The PACE system is the NDIA's new digital platform replacing the existing portal and CRM. Here is what has changed, what is coming, and how to prepare your clinic.
The NDIA's PACE (Provider And Client Environment) system replaced the legacy CRM and provider portal over 2023 to mid-2025. The rollout is now complete. Every active NDIS participant has their plan managed through PACE, and all provider interactions go through the new My NDIS Provider Portal.
For allied health practitioners, PACE changed how you interact with the NDIA's systems but did not change what a good report looks like. The clinical evidence standards, the reasonable and necessary criteria, and the requirement for quantified recommendations are all the same. What changed is the plumbing, not the standard.
PACE replaced three legacy systems: the Siebel CRM that NDIA staff used internally, the old myplace participant portal, and the old myplace provider portal. The new system was built from scratch by the NDIA's internal technology team. The rollout started in October 2023 with new participants and was progressively extended to existing participants through 2024 and 2025. As of mid-2025, all participants are on PACE.
Under PACE, plan budgets are presented by support category rather than as detailed line-by-line breakdowns. Participants see broader, more flexible budgets within each support type. This does not mean the line items disappeared. The NDIS Support Catalogue still defines every line item, price limit, and claiming rule. What changed is how the budget is displayed to participants and providers. When writing your report, continue to reference specific support categories and line item codes from the Support Catalogue. The planner uses the same codes internally even if the participant sees a simpler budget view.
Under the old system, providers created 'service bookings' that reserved a portion of the participant's plan budget for their services. This process no longer exists under PACE. It has been replaced by 'provider endorsement.' Providers register themselves in the participant's 'My Providers' section, and that endorsement allows them to make claims against the plan. If you previously relied on service bookings to secure your portion of the participant's funding, you will need to adjust. Endorsement does not reserve funds. Multiple providers can claim against the same support category, and funds are allocated on a first-claimed basis.
The new portal interface is different from the old myplace portal. Claiming, payment tracking, and plan visibility have all changed. The core functions are the same: submit claims, view payment status, see participant plan details (where you have endorsement). The interface is different, and some practitioners have reported that it takes time to find things that were in different locations in the old portal. If you have not used the new portal yet, allocate time to familiarise yourself with it before you need to submit urgent claims. The NDIA has published portal guides on their website.
While not strictly a PACE change, the 2025-26 Price Guide introduced a significant change that coincided with the PACE transition: allied health professionals can now only claim 50% of their standard hourly rate for travel time. Travel time caps also apply: typically 15 minutes in metropolitan areas and 30 minutes in regional areas. This affects practitioners who provide home-based or community-based services. If travel is a significant component of your service delivery, factor this into your service agreement pricing and your recommendations for the next plan period. Some practitioners have shifted toward more clinic-based or telehealth delivery to offset the travel reduction.
The reasonable and necessary criteria under Section 34 of the NDIS Act have not changed (though they were separately amended in October 2024). The NDIS Price Guide still sets maximum prices. The requirement for practitioner declarations, standardised assessment evidence, and quantified recommendations in your reports has not changed. The NDIS Code of Conduct and Practice Standards have not changed. Your clinical obligations are exactly the same. PACE is an IT system change, not a policy change. Write your reports to the same standard you always have. Reference the NDIS Support Catalogue for line items. Submit through the new portal. Everything else is the same.
Reference the Support Catalogue, not the portal display
The PACE portal displays plan budgets differently from the old system. When in doubt about line items, support categories, or price limits, reference the NDIS Support Catalogue directly. It is the authoritative source regardless of how the portal presents the information.
Update your service agreements
If your service agreements reference 'service bookings' or the old portal, update them. The terminology has changed even if the commercial relationship has not.
Factor in the travel cap
If you provide home or community-based services, the 50% travel rate cap from July 2025 affects your revenue per session. Review your service delivery model and discuss with participants if session locations need to change.
Do not panic about report format
PACE changed how the NDIA processes your report internally. It did not change what a good report looks like. The same sections, the same evidence standards, the same quantified recommendations. If your reports were good before PACE, they are good now.
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