Practical Support

Community Transport Services are available for eligible seniors, pensioners, and those with accessibility needs or limited access to public transport.

These services can help people travel to medical appointments, shops and social activities.

Find your local community transport service.

• Transport to Treatment is a free service offered by Cancer Council NSW for people who can’t access community transport services or have other barriers to transport.  
• Patients can be picked up at their door by trained volunteers using Cancer Council NSW vehicles. Patients are then driven to their treatment appointment and home again.  

• Cancer Council NSW is unable to offer transport support in the Greater Sydney area.  
• Our priority is supporting people in rural and regional areas where there is a lack of public transport, ride-sharing services and community transport, and people are disadvantaged by distance to access cancer treatment.  

• We will contact your patient or their carer to check their availability and confirm and schedule their transport to treatment requirements.  
• We have a strict cut-off time of midday Thursday for all transport requests for the following week.    
• If your patient’s transport needs are urgent (i.e. required in the current week), please make alternative travel arrangements for them.   
• Your patient will receive a confirmation/decline of transport support 6pm Thursday for the following week. 

To be eligible for our Transport to Treatment Service, your patient: 

• must be aged over 18 years and have a cancer diagnosis that is impacting their ability to travel to/from cancer treatment (surgery, chemotherapy, immunotherapy, radiation or targeted therapy and clinical trials) 

• must be unable to drive at the time and be unable to use or access community transport options and/or help from family/friends 

• have a cancer-related appointment between 9 am and 4 pm, Monday to Friday 

• must be able to walk unassisted for at least 20 metres, able to get in and out of the vehicle unassisted and does not have an oxygen device 

• cannot hold a Department of Veterans’ Affairs Gold Card and/or be using My Aged Care for transport. 

• Patients undergoing radiation therapy can access up to 3 trips per week, depending on service availability.
• Priority will be given to patients undergoing active treatment over cancer related appointments.
• We will try our best to schedule non-treatment appointments (such as scans or specialist appointments) depending on availability.  

• Cancer Council NSW can assist patients experiencing financial hardship in finding affordable community-based accommodation facilities near cancer treatment centres.    
• Cancer Council NSW partners with accommodation facilities at Nowra, Tamworth and Wagga Wagga.  
• Specific eligibility criteria apply for each facility. 

Cancer Council NSW assists with upfront accommodation costs for people who are unable to afford the costs associated with accommodation when travelling away from home for cancer treatment.  

We select, book, and pay for accommodation near the patient’s treatment centre (up to a maximum of 42 nights per client, maximum $150 per night) if they are unable to afford this expense.   

To access this service, patients must be registered for the NSW Government’s Isolated Patients Travel and Accommodation Assistance Scheme (IPTAAS), which will reimburse Cancer Council NSW for part of this cost.  

To be eligible for the accommodation service, the patient or carer must: 

• be a resident of NSW 
• have been diagnosed with cancer, or be caring for a patient actively undergoing treatment  
• be eligible for the Isolated Patient Transport and Accommodation Assistance Scheme (IPTAAS) 
• be experiencing financial hardship because of their cancer diagnosis 
• be attending treatment at the closest or only available treatment centre while accessing financial assistance for accommodation  
• not be attending an appointment as part of a commercial clinical trial. 

Patients who need to travel far for treatment can receive financial assistance through the Isolated Patient Transport and Accommodation Assistance Scheme (IPTAAS). 

The NSW Government scheme covers some of the transport and accommodation costs of travelling to treatment. 

See IPTAAS for the eligibility criteria and to register. For help, call 1800 IPTAAS (1800 478 227) or email  iptaas@health.nsw.gov.au.

• Help at Home provides a one-time payment (up to $350) towards cleaning or gardening for patients experiencing financial hardship.  
• Your patient or their carer must find and organise the cleaning or gardening service themselves.   
• The assistance is to be used within 12 months of receiving approval.  
• Cancer Council NSW cannot legally recommend suppliers. We recommend patients search online or speak with their social worker to find a supplier in their area.   
• Payments are made directly to the supplier, and the supplier must have an ABN.  
• Your patient or their carer can send multiple invoices up to a total of $350. These can be split between cleaning and gardening.  

To be eligible for the Help at Home service, the patient must: 

• require help with cleaning or gardening due to their cancer diagnosis 
• be experiencing financial hardship because of their cancer diagnosis 
• not have used the service before 
• be able to find a home help supplier with an ABN
• be a resident of NSW.