nsw health travel reimbursement

Isolated Patients Travel and Accommodation Assistance Scheme (IPTAAS)

• Register online for the Isolated Patients Travel and Accommodation Assistance Scheme (IPTAAS)
• Lodge an IPTAAS travel application

Related links

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• Access concession car parking at NSW Health public hospitals

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Travelling to your healthcare appointment

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• Living in a regional or remote areas can mean that access to medical treatment is more challenging, as you might need to travel long distances.
• Planning ahead can help to reduce the cost of long distance travel.
• Patient assisted travel schemes (PATS) are available in each state or territory to help rural and remote community members access necessary and approved medical specialist services that are not locally available.
• Private health insurers offer travel and accommodation benefits under hospital cover, but not all health funds offer these benefits.
• Telehealth and other technologies can help reduce the need to travel in some situations.

How can I plan ahead?

If you live in rural or remote Australia, your treatment options may be limited and getting medical treatment may mean travelling long distances. This can be complicated and costly.

If you work, go to school or have other regular commitments, let your manager or teacher know you will be away. They may need to find someone to cover you while you're away.

If you care for a child or someone else, you may need to arrange for their care while you are away. You may also need to continue this extra support after your return, while you recover.

For routine household tasks, ask a friend, neighbour or family member to help:

• look after your pets or plants
• collect your mail
• pay your bills for you

Remember to take everything you need to your appointment. This includes admission forms, details of medicines or dietary supplements you are taking, test results, x-rays, scans, or medical reports.

What should I consider before I travel?

You may need to access extra support and services for your travel, stay and recovery. Before you travel, you should consider the following:

• Am I okay to travel alone?
• Will I need a carer or support person?
• What forms do I need to be signed by my medical team before I go?
• Will I need extra help on my trip home?
• What are my access requirements? Will my travel choices and accommodation suit my needs before and after my medical treatment? This may include: The width of the hallway, room dimensions including bathroom, height of the bed and available parking.
• Can my transport provider accommodate any equipment I need, such as a wheelchair or walking aid ?

Tips from rural community members when travelling for healthcare

• Try to organise several appointments for one trip.
• If possible, make appointments at a time that suit your family and work needs.
• If you're not feeling well or if there is a possibility of receiving unwelcome news, ask a friend to drive, or consider staying overnight if you need to drive yourself.
• Take pillows to rest your arm or head in the car/plane/bus.
• Contact a support group or person near your treating hospital or clinic.

What should I consider after I travel?

Learning as much as possible about your recovery can help you to prepare what you will need after your treatment. Ask your doctor about your recovery time and what support is available. You might be eligible for home support services, depending on your state, age and health.

Read more about care options here:

• My Aged Care
• Carer Gateway
• What care do I need?

If you are living with a specific health condition or disability, you may be able to get more detailed information online or from local groups or associations. For example, the Breast Cancer Network Australia offers support in rural areas , and provides online video communication with home when travelling for treatment, through the stay in touch program .

Financial assistance for travel for healthcare

Accommodation and travel expenses can be costly. You may be eligible for help to ease this financial burden.

Patient Assisted Travel Schemes (PATS)

All states and territories have Patient Assisted Travel Schemes (PATS) to help eligible patients in rural and remote Australia with the costs of travel These can help you access specialist medical services not available locally.

Rules and amounts vary, but all PATS schemes help cover:

• travel expenses for public transport
• accommodation costs at your destination
• travel expenses and accommodation costs of your eligible support person or carer

Some schemes also cover some costs of:

• ground transport costs at your destination (for example, taxis)
• living away from home
• accommodation
• costs for trips by private car
• extra journeys for your support person or carer, if your stay is long
• subsidies for private accommodation

Read about PATS support in your state or territory:

• ACT: Interstate Patient Travel Assistance Scheme
• Northern Territory: Patient Assistance Travel Scheme
• NSW: Isolated Patients Travel and Accommodation Assistance Scheme
• Queensland: Patient Travel Subsidy Scheme
• South Australia: Patient Assistance Transport Scheme
• Tasmania: Patient Travel Assistance Scheme
• Western Australia: Patient Assisted Travel Scheme and Interstate Patient Travel Scheme
• Victoria: Victorian Patient Transport Assistance Scheme

Private health insurance

Private health insurers now offer travel and accommodation benefits under hospital cover. These private health insurance benefits generally cover:

• petrol costs for travel by car
• train, bus or air fares
• accommodation costs near the place of treatment for the patient and a carer

Not all health funds offer these benefits. If you have a health fund, check your policy to see what is included. Be aware that cover varies between health funds and policies.

Other support services

The following organisations may offer help with travel for healthcare:

• Australian Red Cross
• Angel Flight Australia
• Royal Flying Doctor Service
• Department of Veterans' Affairs

These organisations provide help with accommodation:

• Ronald McDonald House
• Country Women's Association

Read more here about rural and remote health services and support.

What options do I have if I prefer not to travel?

You might be able to avoid travelling for medical treatment or care, thanks to technology and advances in healthcare delivery.

