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Victorian Patient Transport Assistance Scheme (VPTAS)

Page contents: New claim forms | Administrative amendments to the VPTAS scheme

The Victorian Patient Transport Assistance Scheme (VPTAS) subsidises the travel and accommodation costs incurred by rural Victorians and if appropriate, their escorts, who have no option but to travel a long distance to receive approved medical specialist services.

New claim forms

A new VPTAS Claim Form is now available to replace all previous versions of the claim form.  Note that the new form is Red to clearly differentiate from all previous Blue claim forms.

These new forms (red) have been developed to reflect the recent changes to the scheme, and also to try and make the claim forms easier to complete and understand.

The forms have been developed through a consultative process with consumers and social workers from across rural Victoria.  Four workshops and a teleconference were held to provide feedback on the forms as they were in development. The forms were also ‘road-tested’ with patients in the Royal Women’s Hospital and the Ballarat-Austin Radiation Oncology Centre (BAROC). This feedback has been instrumental in designing the new forms to make them easier to understand and complete. 

To obtain copies of the new VPTAS form:

• Download the claim form
• Send an email to request claim forms
• Contact your Departmental regional office

Patients and health services are encouraged to destroy and delete all previous (blue) claim forms.

Administrative amendments to the VPTAS Scheme

Some amendments have been made to the VPTAS scheme, and came into effect from 1 July 2009.

These amendments include:

• Patients will no longer have to have their claim forms signed by their GP (patients will still be required to have a valid referral to the approved medical specialist).
• GP’s will no longer be required to endorse air travel
• In situations where patients travel beyond the ‘nearest’ medical specialist for treatment based on their specific clinical needs, there is no requirement for additional authorisation (GPs are still expected to refer to the nearest medical specialist that can meet the specific clinical needs of the patient.  Should a patient choose to travel to an alternative specialist, the subsidy will be calculated based on the nearest specialist).
• Verifying the service details and patient requirements can now be undertaken by either the approved medical specialist or an authorised officer (an authorised officer is an individual that works with/for the specialist and can confirm the patients requirements and all details of treatment).
• Patients are no longer required to submit copies of their Concession card
• The lodgement time for claims has been extended to 12 months
• There is no maximum stay limit for patients requiring accommodation associated with receiving approved specialist treatment.

These changes have been designed to reduce the burden on patients in completing claim forms, reduce the burden on medical specialists and general practitioners, and also streamlining the processing of claims, which in the long-run is expected to improve processing times.

Auditing of the scheme will continue to ensure that the changes that have been made are being are leading to improvements. 

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