NDIS Provider Travel

Why this matters for your practice

Provider travel is now a separate line on the claim, and that changes what a reviewer can see. From 1 July 2026, travel time to and from a participant's location is claimed through a suffixed _PT item priced at 50% of the discipline's hourly rate. Non-labour travel costs are claimed separately against the relevant _799_ item. The 2026-27 prices and item numbers are settled. The rules that limit how much travel you may claim have not been reissued for 2026-27, so a practice has to run two documents together: the 2025-26 claiming rules and the 2026-27 Pricing Schedule.

The visibility also changed. Before 1 July 2026, travel, report writing, non-face-to-face time and the session all arrived under the same item number, so the mix was invisible. Each is now a separate row, so a practice's travel ratio can be calculated, compared and sorted. See non-face-to-face and travel billing for allied health for the full item map across allied health disciplines.

What is provider travel under the NDIS?

Provider travel is the labour time spent travelling to and from a participant's location. Since 1 July 2026, that labour time has its own line item rather than being a rule applied to the main session item. From that date, each allied health discipline has six separate line items: direct service, cancellation (_CA), non-face-to-face (_NF), provider travel (_PT), NDIA requested reports (_RR) and telehealth (_TH). Claiming travel or report time against the direct-service item is now a rejected claim.

The _PT items are priced at exactly 50% of the full hourly rate, so no separate reduction is applied. The cap itself is not new. Therapy travel was already limited to 50%; what changed on 1 July 2026 is that it became its own line item. Non-labour travel costs are separate from labour time and are claimed against the relevant _799_ item. Remote and very remote rates apply separately.

This is a claiming concept under the NDIS price limits. It is not the same question as what you must pay a worker. Under the SCHADS Award, time spent travelling between clients during a shift is generally paid time, and a kilometre allowance applies when the worker uses their own vehicle. The NDIS travel price is what you can charge, not what you must pay.

The Agency validates each suffixed item as a Direct Service, so the item number carries the meaning and no separate claim type is expected on the line.

How much travel can you actually claim?

The labour rate is settled. The maximum claimable travel time is not. Nothing in the NDIA's 1 July 2026 release repealed the claiming rules. The 2025-26 PAPL remains the working reference for provider travel limits, and the NDIA still hosts it on the NDIA pricing arrangements page. As at 3 September 2026, that page still lists only the 2025-26 PAPL v1.1 under "Other documents and addendums", so the 2026-27 rules document has still not been republished.

The safe interim method is to apply the 2025-26 claiming rules, price the claim at the 2026-27 Pricing Schedule rate, and keep a note of the basis for anything involving travel. Do not assume a 2026-27 time limit has been published. If you are working from the 2025-26 PAPL, record which limit you applied and why. The NDIA has published no timeline for republishing the rules; updates appear on the pricing-updates page.

The conditions attached to travel claims for disability support work, nursing and support coordination are the most exposed, because those claiming activities exist but the governing provisions sit in the rules document that has not been reissued. There is also an unresolved question about whether the Pricing Schedule remains guidance or becomes binding. The Ministerial pricing-determination power in the Securing the NDIS for Future Generations Act 2026 (Act No. 66 of 2026, assented 20 August 2026) commenced on 27 August 2026, but no pricing determination has been made under it, so the schedule remains guidance for now.

What does your service agreement have to say about travel?

Travel should already be in writing before it is claimed. Your service agreement needs to describe your travel arrangements and how you will charge for travel. A compliant 2026-27 agreement should include the NDIS line item codes for each support type, including the suffixed items for travel, non-face-to-face, reports and telehealth. That is what makes the travel item the participant agreed to, not just an item you selected at billing time.

The agreement also matters when the rate or the item changes. The NDIA requires you to discuss proposed changes with the participant and for the participant to agree before the change is made. Charging a new or updated rate without a signed, updated service agreement is a breach of the NDIS Terms of Business. If the travel item was never mentioned in the agreement, the claim is exposed from the start.

