Transport assistance program

Eligibility criteria

To be eligible a child must:

• be enrolled in a government special preschool or school, unit or class
• attend a special option located outside their local preschool or school
• live 5 or more kilometers from their special option
• have an active National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) plan.

Types of travel assistance available

Financial assistance:

• Daily allowance to support the use of a motor vehicle for transport between home and school.
• Reimbursement of fees paid for travel to and from school on licensed private bus services in regional areas.
• Passenger transport grant paid annually to support travel to and from school via public transport.

Direct assistance:

• Taxi, contracted bus or access vehicle (at no cost to parent or carer) for a return trip on each school day between the student’s home and school.
• Direct assistance is only available between an eligible student’s home and their school option.
• A maximum of 2 addresses may be approved for each eligible student.

Exceptions to travel assistance options

To promote child safety and wellbeing, direct assistance will only be considered when students are at least 6 years old, can travel safely without supervision, the journey is less than an hour and there are 2 or more students being transported.

If a student is unable to access direct assistance for any of the above reasons, or a service provider or driver is unavailable, then the parent or carer will be offered financial assistance for transporting their child to and from school.

Annual review

A review is conducted at the end of each school year. If a student is identified to be potentially travelling alone, direct assistance may cease and financial assistance may be offered.

Feedback and complaints

Visit school or preschool complaints for information about this process.

Parent or carer responsibilities

As a parent or carer, you have the following obligations when your child accesses direct assistance:

• Make sure the school has 2 current emergency phone numbers and update them if they change.
• Check the vehicle’s badge daily (for example, ’13CABS’ or ‘Suburban’) and the ID on the dashboard for any new drivers.
• Provide and install AU/NZS 1754 safety restraints if legally required by your child. Modifications or accessories used with child safety restraints that have not been certified to the AU/NZS 1754 standard are not permitted for use.
• Help your child in and out of the vehicle, if needed, to minimise the driver’s physical contact with your child.
• Notify the taxi or bus company as soon as possible if your child is not attending school that day.
• Have your child ready for pick-up each morning. Vehicles will wait no more than 2 minutes. Drivers are not permitted to leave the vehicles or sound the horn.
• Have a responsible adult present at the time and place of drop-off, to avoid your child being returned to school.
• Never make private arrangements with the driver for changes to pick-up or drop-off addresses. Form ED039B (temporary) or ED039A (permanent) must be completed if alternative arrangements are needed.
• Communicate with the driver respectfully.
• Inform your child’s school when a NDIS review has been undertaken.
• Contact school staff about any concerns.