Every Australian deserves to have access to healthcare. Unfortunately, people living in rural and remote areas often need to travel long distances in order to access specialist medical treatment. Travel and accommodation expenses can quickly add up, creating financial stress and hardship for patients at a time when their focus should be on healing and recovery.
This is why all Australian states and territories offer patient travel assistance subsidies. These subsidies help to pay for travel and accommodation for patients who are forced to travel lengthy distances for specialist medical treatment that is unavailable locally. You need to apply for patient travel assistance in the state or territory where you reside permanently.
There's no place like home, but hopefully a patient travel assistance subsidy can help you on your journey back to health.
ACT: Interstate Patient Travel Assistance Scheme (IPTAS)
IPTAS provides assistance to permanent residents of the ACT towards travel accommodation expenses incurred when referred interstate for medical treatment not available in the ACT.
Eligibility:
- The patient must be a permanent resident of the Australian Capital Territory
- Medicare eligible patients
- Medicare ineligible asylum seekers
- The Referring Medical Practitioner must be from the ACT or Queanbeyan
- The patient must be referred to the nearest location within Australia for Specialist treatment
- The patient must have a current referral for a Specialist medical service that is not available in the ACT. This is required every 2 years for regular travellers.
- Treatment is not part of a workers’ compensation, damages or third party claim
- The patient must claim the maximum available benefits from their private health fund first
- The treatment/services are registered for use by the Therapeutic Goods Agency in accordance with national guidelines
- Veterans or War Widows who are not eligible for assistance from The Department of Veterans' Affairs Repatriation Transport Scheme
- All claims must be submitted within six months of travel.
Website: http://www.health.act.gov.au/public-information/consumers/interstate-patient-travel
NSW: Isolated Patients Travel and Accommodation Assistance Scheme (IPTAAS)
IPTAAS is a NSW Government initiative designed to help with the financial assistance towards travel and accommodation costs when a patient needs to travel lengthy distances for specialist medical treatment that is not available locally.
To be eligible to claim through IPTAAS you must meet the following criteria:
- Be a resident of NSW or Lord Howe Island
- Hold a Medicare card
- Live more than 100km from the nearest treating specialist or your combined trips to and from the specialist exceeds 200km/week
- Specialist treatment not available locally
- Not be eligible for any other government travel assistance schemes
- Not claiming expenses under Workers Compensation
- Not hold a gold DVA card (please refer to DVA for assistance)
Website: http://www.enable.health.nsw.gov.au/services/iptaas
NT: Patient Assistance Travel Scheme (PATS)
The Patient Assistance Travel Scheme (PATS) is a subsidy program that provides financial help for travel and accommodation expenses if you need to travel a long distance to see an approved medical specialist. You must be referred by a medical professional to the nearest approved specialist.
To be eligible for the scheme you must:
- be an Australian citizen or permanent resident currently living in the Northern Territory (NT)
- qualify for Medicare
- have a current referral to the nearest approved specialist medical service
- live more than 200km away from the nearest approved specialist
- have to travel more than 400km in one week for renal or oncology treatment.
Website: https://nt.gov.au/wellbeing/health-subsidies-support-and-home-visits/patient-assistance-travel-scheme
QLD: Patient Travel Subsidy Scheme (PTSS)
The Patient Travel Subsidy Scheme (PTSS) provides financial assistance for eligible patients to access specialist medical services not available locally. The PTSS provides financial support for travel and accommodation for eligible patients needing to travel to access specialist medical services.
If you live in Queensland, and have been referred by a clinician to a specialist medical service that is not available at your local public hospital you may be eligible for a subsidy.
Patients are eligible for PTSS if they are:
- a Queensland resident or genuine vagrant (patient with no fixed address); and
- eligible for Medicare; and
- travelling to attend a specialist medical service that is:
- recommended as medically necessary by a medical practitioner, i.e. they have a referral from their medical practitioner,
- an approved PTSS specialty,
- not available, through the public health system, within 50km of their nearest public hospital.
Website: https://www.qld.gov.au/health/services/travel/subsidies
SA: Patient Assistance Transport Scheme (PATS)
The Patient Assistance Transport Scheme (PATS) – called PATS for short - is a scheme which provides subsidies towards the cost of travel and accommodation when rural and remote South Australians have to travel to see their nearest medical specialist.
You may be eligible for PATS if:
- you live more than 100 kilometres away from the nearest treating specialist
- your treatment is claimable under Medicare
- you have claimed any available benefits from your private health fund.
Approved escorts are also eligible for PATS.
Website: http://www.sahealth.sa.gov.au/wps/wcm/connect/public+content/sa+health+internet/health+services/country+health+services/patient+assistance+transport+scheme
TAS: Patient Travel Assistance Scheme (PTAS)
The Patient Travel Assistance Scheme (PTAS) provides financial help with travel and/or accommodation costs to Tasmanian residents who need to travel:
- more than 50 km (one way) to the nearest oncology or dialysis treatment centre
- more than 75 km (one way) to the nearest appropriate specialist medical service
- more than 75 km (one way) to access lymphoedema treatment
Benefits are only paid for interstate referrals when the treatment is unavailable in Tasmania.
Website: https://www.dhhs.tas.gov.au/hospital/ptas
VIC: Victorian Patient Transport Assistance Scheme (VPTAS)
The Victorian Patient Transport Assistance Scheme (VPTAS) helps Victorians who have to travel a long way for specialist medical treatment by subsidising their travel and accommodation costs. The scheme covers eligible Victorians and an approved escort(s) who have no option but to travel more than 100 kilometres one way or an average of 500 kilometres a week for one or more weeks to receive approved medical specialist services.
To be eligible for assistance, you must meet all of the following criteria:
- be a Victorian resident
- live in a Department of Health & Human Services designated rural health region
- be receiving specialist medical treatment from a medical practitioner who is registered with Medicare Australia as a specialist in a particular specialty under the Health Insurance Act 1973 (Cwlth) as per Schedule 4 of the Health Insurance Regulations 1975 Scheme summary 2
- need to travel more than 100 kilometres one way or an average of 500 kilometres a week for one or more weeks.
- Assistance may be provided to metropolitan and rural Victorian residents who are referred to an approved medical specialist service interstate if this is the nearest location or if the service is not available in Victoria. The approved medical specialist or referring medical specialist must confirm in writing that the required service is not available in Victoria.
Website: https://www2.health.vic.gov.au/hospitals-and-health-services/rural-health/vptas-how-to-apply
WA: Patient Assisted Travel Scheme (PATS)
The Patient Assisted Travel Scheme (PATS) provides a subsidy towards the cost of travel and accommodation for eligible WA country residents only travelling long distances to seek certain categories of specialist medical services.
To make an application for the PATS subsidy, you need to be:
- permanent residents in a WA Country Health Service (WACHS) region
- travelling more than 100 km one way to the nearest eligible medical specialist service including a Teleheath service
- travelling more than 70 km (each way) to access specialist medical treatment specifically for cancer or dialysis
Escorts may be eligible to assist patients with some medical conditions, including:
- people undergoing cancer treatment
- the frail or the disabled
- people under 18 years of age
Website: http://www.wacountry.health.wa.gov.au/pats