Transport

If the client is travelling to and from the course by public transport, you should include the client's actual and reasonable public transport cost as an allowable cost in the Training Incentive Allowance assessment.

Clients who have a Community Services Card can get a 50% discount on public transport fares through Community Connect and should apply for this if it is the most cost-effective way to meet their transport costs.

When a client has not used their Community Services Card to apply for the 50% discount, you must discuss their reasons if their actual public transport costs are higher than they would be if the 50% discount was applied.

The client may have a good reason for not applying for the 50% discount (e.g. they lost their Community Services Card and have applied for a replacement, meaning their transport costs will be higher for a short period of time or the client has a disability and there are accessibility issues with the public transport provider's application process).

When there is a good reason, the client's actual public transport costs should be included as an allowable cost. If there is no good reason, their allowable costs for travel should not be more than the cost of the subsidised public transport fare.

If the client is not using public transport, the allowable cost must be:

• reasonable and
• based on the distance that the client has to travel and
• can include parking and vehicle running costs and
• take into account any special needs (for example, clients with certain disabilities may only be able to travel by taxi)

If the client has a transport cost included in their Training Incentive Allowance, they cannot include the same cost in their Temporary Additional Support, Disability Allowance or Support Funds.

Clients using a private car to get to and from study would be paid the same rates as Disability Allowance.