4 March 2023

Under the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), Participant Transport and Provider Travel are two different concepts.  Participant transport refers to the support needed to help a NDIS participant travel independently whether that be through transport funding, training, or vehicle modifications.  Provider travel describes when a provider can claim for time and costs incurred when travelling to (and sometimes from) delivering supports to a participant.

Participant Transport

Access to safe, reliable, and affordable transportation is a necessary part of daily life to attend appointments, go to work or school, participate in social activities and access other essential services.  Let’s look at the four ways the NDIS can fund transport arrangements.

1. Transport Allowance

The NDIS Transport Allowance is available to NDIS participants who are unable to use public transport due to their disability and need to use alternative modes of transport such as taxis, private cars, or specialised vehicles.  The amount of transport allowance the NDIS provides each year depends on a participant’s personal situation. There are three levels of funding:

Level 1 – $1,606 per year       – no working or study commitments or attending day programs but would like to increase your community access.

Level 2 – $2,472 per year       – working or studying less than 15 hours a week or attending day programs.

Level 3 – $3,456 per year       – engaging more than 15 hours a week working, studying, or looking for work.

To apply for the Transport Allowance, participants should discuss their transportation needs with their NDIS planner or Local Area Coordinator (LAC) during their planning meeting.  The NDIS will assess individual needs and determine the appropriate level of funding.  Funds can be managed in one of four ways –

• NDIA-managed,
• Self-managed,
• Plan-managed,
• Periodic payments (usually fortnightly) to a nominated bank account.

If plan-managed, transport funding can be used flexibly with other core support categories. However, if received as periodic payments, funding is not flexible.  This means a participant cannot dip into other areas of their core funding to pay for additional transport support.

2. Travelling with a support worker

The NDIS may provide funding to pay a support worker to drive a participant around or accompany them out into the community.   This can include things like shopping trips, social events, or transport to medical appointments.  This funding comes under Assistance with Social and Community Participation (Category 04) from the Core Support Budget.  These trips are charged at an agreed hourly rate, which includes the total time a support worker attends the outing.

What is Activity Based Transport?  The NDIS will fund a per kilometre amount (and other costs such as public transport, road tolls or parking fees) for Activity Based Transport where a provider is transporting and accompanying a participant to access community.  Providers can only claim costs for travel if the NDIS participant has agreed in advance.  The following are considered reasonable amounts:

• For a vehicle owned by the provider or worker, up to $0.97 per kilometre; and
• For other forms of transport or associated costs such as road tolls, parking, public transport fares, up to the full amount.

Invoicing tips –provider to identify the claim type as ‘Activity Based Travel’, stating the number of kilometres along with the per kilometre charge, using the relevant item code as listed in the NDIS Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits.

Example – How to claim for Assistance with Social and Community Participation and Activity Based Travel?   A provider has agreed to deliver a support in the Assistance with Social, Economic and Community Participation Support Category to a participant and the participant has requested that the provider transport the participant from their home to a local swimming pool and back again, as part of that support. The transport by a non-disability modified vehicle takes 25 minutes to arrive at the swimming pool, including the time to assist the participant to and from the vehicle and getting them set up to participate in the activity. The support worker accompanies the participant in the vehicle. They then provide 40 minutes of support to the participant at the pool. Afterwards, they spend 20 minutes returning the participant to their home by the same vehicle. The pool is 10 kilometres from the participant’s home. The provider and participant have agreed an hourly rate of $50.00, which is below the price limit for this item. This amount also applies to the support worker’s time when transporting participants. The provider and participant have also agreed for the provider to claim for the activity based transport costs, which in this case they have agreed are the support worker’s car park fee ($4.50) and vehicle running costs at a rate as agreed with the participant of $0.85 a kilometre (2×10 km) against support line item.

-$70.83 for the 40 minutes of direct support at the swimming pool and 45 minutes transport time against support item 04_104_0125_6_1;

-$21.50 for the non-labour costs of the activity based transport against the support item 04_590_0125_6_1.

