Mentoring for Young People on the NDIS: Line Items and Costs

If you are looking into NDIS mentoring for young people, this guide covers exactly how it is funded, what mentoring looks like in practice, what it costs per hour, and how to make sure it ends up in your next plan. Mentoring is one of the most useful supports available on the NDIS for young people aged 12 to 20, and it is also one of the most misunderstood.

Mentoring is not therapy. It is not babysitting. It is a purposeful, ongoing relationship with a skilled worker who helps the young person build confidence, life skills, and community connection. When it works, mentoring is often the support that changes a plan from static to genuinely progressive.

What does mentoring look like for young people on the NDIS?

Mentoring is one to one work between a young person and a trained worker, usually two to four hours at a time, once or twice a week. Sessions might include:

• Practising public transport routes and travelling to appointments together
• Building social skills through structured community activities
• Cooking a meal from scratch and shopping for the ingredients
• Learning to manage money, open a bank account, or plan a budget
• Talking through friendships, school issues, or family stress with a trusted adult
• Preparing for work experience, TAFE, or a first job
• Setting up healthy routines around sleep, screens, exercise, or medication

The best mentors work to a plan. They know the young person’s goals, they document progress in session notes, and they liaise with family, school, therapists, and support coordinators. Mentoring should feel warm but purposeful. Not counselling, not therapy, not a paid friendship. A structured relationship with a clear direction.

For young people with trauma backgrounds or complex family situations, a consistent mentor over 12 to 24 months can be more effective than any single therapy intervention. Consistency is the ingredient that matters most.

Which NDIS registration groups fund mentoring?

Mentoring is most commonly funded under 0125 Participate in Community, Social and Civic Activities. This is the core registration group for community based mentoring where the goal is social participation, community connection, and skill building through real activities.

Where the mentoring is explicitly about teaching daily living and life skills (cooking, budgeting, self care, communication, self advocacy), it can also be funded under 0117 Development of Daily Living and Life Skills. Many mentoring programmes use a blend of 0125 and 0117 depending on the session focus.

For creative, wellbeing focused, or non standard community participation, 0116 Innovative Community Participation is another option. This is where music, art, cultural activities, and outdoor programmes typically sit.

Common line items under 0125 for community participation include:

• 04_104_0125_6_1 Access Community, Social and Rec Activities Standard Weekday
• 04_105_0125_6_1 Standard Saturday
• 04_106_0125_6_1 Standard Sunday
• 04_107_0125_6_1 Public Holiday

These are the same codes used for standard community access support work. What makes it mentoring is not the code, it is the intent and the delivery model.

See our NDIS registration group codes guide for the full breakdown of registration groups.

Mentoring cannot usually be funded from Core Supports for capacity building purposes, though the same worker can do capacity building work in the morning and social community access work in the afternoon under different codes.

What does mentoring cost per hour on the NDIS?

Rates are set in the NDIS Pricing Schedule, which replaced the old Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits document from 1 July 2026. For 2026 to 2027, the maximum hourly rate for standard weekday daytime support under 0125 is $73.58 per hour (up from $70.23 in 2025 to 2026). Evening, Saturday, Sunday, and public holiday rates are higher; check the current NDIS Pricing Schedule for the exact figures.

Providers can charge less than these caps but not more. For a young person receiving two hours of mentoring twice a week on weekdays, that works out to around $295 per week or roughly $15,300 per year.

One more 2026 change worth knowing: the NDIA has recommended a 10% price cut from 1 January 2027 for social and community participation supports delivered by unregistered providers. SCA is an NDIS registered provider, so this cut does not apply to our mentoring.

Some providers charge additional short notice cancellation fees or non face to face time (planning, reports, coordination). Ask up front what your service agreement includes. A good provider will be transparent about every charge.

How do you get mentoring into an NDIS plan?

Mentoring needs to be justified against the young person’s goals. Vague requests like “the young person would benefit from a mentor” rarely succeed. Specific, goal linked requests almost always do.

Steps to include mentoring in a plan:

1. Write specific goals in the goal setting phase. For example: “increase independence in daily living tasks, including cooking, budgeting, and using public transport unassisted by end of plan.”
2. Get supporting evidence from an occupational therapist, psychologist, or school. Reports should explicitly recommend mentoring or capacity building support in a community setting.
3. Ask for funding under 0125 (and 0117 where the focus is life skills teaching) in dollar terms. Estimate the hours per week and total annual cost.
4. Bring a support coordinator or provider to the review who can articulate why mentoring is reasonable and necessary for this young person.
5. Link mentoring to specific outcomes like readiness for further study or employment, transition to independent living, or reduced reliance on Core supports.

For a young person aged 12 to 20 with trauma or complex needs, a well documented request for 4 to 8 hours of mentoring per week is common and often approved.

What are common mistakes when using mentoring funding?

The most common mistake is treating mentoring as unstructured social time. The NDIA reviews spending patterns. Mentoring that produces no notes, no progress, and no measurable outcomes is a target for reduction at the next review.

A second mistake is invoicing mentoring under the wrong code. If a support worker delivers community based mentoring but invoices it under an unrelated group, the plan manager may reject the invoice. See our NDIS registration group codes guide for the correct match.

A third mistake is choosing a provider based on rate alone. Mentoring is a relationship. A cheap worker who does not stay is worse value than a mid range worker who stays for two years.

Action steps to make mentoring work

Write down two or three goals the young person wants to achieve in the next plan. Match each goal to weekly mentoring activities. Estimate the hours needed and multiply by the weekday rate to get an annual figure. Add a 10 percent buffer for reports, coordination, and short notice cancellations. Take this to your next review or unscheduled plan variation.

If mentoring is already funded but not delivering, review the provider. Ask for session notes, a progress update, and a clear plan for the next three months. If the answers are vague, change providers before the next review.

Frequently asked questions

How many hours of mentoring should a young person have? It depends on goals and capacity. Four to eight hours per week is common for young people aged 12 to 20 with complex needs.

Can mentoring happen after school hours? Yes. Mentoring can happen any time the young person is available. Rates vary by day and time.

Who can be a mentor? Anyone employed by a registered or unregistered NDIS provider with appropriate qualifications: Certificate IV in Youth Work, Community Services, Social Work, or equivalent. Working with Children Check and NDIS Worker Screening are mandatory.

Can mentoring be group based? Yes, small group mentoring is common and often more affordable per person. Ratios of one worker to three or four young people are typical.

How is mentoring different from support work? Support work is generally task focused, helping with daily activities. Mentoring is goal focused, building capacity over time. The same worker can do both, but the intent and documentation differ.

If you would like to explore mentoring for a young person aged 12 to 20, make a referral or call Supporting Communities Australia on 0480 800 521. We deliver youth mentoring across Western and South West Sydney and specialise in this age group.