How to Claim NDIS Provider Travel Reimbursement Correctly
📅 May 2026⏱ 6 min read👤 CareIQ Team
Provider travel is a legitimate NDIS claimable expense — but it is also one of the most frequently billed incorrectly. Overclaiming travel creates repayment demands. Underclaiming means your organisation absorbs a cost the NDIS is designed to cover. This guide explains how to get it right.
What NDIS Provider Travel Covers
The NDIS Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits allow registered providers to claim two types of provider travel:
Travel time
The time a worker spends travelling between supports — paid as an NDIS support item at the applicable hourly rate for the worker's support type. Travel time is not the same as the worker's wage for that time (which may be covered separately under the SCHADS Award).
Non-labour travel costs (kilometres)
The cost of the vehicle operating expenses — fuel, wear and tear — for travel between participants. Billed at the per-kilometre rate set in the NDIS Pricing Arrangements.
⚠ NDIS travel rates and SCHADS mileage rates are different
The NDIS Pricing Arrangements set a per-kilometre rate for provider travel claims to the NDIA. The SCHADS Award sets a separate vehicle allowance rate for reimbursing workers who use their own car. These are two different rates for two different purposes. Always verify both current rates at ndis.gov.au and fairwork.gov.au respectively before billing.
What Travel You Can and Cannot Claim
You can claim:
- Travel from one participant's location to another participant's location (between supports)
- Travel from your organisation's base to a participant's location for the first support of the day (subject to NDIS rules on claiming this)
- Travel from a participant's location back to your base after the last support of the day
You cannot claim:
- Worker travel from home to work (this is commuting, not provider travel)
- Travel that is part of the support itself (e.g. driving a participant to an appointment is a community access support, not provider travel)
- Travel between supports where the time and distance don't meet the NDIS minimum thresholds
Documentation Required for Travel Claims
For every travel claim you must be able to demonstrate:
- Origin location (participant address or base)
- Destination location (next participant address or base)
- Distance travelled (km)
- Time of travel
- Which supports the travel connected
A travel log captures this per trip. Without it, the travel claim is unsubstantiated and vulnerable to repayment demand.
Worker Reimbursement vs NDIS Billing — Two Separate Things
When a worker uses their own vehicle to travel between participants, two things need to happen:
- The worker is reimbursed at the SCHADS vehicle allowance rate — this is the worker's entitlement under their award conditions
- The NDIS is billed for provider travel at the NDIS per-km rate — this is your revenue recovery from the NDIA
These are separate transactions. The NDIS rate may be different from the SCHADS rate. Your travel system needs to handle both.
Avoiding Overbilling on Travel
Common overbilling errors:
- Claiming travel for each shift separately when shifts were back-to-back at the same location
- Claiming the maximum NDIS travel cap for every trip regardless of actual distance
- Claiming travel between a participant and the worker's home (not claimable)
- Duplicating travel claims for the same trip across multiple invoices
Log, approve, and claim travel reimbursement from one system
CareIQ's travel log captures origin, destination, distance, and time. Manager approval triggers worker reimbursement. NDIS travel lines are generated automatically on invoices. 2-month free trial, no setup fee.
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