Telehealth services

Telehealth services use video conferencing technology. This means you can talk with a healthcare professional via your computer, tablet or phone and see their image on the screen.

Your doctor might ask your permission to record video, audio or other health information. They can then forward it securely to other medical specialists, who can review it and provide an opinion. Telehealth services can also be used to remotely monitor patients, if required.

Telehealth services save travel time and costs. They can be a less stressful option than travelling a long distance for healthcare. Medicare benefits are often available — check with your health team if they offer telehealth, and if it is right in your situation.

Video Call , developed by Healthdirect Australia, allows healthcare providers to have video consultations, using your smartphone, tablet or desktop computer. This private and secure service connects you with your healthcare professional from a location convenient to you, such as your home or work.

Telehealth services can also be a convenient way for carers or translators or interpreters to be involved in healthcare conversations.

If your doctor or medical centre doesn't offer telehealth consultations, you can use the healthdirect service finder to find a provider.

Depending on your needs, ask your healthcare team if you can:

• reduce the number of appointments that require travel
• use your local health service more, instead of travelling for treatment
• access any outreach services in your area

Resources and Support

See healthdirect's online Question Builder for help putting together a list of questions for your health team. If you have a long or difficult journey to reach your doctor, it is especially important to be well prepared, so you can make the most of your visit.

Read more about healthcare options and Australia's healthcare system.

Look for specific rural and remote health services for your state or territory:

• New South Wales rural and remote health services
• Northern Territory rural and remote health services
• Queensland rural and remote health services
• South Australia rural and remote health services
• Tasmania rural and remote health services
• Victoria rural and remote health services
• Western Australia rural and remote health services

Learn more here about the development and quality assurance of healthdirect content .

Last reviewed: July 2023

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Staying safe and healthy overseas

Find everything you need to reduce your risk of illness during and after travel.

Be prepared and have a plan

There are a number of ways to reduce your risk of becoming sick when overseas or on return.

Eat and drink safely

Reduce your risk of illness while travelling by following safe eating, drinking and hygiene behaviours.

Prevent mosquito bites

Mosquitoes can carry dieases. Your best protection is to avoid being bitten.

Stay up to date with vaccinations

Some diseases can be prevented by having a vaccine, either as a child or before you travel.

Be careful around animals

You can become sick after handling animals or being bitten, scratched or licked on an open wound. Reduce your risk.

Practise safe sex

Take measures to reduce your risk of sexually transmitted infections (STIs).

Information for pharmacists

Information to support pharmacists providing vaccinations and general travel advice to travellers.

• Travel vaccination advice
• Print and digital resources
• General information about the pharmacist vaccination program
• NSW Pharmacist Vaccination Standards
• NSW Pharmacist Vaccine Authority
• Application to register with the AIR
• NSW form to register as a vaccination provider
• Guidance for pharmacist immunisers – Applying for a Vaccine Account Number

For health professionals

• Australian Immunisation Handbook
• Program for Monitoring Emerging Diseases

Further information

Find out what you need to do before you go overseas, while you are away, and when you return.

• Smartraveller.gov.au travel advice
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Victorian Patient Transport Assistance Scheme (VPTAS)

On this page, key messages, vptas claim form, vptas guidelines, what is the vptas process, eligibility for vptas, contribute the first $100 each treatment year, travel assistance, accommodation, who can be an approved patient escort, the vptas claim form must be completed by an approved medical specialist, lodge the vptas claim form.

• The Victorian Patient Transport Assistance Scheme (VPTAS) provides financial assistance to eligible Victorians who must travel a long way for specialist medical treatment.
• VPTAS is a subsidy scheme and not intended to reimburse all costs associated with accessing specialist treatment.
• To be eligible, patients must live in a designated rural area and travel 100km one way or 500km per week to see a medical specialist. Full eligibility list and exclusions listed below.
• An approved medical specialist or authorised officer must sign the claim form.
• Payment of claims can take up to 6-8 weeks from receipt. All sections of the claim form must be fully completed to ensure your claim is able to be assessed.
• Please contact the VPTAS office on 1300 737 073 or [email protected] if you have any questions.

To receive direct payment by electronic funds transfer (EFT) of approved VPTAS transport and accommodation subsidies, a claimant's bank account information needs to be filled out in Section E of the claim form.

The Victorian Patient Transport Assistance Scheme (VPTAS) helps Victorians who have to travel a long way for specialist medical treatment by subsidising their travel and accommodation costs.

Translations of VPTAS guidelines

The Victorian Patient Transport Assistance Scheme's (VPTAS) guidelines are also available for download in 11 different community languages.

VPTAS guidelines - translated resources

Translated resources are available at Health Translations External Link .

To receive VPTAS assistance patients need to take the following steps:

• Check you are eligible.
• Understand what assistance is available.
• Review the claim form to understand and collect the necessary information.
• Fill in the VPTAS claim form.
• Have the VPTAS claim form signed by an approved medical specialist.
• Send the VPTAS form and required receipts/invoices to the VPTAS office.

