Claiming Travel Costs Under the NDIS: A Practical Guide for Providers
Travel is often part of delivering quality supports, particularly when participants receive services in their homes or out in the community. If you provide face-to-face supports, you may be able to claim travel costs under the NDIS.
However, travel claims can sometimes be confusing. Understanding the difference between provider travel, non-labour travel expenses, and activity-based transport can help you invoice correctly, stay compliant, and avoid unnecessary payment delays.
In this guide, we'll explain what providers can claim and how travel costs should be billed.
What Can NDIS Providers Claim for Travel?
When travelling to deliver a face-to-face support, providers may claim travel-related costs such as the time and costs incurred. These costs should be agreed to in advance as part of the participant's Service Agreement.
Provider travel is generally made up of two categories:
Labour costs (travel time)
Non-labour costs (travel expenses)
These costs must be claimed separately from the support being delivered. If the support has travel costs built in, provider travel cannot be claimed.
How to Claim Labour Costs (Travel Time)
Travel time is the time a worker spends travelling to or from a participant to provide a face-to-face support. It is considered a labour cost because it relates to the worker's paid time spent travelling.
The NDIS uses the Modified Monash Model (MMM) to determine the maximum travel time that can generally be claimed based on the participant’s location:
MMM1-3 (metro areas): up to 30 minutes each way
MMM4-5 (regional areas): up to 60 minutes each way
MMM6-7 (remote and very remote areas): no time limit caps
Providers should only claim the actual travel time taken, up to the applicable cap.
For example: (click to show)
If the travel takes 15 minutes, claim 15 minutes.
If the travel takes 45 minutes in an MMM1-3 area, only 30 minutes can be claimed because the claim is capped at 30 minutes.
For therapy supports, including early childhood therapy supports, additional rules apply. Travel time for therapists is generally claimable at 50% of the applicable therapy price limit, while remote and very remote loadings may still apply where relevant.
Travel time should always be invoiced as a separate line item from the support itself.
Can Travel Time Be Shared Between Participants?
In some cases, a worker may travel directly from one participant to another. When this happens, travel time may be divided between participants. Each participant must agree to this arrangement in advance and included in each participant’s Service Agreement. The travel time allocated to each participant must still be within the applicable travel-time limits.
If a participant does not agree, the travel time cannot be divided. Instead, it should be charged based on the actual travel time spent travelling to each participant.
Providers may also be able to claim time spent travelling from the last participant back to their usual place of work. Depending on the arrangement, this travel may be shared among consenting participants or only charged to the last participant.
Example scenario: (click to show)
A support worker visits two participants in an MMM4 area:
Office → Participant A: 65 minutes
Participant A → Participant B: 25 minutes
Participant B → Office: 40 minutes
If both participants have agreed to share travel costs, the provider may divide the travel time between them. In this example, the 90 minutes of travel to Participant A and Participant B (65 + 25) could be split into 45 minutes allocated to each participant, which is within the 60-minute travel limit per participant in an MMM4 area.
The 40-minute return travel from Participant B back to the office could also be divided, with 20 minutes allocated to each participant.
This means the provider could claim a total of 65 minutes per participant: 45 minutes for travel to and between participants and 20 minutes for the return travel to the office.
If one of the participants does not agree to share travel costs, the travel time cannot be divided. In this example, the provider could claim up to 60 minutes for the travel to Participant A, as this is the maximum claimable travel time in an MMM4 area, even though the actual travel time was 65 minutes.
The provider could also claim the 25 minutes travelled to Participant B and the 40 minutes travel from Participant B to the office, as both are within the applicable limit.
How to Claim Non-Labour Costs (Travel Expenses)
Providers may agree with participants on a reasonable contribution towards the additional expenses incurred when travelling to deliver a support. These costs may be claimed in addition to travel time and should be agreed to in advance and included in the participant's Service Agreement.
Examples of non-labour travel costs include:
Up to $0.99 per kilometre for a provider- or worker-owned vehicle
Road tolls
Parking fees
Public transport costs
Not all travel-related expenses can be passed on to participants. Costs that are not directly related to delivering the participant's support should not be claimed. This includes items such as taxi call-out fees, dash cam fees, driver tips for rideshare services, cleaning fees, traffic fines, parking infringements, and other similar surcharges.
Non-labour costs can only be claimed when provider travel time is also claimable. Like labour costs, they must be billed separately using the relevant NDIS provider travel non-labour support item.
Why Should Travel Costs Be Itemised Separately?
Travel costs should be itemised separately because the NDIS treats the support delivered, travel time, and travel expenses as different claimable items.
One of the most common issues we see is travel costs being bundled into the support charge. When this happens, invoices often need to be reviewed and clarified before they can be processed, which may lead to payment delays.
To help ensure transparency and smoother invoice processing, invoices should clearly separate:
The primary support provided
Provider travel time (labour costs)
Provider travel expenses (non-labour costs)
Example scenario: (click to show)
A support worker drives 20 kilometres to deliver a face-to-face support. During the travel, they incur a $6 toll and $4 parking fee. The participant's Service Agreement also allows vehicle costs to be charged at $0.78 per kilometre.
In this example, the provider may claim:
The travel time (labour costs)
Vehicle costs: $15.6 (20 km × $0.78)
Toll costs: $6
Parking fee: $4
Each of these costs should appear as separate line items on the invoice rather than being bundled into the support charge. This makes it easier to see how participant’s funding is being used and whether the charges align with the Service Agreement. It can also help reduce invoice queries and processing delays.
Provider Travel vs Activity-Based Transport: What’s the Difference?
Provider travel is often confused with Activity-Based Transport (ABT), but they are not the same thing.
Provider travel is when a worker travels to a participant to deliver a support.
Activity-Based Transport is when a worker travels with a participant in the vehicle as part of providing a support, such as attending a community activity, appointment, social outing, or other recreational activities.
For providers delivering Social and Community Participation supports, Activity-Based Transport may include:
Transport charged per kilometre
Parking fees
Road tolls
Other reasonable transport-related costs
Final Thoughts
Travel costs are an important part of providing NDIS supports, particularly for providers supporting participants across different locations. Understanding the difference between travel time, travel expenses, and activity-based transport can help ensure claims are accurate, transparent, and compliant with NDIS requirements.
At First2Care, we work closely with providers to support accurate invoicing and efficient claims processing. Good travel claiming practices can help reduce delays, improve transparency, and helps build trust with participants.
For detailed guidance, you can refer to the official NDIS Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits 2025-26 and the NDIA’s official release on Travel claiming rules, gap fees and other costs.
