The Transport Budget

Some NDIS participants receive funding in their core supports for transport costs. Sometimes this is paid directly into a participant’s bank account each fortnight, other times this can be plan managed.

Transport budgets in plans are usually reserved for participants who are unable to drive or to catch public transport without assistance. If you believe that you should have a transport budget in your plan, you should talk to your planner at your next review meeting to be able to find out if you are eligible.

The transport budget itself is not funded at a level that will cover all transport costs for a participant over 12 months. It has been devised as a way to be able to assist participants who may have expensive travel needs, above what any other Australian would pay for transport in a given year. The Transport budget is a contribution towards these expenses – it does not cover all transport needs.

Today we are going to look at how a participant might be charged for transportation costs by a service provider.

As a part of a participant’s NDIS supports, a provider such as a support worker may take a participant into the community to access services or to attend events. This is a billable service from a provider, and is sometimes charged as a flat rate, other times it is charged as a per kilometre fee. This is charged to ensure that costs related to the provider’s vehicle are being covered during this time.

This can be billed to a participant in a few different ways, depending how their plan is managed.

1. Agency Managed Transport Budget

Where a participant has an agency managed transport budget, an NDIS registered provider will need to be engaged to be able to claim for these services. The transport budget is flexible with the rest of core budgets when it is agency managed.

2. Plan Managed Transport Budget

Where a participant has a Plan Managed transport budget, the service providers should make claims for expenses related to community access directly to the Plan Manager. The Transport budget is flexible with the rest of the core budgets when it is Plan Managed.

3. Self Managed Transport Budget Where a transport budget is self managed, the provider should invoice the participant directly. The participant will need to claim the funds though their myplace portal to be able to pay the providers directly for transport costs. The Transport Budget is flexible with the rest of the core budgets when it is self managed.

4. Direct Deposit Transport Budget This is the most common form of transport budget in NDIS plans. Transport funding is paid directly to a participant’s bank account on a fortnightly basis to assist in covering costs related to accessing the community. The provider should invoice the participant directly for these costs, the participant is responsible for ensuring that these are paid. Where a Transport budget is directly deposited into a participant’s bank account, its is not flexible with the rest of the core budgets.

If a participant does not have a transport budget in their plan, this does not mean that a provider cannot charge a fee for transporting the participant. The participant is still responsible for any costs incurred in accessing the community with a service provider.

If a participant has their own vehicle for support staff to use, transport costs should not be billed to the participant. The participant’s vehicle should be insured for support staff to be able to drive to ensure any accidents will be covered.

All costs relating to transport should be clearly defined in a service agreement – and are negotiable. The NDIS Price Guide does not set a flat rate for transport costs, this is decided by the support agency. If a participant is not happy with the amount that is being charged, they are able to negotiate or to change providers at any time to ensure that they are able to afford to access supports and services outside of the home.