$71.7 Million Additional Support For Regional Patients

The Minns Labor Government is helping ease cost of living pressures for patients and their families in regional, rural, and remote areas, with a $71.7 million boost in the 2026-27 NSW Budget for the Isolated Patients Travel and Accommodation Assistance Scheme (IPTAAS).

IPTAAS provides financial assistance towards travel and accommodation costs for patients who are required to travel more than 100 kilometres one way, or a total of 200 kilometres a week, for specialised health treatment that is not available locally.

Improving access to care for people living in rural, regional and remote NSW remains a priority for the Minns Government. Last year, IPTAAS helped 49,198 patients, an increase of 7,500 compared to the previous year.

IPTAAS has expanded significantly in recent years, with increased investment to support more patients and improvements in processing times and service delivery resulting in faster turnaround for applications.

The online claiming system has also been streamlined, making it easier for patients to submit claims and receive reimbursements directly into their bank account.

Reducing the financial burden for country patients to travel for their healthcare is just part of a comprehensive range of measures the Minns Government is embracing to improve access to care in our regional, rural and remote communities, including:

• Delivering more health worker accommodation in the bush;
• Doubling rural health worker incentives for the most critical and hard to fill positions to improve recruitment and retention;
• Boosting doctors in our regional GP surgeries as well as hospitals through the single employer model; and
• Deploying an extra 500 regional paramedics.

Quotes attributable to Minister for Health and Regional Health Ryan Park:

“IPTAAS ensures people in regional, rural and remote NSW can access the specialist care they need, no matter where they live.

“With cost of living pressures continuing to put pressure on households, this relief is more important than ever. It provides practical financial assistance that makes a real difference for patients and their families.

“We are committed to supporting patients living in regional communities and making sure distance is not a barrier to care, while also helping to ease cost of living pressures for patients and their families.”