Regional and rural NSW is home to incredible landscapes and communities. But people living outside of our state’s major cities continue to face major inequities in accessing essential health care. 

People in the regions are often out of pocket hundreds or even thousands of dollars in travel costs to access necessary medical treatment. 

The Isolated Patients Travel and Accommodation Assistance Scheme (IPTAAS) is set up to support patients and their families travelling more than 100km one way or 200km in a week. 

The scheme includes 40c/km for private car travel and an accommodation subsidy of $75 per night (see the full list here).

In Sydney, $75 per night can only cover accommodation at a hostel or a campground. For someone intending to receive specialist medical treatment, such as major surgery or cancer treatment, this is totally inadequate.

The government says that IPTAAS is meant to be a subsidy, and not cover full costs, but I know from my own experience as a GP in Albury-Wodonga that this means people who can already afford to travel get a helpful discount, while some people who can’t afford to travel instead forego necessary specialist care.

To truly support people who need it most, IPTAAS should be able to provide upfront payment to travel and accommodation providers, rather than a reimbursement after patients have already incurred out-of-pocket costs. Its value should cover the actual cost of travel and appropriate accommodation to allow people to focus on their health.

Read my speech in NSW Parliament about IPTAAS in September 2025. 

Finally - IPTAAS should be expanded to include access to GP specialists. GP specialists are already providing invaluable support to regional communities, for example GP Obstetricians, GPs with additional skills in mental health care like ADHD diagnosis and treatment, GPs specialised in skin cancer, or sexual and reproductive health care. In many cases a GP specialist may be available closer to home than a major city. They should be added to the list of eligible specialist medical treatments.

IPTAAS should also be expanded to include travel to routine dental services. Addressing dental problems early is not only better for oral health outcomes for people in rural and remote regions - it would reduce the need for major interventions when problems are picked up late or left to worsen. 

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