Support Worker Rate Increase Letter: Free Template

Download the support worker rate increase letter template (Word DOCX). It is free, with no email or account needed. It has the notice details, a rate change table, three letter wordings, an affordability fallback and a variation record to attach to the existing service agreement.

Putting your rate up is the part of working for yourself that nobody trains you for. You are not asking a payroll department. You are telling someone whose shower you help with on Tuesday mornings that they are going to pay more. Most independent support workers handle it by not handling it: they leave the rate untouched for three years, absorb every cost rise themselves, and then quietly drop the client instead.

The fix is a short, specific, unapologetic letter sent before the change takes effect. Here is what goes in it, and the actual wording.

When to put your rate up

There are four reasons that hold up when a client asks why.

Your costs have moved. Insurance renewals, vehicle running costs, registration, training, software and superannuation all rise. As a sole trader none of that is reimbursed by anyone. Work out the new rate from the actual numbers rather than reaching for a round figure. The independent support worker pay rates guide sets out what comes out of an hourly rate before it becomes take-home pay.

The annual price limit update. The NDIA publishes the NDIS Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits and updates them. Take care with this one, because it is the most commonly misused reason. A price limit going up does not raise your rate by itself. The limit is a ceiling on what can be claimed for plan-managed and NDIA-managed supports. The price in your contract is whatever you and the client wrote down, and it stays there until you both agree to change it.

Your skills have changed. A new qualification, medication competency, or moving into high-intensity supports changes what you are delivering, not just what you charge.

The rate has not moved in years. “My rate has been the same since March 2024” is a complete reason on its own. Say the date.

How much notice

Check your service agreement first. If it sets a notice period for a rate change, that is your number and you do not get to shorten it.

If the agreement is silent, four weeks is a sensible default for a regular ongoing client. It gives the person time to look at their budget, raise it with a plan manager or support coordinator, and decide without feeling cornered. Two weeks reads as abrupt. Three months reads as though you are not sure you mean it.

Two rules apply regardless of the notice period:

• Never backdate. Supports delivered before the effective date are invoiced at the old rate, full stop.
• Never let the client find out from the invoice. An unannounced higher invoice is the single fastest way to lose a client you have worked with for years.

What the letter must contain

Six things, and nothing else:

1. The current rate and the new rate, per support, as numbers.
2. The effective date.
3. Which supports the change applies to.
4. What is not changing: rostered times, cancellation policy, travel charges, invoicing cycle.
5. The reason, in one sentence.
6. An invitation to talk, with a phone number and a date.

Point 4 does more work than people expect. Clients hear “rate increase” and assume everything is being renegotiated. Saying plainly that the Tuesday shift, the cancellation terms and the travel charge are all unchanged removes most of the anxiety before it starts.

The wording

Version 1: standard notice

Dear [client name],

I am writing to let you know that my hourly rates will change from [effective date]. This gives you [number] weeks notice, in line with our service agreement.

From [effective date], my rates will be:

[Support], [day or time band]: [current rate] becomes [new rate] per hour. [Support], [day or time band]: [current rate] becomes [new rate] per hour.

Everything else stays the same. Your rostered times, my cancellation policy, my travel charges and my invoicing cycle are unchanged.

The reason for the change is [reason]. The new rate is within the current NDIS price limit for this support.

Invoices for supports delivered up to [day before effective date] will be at the current rate. Invoices from [effective date] will be at the new rate.

If you have any questions, or the new rate creates a problem with your budget, please call me on [number] before [date] and we can work through the options together.

Kind regards, [Your name], [your ABN]

Version 2: self-managed or private client, cost-based increase

Self-managed and privately funded clients are paying from a budget they control directly, so the cost reasoning matters more to them.

Dear [client name],

My rate for [support] has been [current rate] per hour since [date]. From [effective date] it will be [new rate] per hour.

Running my own supports means I cover my own insurance, superannuation, training, vehicle costs and unpaid admin time. Those costs have risen by [amount] since [date], and my rate has not moved in that time. The new rate keeps the work sustainable so I can keep supporting you consistently.

This applies to supports delivered on or after [effective date]. It does not change our rostered times, my cancellation policy or [other unchanged terms].

I would like to keep working with you. If [new rate] does not fit your budget, call me on [number] and we can look at adjusting the shift length, moving one shift to a lower-cost time band, or a staged increase over two steps.

Kind regards, [Your name], [your ABN]

Version 3: short message

For a long-standing client who prefers a text or a quick email, and a single straightforward change:

Hi [client name], a quick heads up that my rate for [support] goes from [current rate] to [new rate] per hour from [effective date]. That is [number] weeks notice as per our agreement. Nothing else changes: same times, same cancellation policy, same invoicing. Happy to talk it through any time before then on [number]. I will send an updated agreement page to sign. Thanks, [your name].

Short is fine. Vague is not. The message still carries both numbers, the date and the offer to talk.

What not to write

• Do not apologise. “Sorry to have to do this” invites the client to treat the rate as negotiable out of sympathy. State it.
• Do not blame the NDIS. “The NDIS has put prices up so I have to charge more” is not accurate, and a plan manager will know it is not accurate.
• Do not bury the number. Three paragraphs of gratitude before the figure reads as though you are hiding it.
• Do not describe it as a percentage only. People convert badly under stress. Give the dollar figures.
• Do not attach conditions you have not discussed. A rate notice is not the moment to introduce a new cancellation policy.

If the client says the new rate does not work

Some will say it. The NDIS Code of Conduct expects honest, respectful dealings, and that cuts both ways: you are allowed to charge what the work costs, and the client is allowed to tell you it does not fit.

Practical options, in rough order of how often they land:

• A staged increase: half now, half in six months.
• Old rate for existing rostered shifts, new rate for any additional hours.
• Shorter shifts at the new rate, so the weekly spend holds steady.
• Moving one shift out of a higher-cost time band.
• An agreed end date and a warm handover, if the numbers genuinely do not work.

Whatever is agreed, write it down and attach it to the agreement. The template has a page for exactly this, because “we sorted it out on the phone in August” is not a record.

Update the paperwork, not just the invoice

A rate change is a variation to the service agreement, so the agreement needs to say so.

This matters beyond tidiness. For NDIS supports, the ATO treats a written agreement identifying the participant and stating that the supply is one of the reasonable and necessary supports in their plan as one of four conditions that must all be met for the supply to be GST-free. Letting the paperwork drift out of date puts that at risk for no good reason.

So: keep the original agreement, attach the variation record, note the new rates and effective date, get it signed, give the client a copy, and send a copy to the plan manager or support coordinator if there is one. Then update your invoicing. The NDIS invoice generator and the invoice template guide cover what an invoice needs to carry.

Before you send

1. Read the notice and variation clauses in the current service agreement.
2. Check the new rate against the current price limit if the client is plan managed or NDIA managed.
3. Set an effective date that sits after the notice period ends.
4. List every support the change covers, and name what is unchanged.
5. Prepare the variation page so the agreement is updated the same week.
6. Tell the plan manager or support coordinator.

Download the template and browse the other free templates.

If you work independently, sign up for Carevo with your email and choose support worker, then describe your services, coverage and availability in your profile. Carevo connects participants, families and providers with independent workers; it does not employ workers or deliver supports. Your download stays free whether or not you join.

This is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. This template is a starting draft. Check your own agreement and circumstances, and confirm your tax position with a registered tax agent or the ATO.