-Note: The provider may also be able to make a claim for the time taken by the worker to travel to the participant before the support commences (refer to Provider Travel).

3. Building independence through transport

Building independence is a common NDIS goal, and transport plays a big part in that.  If your disability makes it hard for you to get around but you would like to learn to overcome these challenges and travel independently, you might be eligible for funding for things like public transport training.  This funding is included in your plan as Improved Daily Living (Category 15) which is a capacity building support designed to build your independence, skills and confidence. The item code is 15_037_0117_1_3 – Skill Development And Training including Public Transport Training.

4. Specialised vehicles

If you require a specialised or modified vehicle because of your disability, the NDIS may be able to help pay for modifications under ‘Assistive Technology’ (Category 05). The NDIS won’t pay for the vehicle but may cover modifications to gain improved access or fit specialised enhancements for driving capability.  The NDIS will only fund modifications if it’s seen as offering value for money and may reject a request if it is not deemed as reasonable and necessary.  They may also only approve partial funding to an amount they deem as being reasonable and necessary with the participant covering the outstanding.

Provider Travel

Provider travel refers to the travel that takes place when a provider travels to and from the participant to provide disability related support or service.  Providers can only claim costs for travel if the NDIS participant has agreed in advance.  There are two types of provider travel, they are:

• Labour cost
• Non-labour costs

Provider travel – labour cost refers to the time in minutes that it takes for the provider to get to (and sometimes from) a participant’s location.  The cost is calculated based on the same hourly rate as the support that is being provided.  A provider must clearly invoice for provider travel and state the time in minutes, subject to the following:

• MMM1-3 Non remote area          A provider can charge up to 30 minutes per trip (and possibly up to 60 minutes in total for both ways)
• MMM4-5 Remote area                 A provider can charge up to 60 minutes per trip (and possibly up to 120 minutes in total for both ways)
• MMM6-7 Very remote area         The participant and provider can mutually agree in advance, an appropriate arrangement.

Invoicing tips – provider to identify the claim type as ‘provider travel’, stating minutes being charged, and using the same NDIS item code and hourly rate as the support being provided.

Provider travel – non-labour cost refers to costs such as mileage, tolls and parking incurred when providing support.

• For a vehicle owned by the provider or the worker, up to $0.97 per kilometre; and
• For other forms of transport or associated costs such as road tolls, parking, public transport fares, up to the full amount.

Invoicing tips –provider to identify the claim type as ‘provider travel’, stating the number of kilometres along with the per kilometre charge, and using the relevant item code as listed in the NDIS Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits.

Example – How to claim for core support and provider travel?  A support worker travels for 25 minutes (30 kilometres) to a participant located in a non-remote area.  They provide two hours of support to the participant. They then spend 25 minutes (30 kilometres) returning to their usual place of business. The provider and participant have agreed an hourly rate of $50.00. They have also agreed that the provider can claim for travel time and for the non-labour costs associated with that travel (at $0.78 per kilometre). The provider is entitled to apply the 30-minute time-cap against the 25 minutes of travel to the participant. They are also entitled to claim for the 25 minutes spent travelling back to their usual place of business as the provider is required to pay their worker for this time and it fits within the 30-minute time-cap. Because the worker uses his or her own car to drive to the participant, the provider has agreed to pay the worker $0.78 per kilometre travelled. The provider can also seek reimbursement for this cost from the participant’s plan under the Service Agreement. The provider’s claim for this support is in three parts, which should be shown separately on their invoice to the participant and claimed for separately in the system.

-$100.00 for the two hours of support against support item 01_301_0104_1_1;

-$41.67 for the 50 minutes travel to and from the participant against support item 01_301_0104_1_1 using claim type “Provider Travel”; 

-$46.80 for the 60 kilometres travel to and from the participant against support item 01_799_0104_1_1.

We’re here to help!

At My Plan Assist, our team of Gold Coast based Plan Managers are here to help you on your NDIS journey.  For caring and personalised support or advice, call on 07 5641 2277 or email info@myplanassist.com.au.  You can also find out more by visiting www.myplanassist.com.au.