Being able to get somewhere can determine whether you can actually participate.

You might have found a course you want to attend, secured a job, joined a community activity or arranged an appointment—but if your disability means you cannot independently use public transport, getting there may be the difficult part.

This is where NDIS transport funding can sometimes help.

Current guidance from the National Disability Insurance Scheme says recurring transport supports may be available for participants who cannot travel or use public transport independently. Eligible funding can help with travel to work, study, community activities, day programs and social or recreational activities.

For participants and families in Wyndham Vale, Manor Lakes, Werribee, Hoppers Crossing, Tarneit, Truganina, Point Cook and surrounding western Melbourne communities, understanding what this funding does—and does not—cover can make planning everyday life considerably easier.

What Is NDIS Recurring Transport Funding?

Recurring transport is one of the NDIS support budgets.

In fact, under the current NDIS budget structure, transport is presently the only category of recurring support.

This funding is designed to help eligible participants pay for private transport where disability affects their ability to travel or use public transport independently.

Current NDIA guidance says recurring transport can include:

• taxis;
• rideshare services; and
• other private travel.

The funding can help participants travel to and from places such as work, study, community activities, day programs and social, recreational or leisure activities.

That makes transport potentially important to several NDIS goals rather than being a goal in itself.

Who May Receive NDIS Transport Funding?

Transport funding is not automatically included in every NDIS plan.

Current NDIA guidance says recurring transport funding is for eligible participants who cannot travel or use public transport independently.

The NDIA also considers what reasonable transport assistance may be available through family members, carers or community networks when deciding whether recurring transport should be funded.

This means two participants living in Wyndham Vale could have quite different transport arrangements.

One person may independently use trains and buses and therefore have little disability-related transport need.

Another participant’s disability might substantially affect their ability to navigate public transport independently.

Funding decisions are based on individual circumstances.

How Much NDIS Transport Funding Can You Receive?

Current NDIA guidance identifies three recurring transport levels.

Level 1 — Community access: $1,784 per year

The NDIA says this level may be provided where a participant is not working, studying or attending day programs but wants to participate in more community activities.

Level 2 — Part-time work or study: $2,676 per year

This level may apply where a participant:

• works or studies part-time—or both—for up to 15 hours per week;
• attends day programs; or
• participates in other social, recreational or leisure activities.

Level 3 — Work or study: $3,456 per year

The NDIA says this level may be available where a participant works or studies—or does both—for at least 15 hours per week.

These figures are from the NDIA’s recurring-support guidance current as of 28 May 2026.

They should not be treated as an automatic entitlement.

Your actual plan depends on your individual disability-related needs and circumstances.

How Is Recurring Transport Funding Paid?

Recurring transport funding works somewhat differently from many other NDIS supports.

Current NDIA guidance says it can be:

paid regularly into the participant’s nominated bank account, or

claimed through the participant portal or my NDIS app.

If you are eligible, your funding level should appear under the recurring supports budget in your plan.

If you are unsure whether you have transport funding, check your current plan rather than assuming that previous transport arrangements still apply.

Transport Funding and Community Participation Are Not the Same Thing

This distinction can prevent considerable confusion.

Suppose a participant in Wyndham Vale wants to attend a weekly community activity in Werribee.

There may be two different disability-related issues.

The first is:

How will I physically get there?

The second is:

Do I need disability support to participate once I’m there?

Recurring transport funding can potentially address eligible private travel costs.

Assistance with Social and Community Participation, where included and appropriate in the participant’s plan, may instead fund disability-related support to help the person participate.

These are different functions.

Do not assume that having community participation funding automatically means every taxi or rideshare journey can be charged to that support budget.

What About a Support Worker Driving You?

This is another area where participants can encounter confusing invoices.

A support worker providing an eligible NDIS support may sometimes travel with or transport a participant as part of delivering that support.

However, provider travel, activity-based transport and recurring participant transport funding are not necessarily the same thing.

The current NDIS pricing schedule sets out specific support items, rules and recommended maximum prices for NDIS supports from 1 July 2026.

Before agreeing to a support-worker transport arrangement, ask the provider:

What exactly will I be charged for?

Is support-worker time being charged?

Is there a per-kilometre or other transport charge?

Which part of my plan will be claimed?

Does my service agreement explain these charges?

Understanding the arrangement before the journey is much better than discovering unexpected transport charges on an invoice later.

Does the NDIS Pay for Transport to School?

Ordinary school transport has a different responsibility.

Current NDIA guidance says state and territory governments fund and provide approved student transport between home and school.

Where a participant already receives an approved student transport service, it is an in-kind support and does not need to be paid from their NDIS plan.

This is a useful example of the boundary between the NDIS and mainstream government systems.

Not every disability-related transport need is automatically an NDIS responsibility.

Transport Can Be Part of Building Independence

Sometimes the participant’s goal is not simply to have somebody drive them everywhere.

