Provider Travel Changes Under the NDIS Pricing Arrangements 2025-26

From 1 July 2025, the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) has introduced important updates to how therapy providers can claim for travel under the NDIS Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits. 

These changes specifically apply to therapy supports, including for early childhood early intervention. It’s important to note that travel rules for all other support types remain unchanged. 

What Has Changed 

Therapy providers can now only claim travel at 50% of the price limit for the therapy support. In practice, this is up to the maximum of 15 minutes of travel in MMM1-3 areas and 30 minutes in MMM4-5 areas. If actual time travelled is less than the relevant time cap for the area calculation is based on the actual time. 

For example, a physiotherapist has a price limit of $183.99 per hour. From 1 July 2025, they are able to claim up to $92.00 per hour for travel, up to the relevant time cap according to their location.  

• 10 minutes travel in MMM1-3 Metro areas = $92 / 60 x 10 minutes = $15.33 

• 40 minutes travel in MMM4-5 Rural/Remote areas = $92 / 60 x 30 minutes = $46

There is no change to other supports like Support Worker travel in this area.

As the NDIS says in the Pricing arrangements.

"When claiming for travel in respect of a support, a provider should use the same hourly rate as they have agreed with the participant for the primary support (or a lower hourly rate for the travel if that is what they have agreed with the participant) in calculating the claimable travel cost."

Charging for Kilometres (Non-Labour Costs) 

Therapy providers can continue to claim reasonable non-labour costs related to travel.

These are reimbursable in addition to labour travel time, if allowed for in the participant’s Service Agreement. The NDIA considers the following to be reasonable:

• $0.99 per kilometre when using a vehicle owned by the Provider or worker. 

• Full reimbursement for actual costs such as road tolls, parking, or public transport. 

All non-labour travel claims must be agreed to in advance and charged separately using the relevant “Provider Travel – non-labour costs” line item. 

Travelling Between Participants

If a provider travels directly between participants, the following rules apply: 

• If the worker is travelling between multiple participants within the same MMM region, all of the travel time may be apportioned to all of the participants as long as each trip does not exceed the relevant time limit per participant (30 minutes in MMM1-3 and 60 minutes in MMM4-5) 

• This requires the agreement of each participant 

• If travelling between regions, or the provider does not have the agreement of all participants, the travel should not be apportioned and should be instead invoiced per participant specifically on the time spent travelling to them 

• Providers may charge for the time spent travelling from the last participant back to their usual place of work. This can be apportioned among all consenting participants (as above) or only charged to the last participant. 

Here's a summary with examples: 

1. Travelling Within the Same MMM Region 

Rule: All travel time between participants can be shared proportionally among them. 

Conditions: 

• Each leg of the journey must be within the time limit: 

• MMM1–3: up to 30 minutes per participant. 

• MMM4–5: up to 60 minutes per participant. 

• All participants must agree to the apportionment. 

Example: 

A support worker travels from Participant A to Participant B (both in MMM2). The drive takes 20 minutes. Both participants agree to share the travel cost. Each is charged for 10 minutes.

2. If one or more do not agree:

   • Travel must be charged individually based on time spent travelling to the agreeing participant. 

Example Scenario 

• All participants agree to travel being charged are located in MMM2 (30-minute travel limit per leg). 

• A support worker visits: 

Travel times: 

• A ➜ B: 20 minutes 

• B ➜ C: 25 minutes 

• C ➜ Office: 15 minutes 

Provider Travel vs Activity-Based Transport 

Provider travel refers to the labour time of a provider travelling to or from the participant for a face-to-face support. These are subject to specific time and price limits, as outlined above. 

On the other hand, activity-based transport applies when providers travel with participants as part of a support activity. This is more common for social, economic, and community participation and some capacity-building supports, and is not provider travel. 

In Closing

To claim travel charges compliantly, providers must ensure: 

• The participant’s Service Agreement explicitly includes travel time and kilometre contributions. 

• Providers do not exceed the travel time caps, and claims reflect actual travel undertaken.  

  • Except for example, in circumstance of last-minute cancellations 

• Transparent invoicing separates primary support, labour travel time, and non-labour travel charges. 

For detailed guidance, you can refer to the official NDIS Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits 2025-26, the NDIA’s official release on travel Travel claiming rules, gap fees and other costs | NDIS and Annual pricing review | NDIS