Travel, non-face-to-face and other claimable supports

Provider travel

Providers can sometimes claim for the time and costs involved in travelling to deliver a support, but this is not automatic. The PAPL sets out which support items allow a travel claim, and the conditions that must be met before one can be made official source (opens in a new tab) . Generally, travel must be a genuine and necessary part of delivering the support, not just incidental movement between sites.

There are two components of provider travel that may be claimable: worker time spent travelling, and vehicle or transport costs. The PAPL specifies the conditions and any limits that apply to each. Providers should check the current PAPL before including travel on a payment request to confirm the relevant item allows it and that their documentation would support the claim.

It is also worth checking whether the participant’s plan includes a travel budget or whether travel is to be covered within the unit price of the support itself. Your service agreement should make your travel approach clear so there are no surprises for the participant.

Non-face-to-face supports

Non-face-to-face (NF2F) time refers to work a provider does on behalf of a participant that does not involve direct, in-person contact. Examples include care planning, coordination tasks, preparing participant-specific materials, and written correspondence about a participant’s supports. Whether NF2F time is claimable depends on the support item being used official source (opens in a new tab) .

Some support items explicitly permit NF2F claiming; others do not. Providers must read the PAPL description for the specific item to understand what is and is not included. Claiming NF2F time against an item that does not allow it is a common cause of claim rejection, so confirming this upfront avoids payment delays.

Short-notice cancellations

Short-notice cancellations are a separate but related claimable situation. When a participant cancels a booked support without adequate notice, the PAPL allows providers to claim a cancellation fee under certain conditions. The notice period that defines “short-notice” and the percentage of the agreed fee that may be claimed are detailed in the PAPL and can change at each annual update official source (opens in a new tab) .

Cancellation claims require good documentation: the original booking, the cancellation record, and evidence that the provider was not able to reallocate the worker in time. Without these records, a cancellation claim is difficult to defend. The dedicated cancellations guide in this hub covers the rules in more detail.

Reports and other claimables

Certain support items allow providers to claim for preparing reports, assessment documents, or case notes that the NDIS or a participant’s plan requires. This typically applies to supports such as specialist services where formal reporting is a standard part of the delivery model. The PAPL specifies which items include this and what documentation is expected official source (opens in a new tab) .

Activity notes and internal records that are part of your own governance do not qualify as claimable. Only work that is directly tied to the participant’s funded support and is permitted by the relevant support item description can be included on a payment request.

Rules and limits

All claimable supports, including travel, NF2F, and ancillary items, are governed by the rules in the current PAPL. The PAPL is updated annually, typically effective from 1 July, and limits or conditions can change between versions official source (opens in a new tab) . Providers should download the current version at the start of each financial year and note any changes that affect the support types they deliver.

If a participant is plan-managed, their plan manager can be a useful first point of contact when you are unsure whether a particular claim is permissible. For agency-managed participants, the NDIA portal is the point of truth. The support catalogue is a companion to the PAPL and lists the specific item codes, units, and price limits for each support.