What the regulator or assessor expects

A claim reviewer will mostly see the item numbers and the documentation you attach. Correct item selection matters because the Agency validates each suffixed item as a Direct Service. The item number carries the meaning; no separate claim type is expected on the line. If travel is claimed against the direct-service item, that is now a rejected claim, not a classification detail.

For any travel claim, record the rule you relied on and why, so the claim is defensible if it is later reviewed. A note should identify the participant, the trip and the basis relied on. This is the recommended control while the 2026-27 rules document remains unpublished.

The travel ratio is now computable. Because each suffixed item arrives as its own row, a practice's ratio of direct service to travel, reports and non-face-to-face time can be calculated, compared against every other provider in the discipline, and sorted. A claim that cannot be explained becomes easy to find.

Debt recovery is the backstop. Under the National Disability Insurance Scheme Act 2013, a payment a provider was not entitled to can be recovered as a debt to the Commonwealth, and the NDIA runs payment assurance and post-payment review programs that check claims after the money has moved. A provider that guesses generously on travel and is later found to have claimed outside the rules can be asked to repay what it has already banked.

Common mistakes

Bundling travel into the direct-service item. From 1 July 2026, travel time must sit on the _PT line. Claiming it against the direct-service item is a rejected claim, not a minor billing choice.

Applying a further 50% reduction to a _PT item that is already priced at half. The _PT rate is exactly 50% of the full hourly rate. Do not apply another reduction on top of the published travel rate.

Forgetting that non-labour travel costs are a separate _799_ claim. Kilometres, parking and similar costs do not sit inside the labour _PT item. They are claimed against the relevant _799_ item, and remote and very remote rates apply separately.

Assuming the NDIS travel claim and the worker's paid travel entitlement are the same number. The NDIS price limit is what you can charge. The SCHADS Award determines what you may owe the worker, and it moves independently.

Claiming travel that the service agreement never mentioned. The agreement must describe the travel arrangements and how you will charge. Charging a new or updated rate without a signed, updated agreement breaches the NDIS Terms of Business.

Assuming a 2026-27 time limit that has not been published. The 2026-27 rules document has not been republished as at 3 September 2026. Work from the 2025-26 PAPL, price at the 2026-27 rate, and record the limit you applied.

Frequently asked questions

Can NDIS providers claim travel time?

Yes. From 1 July 2026, time spent travelling to and from a participant's location is claimed through the provider travel item for your discipline, at 50% of the hourly rate. Non-labour travel costs are claimed separately against the relevant _799_ item. The service agreement must describe the travel arrangements and how you will charge.

What is the NDIS _PT item?

The _PT item is the provider travel line item added on 1 July 2026. It is the suffixed version of the discipline's item, priced at exactly 50% of the full hourly rate. For example, the occupational therapy session item 15_617_0128_1_3 is $193.99 per hour, and the travel item 15_617_0128_1_3_PT is $97.00 per hour.

Is NDIS provider travel still capped at 50% in 2026-27?

Yes. The 50% cap on the labour rate remains, and the _PT items are priced at exactly half the full hourly rate. No further 50% reduction is applied. The maximum claimable travel time is not confirmed for 2026-27 because the rules document has not been republished as at 3 September 2026.

How do I claim non-labour travel costs like kilometres and parking?

Separately from labour time, against the relevant _799_ item. For example, Support Catalogue version 1.1 added the SIL provider travel item 01_799_0138_1_1. Non-labour costs do not sit inside the _PT labour item. Remote and very remote rates apply separately.

Do I have to put travel in the service agreement?

Yes. The service agreement must describe your travel arrangements and how you will charge for travel. A compliant 2026-27 agreement should include the NDIS line item codes for each support type, including the suffixed items for travel, non-face-to-face, reports and telehealth. New or updated rates need participant agreement before being charged.

Does the NDIS travel rate cover what I pay my staff to travel?

No. The NDIS travel rate is a price limit on what you can claim. What you must pay a worker is a separate employment question. Under the SCHADS Award, time spent travelling between clients during a shift is generally paid time, and a kilometre allowance applies when the worker uses their own vehicle.

Last reviewed 3 September 2026