Summary of Support
If you live in Tasmania and need financial support with travel and/or accommodation to receive your medical treatment or care, there is help available. This is called the Patient Travel Assistance Scheme (PTAS).
PTAS provides financial assistance with travel and/or accommodation costs for Tasmanian residents to access a range of specialist medical services, where these services are not available locally.
This is an assistance scheme only and you are expected to make a patient contribution.
You can receive financial help for travel and/or accommodation if you must travel from a certain distance from where you normally live. There are different distances for different types of medical treatment.
- If you live more than 50 kilometres (one way) to the nearest oncology or dialysis treatment centre
- If you live more than 75 kilometres (one way) to the nearest appropriate specialist medical service
- more than 75 kilometres (one way) to access lymphoedema treatment
- You can only receive financial support for interstate treatment if it is unavailable in Tasmania.
You must:
- be a Tasmanian permanent resident;
- be travelling by the least expensive form of transport;
- have a PTAS application form signed by your referring medical specialist, oral/maxillofacial surgeon or rural GP referring you to the nearest appropriate specialist;
- be receiving treatment claimable under Medicare from a recognised medical specialist; and
- not be entitled to financial assistance through another scheme e.g. Motor Accident Insurance Board (MAIB), Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA), Workers Compensation, or other compensable schemes.
About Organisation
PTAS is an initiative of the Tasmanian Government