The VPTAS guidelines provide details on eligibility. In summary, to be eligible for VPTAS patients must:

• be a Victorian resident
• live in a Department of Health & Human Services designated rural health region
• be receiving specialist medical treatment from a medical practitioner registered with Medicare Australia and recognised as a specialist in a particular specialty under the Health Insurance Act 1973 (Cwlth) as per Schedule 4 of the Health Insurance Regulations 1975
• need to travel more than 100 kilometres one way or an average of 500 kilometres a week for one or more weeks (travel distances can be determined using the Google® maps Get Directions function).

Patients are not eligible for VPTAS if they:

• participate in clinical trials or experimental treatments for medical research studies
• live in states or territories other than Victoria (unless they are a living organ donor to a Victorian patient)
• are away from their permanent place of residence when the treatment episode begins, such as when on holidays or while visiting friends or family either within Victoria or interstate
• are undertaking a journey to or from outside Australia for medical treatment
• are accessing allied health (for example, audiology, physiotherapy, podiatry, speech therapy)
• are accessing general practitioner (GP) services
• are eligible to claim assistance under another state or territory or from a registered benefit organisation including the Department of Veterans’ Affairs
• were injured in a motor vehicle accident and are covered by the Transport Accident Commission
• were injured at work and are covered by WorkSafe
• have received or claimed by way of compensation, damages or other payment in respect to the illness or injury being treated.

The scheme has a contribution threshold of $100 for non concession card holders. This contribution threshold is an administrative process that is applied at the start of each treatment year. Once this contribution threshold has been reached, non-concession card holder will be eligible to receive subsidy payments. A treatment year starts from the date of the first appointment with a specialist. There is no contribution threshold for concession card holders.

People who are eligible for travel support will receive:

• 21 cents per kilometre if a private car is used
• full economy-class fare reimbursements for public transport
• air travel reimbursement - only if the journey exceeds 350 kilometres one way and a commercial flight is used
• taxi travel reimbursement - only to or from the nearest public transport when there are no other transport options.

Only the direct route to and from the person's home address is covered. Any other travel is not included. Google® maps Get Directions is used to determine the total eligible travel distance.

Travelling by public transport

People who are travelling by public transport and using a myki card should register their myki with Public Transport Victoria. They can access their travel history online and print a tax invoice statement of travel, which can be included with their VPTAS claim form.

Travel is subsidised to the nearest specialist

The person's GP is expected to provide a referral to the closest specialist available. If they choose to travel to a different specialist, the subsidies will be worked out as if they were seeing the closest specialist.

Applicants may be able to receive accommodation assistance up to a maximum of $45.00 per night ($49.50 including GST). This may be available to the applicant and their approved escort if:

• they stay in commercial accommodation - that is, any accommodation that is registered as a business and has an Australian Business Number (ABN)
• the specialist completes the VPTAS claim form stating the number of nights of accommodation required
• the specialist approves that partner or carer can accompany the applicant (they must be 18 years of age or older).

When a patient is eligible for VPTAS, an approved patient escort is responsible for the patient’s transport and accommodation needs during treatment.

For further information regarding escorts, please refer to the VPTAS guidelines .

Section C of the VPTAS claim form is to be filled out by an approved medical specialist or an authorised officer on their behalf.

Who is an approved medical specialist?

An approved medical specialist is a medical practitioner registered with Medicare Australia and recognised as a specialist in a particular speciality under the Health Insurance Act 1973 (Cwlth) as per Schedule 4 of the Health Insurance Regulations 1975.

Who is an authorised officer?

An authorised officer is an individual who works with/for the approved medical specialist and can confirm the patient’s details and the approved medical specialist services received. An authorised officer can be a registrar, resident medical officer, intern, nurse, social worker, ward clerk or administration staff such as a receptionist. The authorised officer can sign a VPTAS claim form on behalf of the medical specialist. The medical specialist’s details must be provided.

Claimants should lodge the VPTAS claim by:

• submitting the completed VPTAS claim form no later than 12 months from the date of the first listed approved medical specialist service
• providing original receipts or tax invoices for travel and accommodation (petrol receipts are not required)
• completing the travel and accommodation diary within the claim form
• ensuring all information provided is true and correct
• making sure the medical specialist’s details are correctly completed on the claim form and the specialist or their authorising officer has signed the claim form.
• Mail claim form and original receipts to GPO Box 4057 Melbourne, VIC 3001

The claim lodgement date is the date the VPTAS office receives the completed claim form. The applicant should keep a photocopy of all receipts and documents, including the completed VPTAS claim form. Processing time and payment takes approximately six to eight weeks from the claim lodgement date. Payment will be made via electronic funds transfer (EFT) into the provided bank account detailed in Section E of the VPTAS claim form.

VPTAS Feedback - Complaints, compliments and reviews policy

VPTAS Feedback - Complaints, compliments and reviews policy provides assistance and advice for VPTAS consumers wishing to register a complaint, compliment or seeking a review of the outcome of their VPTAS claim form processing

VPTAS feedback: complaints, compliments and reviews policy - translated resources

Reviewed 11 September 2024

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