What transport funding is for
Transport funding helps you take part in the activities in your plan when you cannot use public transport, or cannot use it without substantial difficulty, because of your disability. It can help pay for taxis, rideshare, community transport, a provider driving you, or the costs of getting to work, study, therapy and community activities.
Like all NDIS funding, it must be reasonable and necessary. The NDIA considers what you need to get to, what help family and others can reasonably give, whether you can use public transport with support or training, and other schemes such as state taxi subsidies.
Where transport sits in your plan
- Core category 02 Transport: funding you or your plan manager use to pay transport providers. It is usually part of your flexible Core funding
- Category 18 Recurring Transport: in plans made in the PACE system, transport that the NDIA pays on a regular basis
- If you self manage your transport funding, the NDIA pays it as recurring support funding, in regular instalments to your nominated bank account. That funding is not included anywhere else in your budget
How much you get
The amount depends on your situation, mainly how often you need to travel for work, study, day programs and community activities, and whether you can use public transport at all. Historically the NDIA has used general funding levels linked to how much you work, study or take part in programs, with more possible in some circumstances. Your plan shows the amount, and you can ask the NDIA how it was worked out.
Transport claimed by providers
Separate from your own transport budget, providers can claim some transport costs:
- General transport: a provider can be paid to transport you to an activity or appointment. This item has no price limit, so agree the cost in advance
- Specialised transport to school, education, employment or the community: a quoted item that must be stated in your plan
- Activity based transport: when a community participation or some capacity building providers drive you as part of a support, with your agreement they can claim the worker's time and the vehicle running costs, tolls and parking from that support's budget
- Provider travel: the cost of a worker or therapist travelling to you, which is a different thing from transporting you
Transport and the 2026 changes
The October 2026 funding reset does not reduce the Transport category. Personal mobility equipment and transport are named among the protected supports.
But activity based transport is claimed from the support it is part of. If a worker drives you to and from community activities, those costs come from your community participation budget, which is reduced by 50% when your plan is created, reassessed or renewed from 1 October 2026. Agree with providers how transport will be charged so it does not eat into support hours unexpectedly.
From 1 December 2026, claims must be made within 90 days of the service, so self managed participants should keep transport receipts and claim promptly.
Tips
- Keep a simple log of regular trips and costs. It is useful evidence at reassessment
- Ask about travel training if you could learn to use public transport with support. It is funded from Capacity Building
- Check your state or territory taxi subsidy scheme and Companion Card
- Put transport arrangements and costs in each service agreement