Accounts & finances · Article 1 of 4
Understanding monthly fees
Monthly fees are the recurring plan management fees charged to a participant's NDIS budget. Navigator calculates and processes these automatically on a monthly basis.
What a monthly fee is
Each customer has a monthly fee amount set on their profile. This is the amount charged to the participant's budget each month for plan management services. The fee is claimed against the participant's Improved Life Choices support item — the NDIS budget category for plan management.
The fee amount is specific to each customer and is set manually. No automatic calculation — your team sets the fee based on your organisation's standard rate and the participant's circumstances.
How monthly fees are timed
Monthly fees are not charged on a fixed calendar date. Instead they use the participant's plan anniversary date:
- Derived from the participant's NDIS plan start date
- Each month, when that anniversary arrives, the fee is charged
- Ensures fees align with the participant's plan cycle
The fee start date on the customer's profile controls when charging begins — fees won't run before the fee start date, even if a support plan is active.
The NDIS price cap
The NDIS sets a maximum amount that can be charged for plan management services in each service region. Navigator will not allow a fee to exceed the price cap for the participant's region. If the configured fee is above the cap, the charge is limited to the cap.
When there isn't enough budget
| Setting | What happens |
|---|---|
| Partial monthly fees enabled | Charges whatever's available, down to a minimum of $10. Less than $10 → fee skipped. |
| Partial monthly fees disabled | If the full fee isn't available, no fee is charged that month. Skipped entirely. |
The $10 minimum avoids processing an extremely small fee that wouldn't be worth the administrative overhead.
When a monthly fee is not charged
A fee won't run if:
- The monthly fee start date has not been set
- The monthly fees account setting is disabled
- The customer has no active support plan covering the period
- The Improved Life Choices budget has no remaining funds and partial fees are disabled
- The fee amount would be under $10 and partial fees are enabled
Checking whether a fee was charged
- Open the customer's profile.
- Navigate to the fees or billing history section.
- Review the fee records — each shows amount, period, and processing date.
If a fee is missing, the most common causes are a missing fee start date, an inactive support plan, or insufficient budget. See Configuring monthly fees.
Monthly fees and statements
Monthly fees are included in the participant's monthly statement — shown as a charge against the Improved Life Choices budget. If no fee was charged in a month, the statement won't include a fee line for that period.