Assistance with travel costs to receive medical care

WA Health provides travel and accommodation support for permanent country Western Australian residents who need to travel more than 100kms (one-way) to access treatment away from home.

Patient Assisted Travel Scheme (PATS)

The Patient Assisted Travel Scheme (PATS) provides financial subsidy towards travel and accommodation to eligible permanent country residents who need to access specialist medical services that are not available close to their homes.

There are eligibility requirements and the PATS Scheme does not cover all costs associated with travelling to attend a specialist appointment away from where you live.

Find out more about PATS assistance (external site).

Interstate Patient Travel Scheme (IPTS)

The Interstate Patient Travel Scheme (IPTS) provides travel and accommodation support to permanent WA residents who need to travel interstate to obtain essential, specialist medical treatments that are not available in WA.

The IPTS covers travel expenses such as return economy airfare from the patient’s place of residence to the interstate health care unit, reasonable accommodation, taxis to and from the airports and in some circumstances for Health Care Card holders, a living away allowance.

Please check your patient's eligibility before submitting an application via the IPTS Policy – eligibility requirements (PDF 683KB) for medical services under this Scheme.

You must submit the application on behalf of our patient, you must ensure the IPTS application (or appeal form) is filled with detailed explanations and all attachments are present. This includes proof of residence.

Please refer to the IPTS flowchart (PDF 148KB) for information about your responsibilities when submitting an application.

The Patient will be informed via email if their application is approved. Please ensure they are aware of this. They are required to confirm acceptance of terms and conditions and the travel and accommodation reimbursement form needs to be completed by their interstate specialist.

Please click here to complete the IPTS application form (external site) on behalf of your patients.