Some people with disabilities may require services to be delivered in their homes, communities, or other external settings. As a result, service providers may need to travel to deliver services directly to participants or to provide support in community-based locations. But what are the NDIS rules and regulations around provider travel and transport, and how should you charge for them?
Rules for Claiming Provider Travel
Providers can only claim travel costs from a participant’s plan if certain rules and regulations are met. Which means, it’s a good idea to review the NDIS Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits each year to ensure you’re following the regulations laid out by the NDIA.
The latest NDIS Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits (2023/24) claiming rules include:
Provider travel can be claimed for supports provided to a participant where travel is involved
Supports must be delivered directly (face-to-face) to the participant
Supports delivered must be a specific disability support item to that participant
Activities must be explained to the participant, including the value they hold for the participant’s needs and goals
The provider should have the agreement of the participant in advance
Providers are required to pay workers delivering supports for the time they spent travelling (this should be outlined in your employee contract); or if the provider is a sole trader and is travelling from their usual place of work to or from the participant, or between participants, travel may be charged
Charges must comply with the latest Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits*
*It’s important to note that the Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits should act as a guide for the rate you set for your services. The price listed is considered the maximum amount you can charge.
Provider Travel – Labour Costs (Time)
When a provider claims for travel time, the maximum amount of time they can claim is 30 minutes in MMM1-3 areas and 60 minutes in MMM4-5 areas. If you’re unsure which MMM classification to choose, it is always the area when the participant is when the support is delivered.
Providers delivering core and capacity-building supports are also able to claim for the time spent travelling from the last participant to their usual place of work. This is only claimable when a provider must pay their worker for the return travel time.
If you’re travelling to provide services to more than one participant, then the travel time can be divided between each participant, including the return journey (if applicable). This must be agreed to by each participant in advance as part of the service agreement.
Provider Travel – Non-Labour Costs
If you are travelling to provide face-to-face supports to a participant, there are additional costs on top of your time such as tolls, parking fees and the running costs of the vehicle, you can negotiate with the participant a reasonable contribution towards these costs. It’s important to note that as a provider you need to follow the NDIS guidelines for what can be considered a reasonable contribution. This includes:
For a vehicle owned by the provider or the worker, you can claim up to $0.97 a kilometre
For other forms of transport or associated costs, such as road tolls, parking, public transport fares, you can claim up to the full amount.
Non-labour costs should be claimed against the relevant “Provider Travel – non-labour costs” support item as indicated in the NDIS Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits.
For example:
If you are providing supports that fall under an 01 line item, then you would choose the ‘Provider Travel – non labour costs’ from the line items beginning with 01_799. If you provide supports under a 15 line item, then you would claim travel under a line item beginning with 15_799. This is the same across all support categories.
Activity Based Transport
Providers who support participants with community participation supports may requested to transport a participant to or from a community participation support. If a participant has requested this support, then you may be entitled to charge for activity-based supports. If you’re transporting two or more participants on the same trip, your time should be split amongst the participants. Remember, before charging a participant it’s important to discuss any support costs, including activity-based support costs, with them and include this in your service agreement.
If there are additional costs, such as road tolls, parking fees and the running costs of the vehicle, discuss a reasonable contribution towards these costs. This may include:
For a vehicle that is not modified for accessibility, up to $0.97 a kilometre
For a vehicle that is modified for accessibility or a bus, up to $2.76 a kilometre
For other forms of transport or associated costs, such as road tolls, parking, and public transport fares, up to the full amount.
Short Notice Cancellations
There are some circumstances where a participant may cancel with short notice or not show up the scheduled appointment. If this happens, you can claim up to 100% of the agreed fee. For a cancellation to be considered short notice the participant must either:
Not show up for a scheduled support within a reasonable time, or is not present at the agreed place and within a reasonable time when the provider is travelling to deliver the support; or
Has given less than seven (7) clear days’ notice for a support.
Where group sessions are concerned, if a participant cancels their attendance and if the provider is unable find another participant to attend the group session in their place then, as long as the other requirements for a short notice cancellation are met, you can invoice the participant who has made the short notice cancellation at the previously agreed rate that they would have billed if the participant had attended the group session. The other participants who attend the group session should only be billed the agreed upon rate. Essentially nothing should change for other participants attending if someone else cancels.
Providers can only claim from a participant’s plan for a short notice cancellation if:
The NDIS Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits supports claiming for Short Notice Cancellations for the provided support
The proposed charges comply with the NDIS Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits
Claiming short notice cancellations is in the service agreement you have with your participant
You were unable to find alternative billable work for the relevant worker and are required to pay the worker for the time that would have been spent providing the support.
Claims for a short notice cancellation should be made using the same support item that would have been used if the support had been delivered, with a note on the invoice stating that there was a short notice cancellation.
There are no limits on the number of short notice cancellations (or no shows) a provider can claim per participant. However, providers have a duty of care to their participants and if a participant has an unusual number of cancellations, then you should investigate why. The NDIA monitor claims for cancellations and may contact providers who have a participant with an unusual number of cancellations.
If you have a participant who is plan managed with First2Care, you can register your details with our First2Care team for quick and easy payment processing. Read more about First2Care Plan Management here.