What are the NDIS provider travel claiming rules?
NDIS providers can claim travel only where the pricing schedule allows it for that support item, the support is delivered face to face, and the participant has agreed in advance. Travel time is capped at 30 minutes each way in MMM 1 to 3 areas and 60 minutes in MMM 4 to 5. Therapy providers claim travel time at 50 per cent of their rate.
NDIS Pricing Schedule 2026-27 (National Disability Insurance Agency)
NDIS Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits 2025-26, Provider Travel
NDIA, Travel claiming rules, gap fees and other costs
When travel can be claimed
The rules sit in the NDIS Pricing Schedule 2026-27, the document that replaced the NDIS Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits from 1 July 2026, read with the claiming rules the NDIA has carried over from the 2025-26 arrangements. Travel can only be claimed when the schedule marks the support item as eligible for provider travel, the worker travels to deliver a face-to-face support, and the travel and its cost were agreed with the participant beforehand, usually in the service agreement. Travel between a worker's home and their usual workplace is never claimable. Only the time actually spent travelling to and from the participant can be counted.
Labour and non-labour costs
There are two parts to a travel claim. Labour costs are the worker's time, claimed against the same support item as the primary support using the provider travel claim type. In MMM 1 to 3 areas, up to 30 minutes each way can be claimed, and in MMM 4 to 5 areas up to 60 minutes each way. Return travel to the usual workplace can be claimed only if it is agreed and no further support follows. Non-labour costs cover vehicle running costs, tolls and parking. For a standard vehicle, the 2025-26 rules allowed up to $0.99 per kilometre, so check the current figure. Non-labour costs are claimed against a separate provider travel non-labour item.
The 50 per cent rule and shared trips
From 1 July 2025, therapy providers can only claim travel time at 50 per cent of the hourly price limit for the therapy item. In the 2026-27 schedule this is built into separate travel items, marked with a PT suffix, priced at half the direct service rate. The 50 per cent rule applies to therapy, not to support workers or support coordinators. If one worker visits several participants in a row, the total travel time, including any return leg, should be apportioned between them, and each participant must agree to the apportionment in advance. In remote and very remote areas there are no fixed caps, but travel arrangements must still be agreed and reasonable.
Getting it right
Set out travel arrangements clearly in the service agreement, including whether you charge labour, non-labour or both and how shared trips are split. Record actual travel times and distances on each shift. Never add a gap fee or surcharge on top of a price limit, because registered providers cannot charge more than the schedule allows. Participant transport, where the worker drives the participant somewhere, is a different support and is claimed differently. When in doubt, check the item in the current schedule and the NDIA provider travel guidance before you invoice, and keep a note of what you relied on.
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