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Can my NDIS therapist charge me for travel?

We get asked all the time, ‘Can my therapist charge me for travel, and if so, how much?? In short, the answer is yes, and the amount can differ depending on what you agree to before you start services. This resource sets out:

Which NDIS capacity building providers can charge travel?

Capacity building services include services like Occupational Therapy, Speech Therapy, Physiotherapy, Physiology, Psychology and more.

Capacity building providers (mostly allied health professionals) are able to claim for provider travel if there is a  ‘Y’ in the ‘Provider Travel’ column in the NDIS Support Catalogue for the service line item. In truth, there is a Y for almost all items!

Your therapists and capacity building providers can charge for two seperate costs

  1. Labour Costs (their time):
    • travelling to your appointment and\
    • returning to their usual place of business afterwards (only if you are their last appointment)
  2. Non-Labour Costs:
    • kilometers travelled
    • other costs associated with the travel such as tolls and parking

How much can NDIS capacity building providers/ therapists charge for travel?

The maximum amount of TIME therapists can claim is:

  • 30 minutes in MMM1-3 areas (most participants fall into this MMM area as it includes major cities, inner regional and some outer regional) 
  • 60 minutes in MMM4-5 areas (regional and remote areas)
How much can they charge for the time travelled?

They can charge the same as their consulting rate (ouch!). This rate applies to both directions – travel TO your appointment and their travel to their usual place of business if you are their last consult. You could even end up paying both sides!


Not sure what the maximum rate your therapist can charge is? Click here to use our easy price search guide here

What if there is more than one client or the therapist is visiting another client in my area?

Where a therapist is travelling to provide services to more than one participant in a ‘region’ then the provider should apportion that travel time (including the return journey where applicable) between the participants, with the agreement in advance of each participant. This means the total travel cost is split between all the clients they visit in that region on that date/time.

Additional travel costs

Your therapists can also charge for other travel costs associated with traveling to deliver Face-to-face supports, called non-labour travel costs. This is the cost associated with the runnings costs of the car including:

  • Kilometres or distance travelled
  • Other forms of transport or associated costs, such as road tolls, parking, public transport fares, up to the full amount.
How much can they charge for the non-labour travel?

To view the appropriate rates – search our easy price guide by entering the description ‘Provider travel – non labour costs‘.

How much can they charge for the kilometres travelled?

The NDIS allows capacity building therapist to charge up to $0.98/km charged, on top of the time travelled.

What if there is more than one client or the therapist is visiting another client in my area?

Where a therapist is travelling to provide services to more than one participant in a ‘region’ then the provider should apportion the kilometres or non-labour costs (including the return journey where applicable) between the participants, with the agreement in advance of each participant. This means the total travel cost is split between all the clients they visit in that region on that date/time.

Top tips to reduce travel cost

There are a few ways you can avoid incurring large travel costs for your supports, and we have listed some recommendations below:

  • Ask your provider BEFORE you start services: Confirm how much travel will cost for EACH session before you sign your Service Agreement. Your Service agreement will outline the terms of any travel costs.
  • Find another provider: If you can try find you a therapist closer to your location so you can get more therapy and spend less on their travel!
  • Check your invoices: It is your responsibility to ensure you have been charged correctly. If you have a plan manager they may not know if that session was provided at home or in clinic so make sure to review your invoices regularly.
  • Collaborate with people in your area to share the travel costs of a single therapist.
  • Travel to the clinic or office when available – if suitable try do some sessions at the clinic so you don’t have to pay ANY travel costs.
  • Don’t be the last consult of the day!
Sources

This resource has been updated and shared with the consent of MyCareSpace

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