you rely on a town being on it or off it.
What if the participant lives in a different area from where I work?
The rate is decided by where the service is provided, not by where the participant lives or where you live (Schedule,
section 2.3). A community access shift in a remote town uses the remote limit even if the participant's home is in a
regional centre, and the reverse is also true.
If a participant comes to your clinic or workplace, use the limit for where your clinic is, not where they live.
What happens if I bill the wrong area?
If you bill the national limit for a remote location, you are usually paid the lower amount and lose the loading. In
practice a plan manager pays what the invoice says, because you can invoice below the limit. The limit is a ceiling,
not a rate you are owed. Going the other way is the risk: never charge above
the limit for the area where the support was delivered. A rate over the limit is one of the
common reasons invoices get rejected.
Generate an invoice free, right now
The free NDIS invoice template produces a PDF with every field
above, using current 2026-27 v1.0 line items. It runs in your browser - nothing is uploaded or stored, no
signup.
It is the Modified Monash Model category of the place where you deliver the support, from MM 1 (major cities) to MM 7 (very remote). Look up the full street address on the Health Workforce Locator, then check the current NDIS Pricing Schedule for isolated towns priced higher.
Is Broken Hill classed as remote by the NDIS?
Yes. Broken Hill (postcode 2880) is on the isolated towns list in the NDIS Pricing Schedule 2026-27, so the remote price limit applies there even though its MMM category is lower.
Where is the list of NDIS isolated towns?
It is in Part 3 of the NDIS Pricing Schedule, under "Isolated Towns Modification", on the NDIS pricing arrangements page. The NDIA calls these towns enclaves, and the list changes between years, so read the current one.
How much higher are NDIS remote and very remote rates?
For most supports the remote limit is 40% above the national limit and the very remote limit is 50% above. A smaller group of supports, such as plan management, have the same limit everywhere.
What if I charged the national rate in a remote area?
In practice a plan manager pays what the invoice says, so you are paid the lower amount and miss the loading. Check the area before you invoice, and ask the participant's LAC or plan manager if you are unsure.
Who do I ask if I am not sure which MMM area applies?
Ask the participant's Local Area Coordinator (LAC), if they have one, or their plan manager. Knowing and interpreting the rules is part of their role, and the published lists can change.
Set the MMM area once
Set a default MMM area for your business and override it for any participant, and Crestyn uses the matching national, remote or very remote limit on every invoice line. No card to start: 30 days free, then $14 a month.
NDIS Pricing Schedule 2026-27, effective (catalogue 2026-27 v1.0). Usually checked
every night - last checked . General
information, not advice. Verify against the official pricing schedule before invoicing.
Source: NDIS pricing arrangements.
