Making It Easier For Regional Nsw Residents Travelling For Healthcare

The NSW Government is improving access to healthcare for people living in rural and regional communities, providing financial assistance to more than 41,400 patients in the past year through the Isolated Patients Travel and Accommodation Assistance Scheme (IPTAAS).

In the Western NSW Local Health District alone the program ahs supported residents to the tune of $8,517,565.

IPTAAS provides financial assistance to patients who need to travel long distances for specialist healthcare, not available locally.

NSW patients have also received more money back in their pockets thanks to increased subsidies, with the average reimbursement per patient higher than ever before at $482.

In 2023-24, 99,600 applications were approved, an increase of 21,200 applications from the previous year.

The number of IPTAAS applications from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients has also increased, up by 2,200 to 8,500 in 2023-24.

IPTAAS is reducing the financial burden on rural NSW residents like Noeline Nicholls who lives in Pilliga, almost 100 kilometres west of Narrabri. Noeline regularly visits Aboriginal Health Worker Jacob Shanley at Tamworth Hospital’s Healthy Deadly Foot Clinic to receive essential medical care.

In the 2023-24 financial year, $48,885,696 was provided in IPTAAS claims across NSW, helping 41,417 patients access specialist health treatment.

Health Minister Ryan Park said:

“We know that people living in rural, regional and remote NSW sometimes have to travel a long way for specialist care. The financial assistance they get through IPTAAS not only helps cover the costs of travel and accommodation, it can mean the difference between seeking care or not.

“Pleasingly, we’re seeing big increases in the number of people accessing

IPTAAS, including those using the scheme for the first time, which means the money we’re providing is getting straight to the people who need it the most.

“Through important initiatives like IPTAAS, we will continue to support residents of NSW to access high-quality, timely and appropriate healthcare.