They may want to become more independent.

For example, someone living in Manor Lakes might want to learn how to:

plan a journey;

use a myki card;

recognise the correct stop;

travel between familiar locations;

manage changes to a route; or

ask for assistance when something goes wrong.

Where appropriate to the participant’s disability, goals and funded supports, developing transport skills may help increase independence.

That can be particularly valuable for someone preparing for work, further education or greater community participation.

The objective is not to force someone to use public transport when it is unsafe or inappropriate.

It is to explore what level of independence is realistically achievable for that individual.

Think About Transport When Setting Up Other Supports

Transport is easy to overlook when planning disability supports.

Imagine arranging a weekly activity in Point Cook from a participant’s home in Wyndham Vale.

The activity may be suitable.

The support provider may be suitable.

The participant may be excited to attend.

But if nobody has considered how the participant will reliably get there and back, the arrangement may fail before it properly begins.

When setting up a support, consider:

• distance from home;
• accessibility;
• public transport options;
• disability-related barriers to travelling;
• available recurring transport funding;
• informal support availability; and
• any legitimate provider transport charges.

Good support planning considers the whole journey.

Watch Your Transport Budget Over the Year

Even where transport funding is available, it is still finite.

Consider the difference between spending $20 and $70 on a return journey.

If that journey happens several times every week, the annual impact can be substantial.

Participants can therefore benefit from thinking about transport when deciding where activities and services are located.

This does not mean always choosing the closest provider.

Participant choice matters.

But understanding the transport implications of different options can help you make an informed decision.

For Families and Carers

Families often provide enormous amounts of informal transport.

Driving to appointments, employment, community activities and providers can become part of everyday family life.

When discussing transport needs, describe what is actually happening.

For example:

How often does the participant need transport?

Where are they travelling?

Why can’t they make those journeys independently?

How much assistance does the family currently provide?

Is that level of informal assistance reasonable and sustainable?

Specific information gives a much clearer picture than simply saying:

“We do a lot of driving.”

For Support Coordinators and Referral Partners

Transport should be considered when establishing supports—not after everything else has been organised.

When discussing a referral, it may help to understand:

the participant’s transport funding;

their ability to travel independently;

where they live;

where the proposed service occurs;

whether support-worker transport is being proposed;

what informal transport is reasonably available; and

how frequently travel will occur.

This is particularly relevant across Melbourne’s west, where participants may access services across several suburbs rather than within one small geographic area.

A Note About the New August 2026 NDIS Legislation

The Australian Parliament passed new NDIS legislation on 19 August 2026, and the Governor-General signed it on 20 August. Some changes commenced on 27 August 2026, with others scheduled to be progressively introduced from October 2026 onwards.

The NDIA currently states that participants can continue using their plans and supports as usual and that people will be informed when a particular reform affects them.

That distinction matters because participants may encounter headlines about major NDIS reforms and assume their existing transport support changed overnight.

It did not.

Always check implementation dates rather than relying on headlines.

Talk to BHA Disability Services

If you are an NDIS participant, family member, carer, Support Coordinator, plan manager, allied health professional or referral partner seeking relevant disability support in Wyndham Vale or Melbourne’s western suburbs, BHA Disability Services welcomes enquiries.

Tell BHA Disability Services about the participant’s goals, disability-related support needs and relevant funding arrangements.

BHA Disability Services can discuss the services it actually provides and whether they may be appropriate for the participant’s circumstances.

Where transport is involved in a support arrangement, ask how transport will work and what charges may apply before services begin.

Clear information helps participants exercise genuine choice and control.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can the NDIS pay for taxis?

Recurring transport funding can be used for eligible private travel including taxis where the participant has recurring transport funding in their plan.

Can I use NDIS transport funding for Uber or other rideshare services?

Current NDIA guidance specifically includes rideshare services as a type of private travel that recurring transport funding can pay for.

How much NDIS transport funding can I receive?

Current NDIA guidance lists three levels: $1,784, $2,676 and $3,456 per year, depending on circumstances such as community participation, day programs and hours of work or study. Funding is individual and these amounts should not be treated as automatic entitlements.

Does every NDIS participant receive transport funding?

No. Recurring transport is for eligible participants who cannot travel or use public transport independently. The NDIA also considers reasonable assistance available from family, carers and community networks.

Is NDIS transport funding the same as community participation funding?

No. Recurring transport helps eligible participants pay for private travel. Community participation supports may fund disability-related assistance needed to participate in community and social activities where that support is included in the participant’s plan.

Did the August 2026 NDIS legislation immediately change my transport funding?

The NDIA says participants can currently continue using their plans and supports as usual. The recently passed reforms have different commencement and implementation dates, with further changes being introduced progressively.

For authoritative current information, see the NDIS recurring transport supports guide, NDIS guide to using your funding and NDIS August 2026 reform timeline.