ACT Taxi Subsidy Scheme (TSS) — Up to 854 subsidised trips a year
This page is a direct rule-based guide for AU_ACT_TAXI_SUBSIDY_SCHEME (rule version 2025-26, effective 1 July 2025). It explains the two subsidy tiers of 50 per cent and 75 per cent, the per-trip subsidy ceilings, the cap of 854 subsidised trips a year, and the medical or occupational-therapist certification that confirms a disability prevents the use of public transport.
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Quick Answer
You may qualify when all three eligibility items hold: state = ACT, disability_or_illness_confirmed = true, and disability_prevents_public_transport = true. The rule sits in the ACT Disability Transport parent cluster with group_type = B and result_role = eligibility_only. The entitlement scope is per person for each financial year, so each eligible individual receives their own trip allocation.
You are blocked when there is no confirmed disability, when the disability does not prevent public transport use, or when the applicant is outside the ACT. The excludes.any and conflicts lists are empty in the YAML, so the subsidy does not reduce or clash with any Centrelink payment.
Rate logic summary: amount.type is eligibility_only with amount.period = none, because the value is the fare share subsidised per trip rather than a flat payment. The cap is 854 trips a year. The 50 per cent tier subsidises up to $30 to $32 a trip; the 75 per cent tier subsidises up to $46 to $49.50 a trip.
What Is This Payment?
The ACT Taxi Subsidy Scheme is a subsidised-travel concession for people whose disability prevents them from using public transport. Inside the rule database it is tagged in the ACT Disability Transport cluster with an eligibility_only result role, because the value is realised per trip at the point of travel rather than paid as a lump sum. The entitlement scope is per person and per financial year, so the trip allocation belongs to the individual cardholder and resets annually.
The administering body is the ACT Revenue Office, and the channel is online. An approved member receives a TSS card that the taxi driver uses to apply the subsidy directly to the metered fare, so the passenger pays only their share at the end of the trip. This makes the scheme a point-of-service concession rather than a reimbursement the member has to claim back later.
The design intent is to provide an accessible alternative to public transport for people who genuinely cannot use buses or light rail because of a disability. The two tiers recognise different levels of need: a 50 per cent tier for people with significant but moderate limitations, and a 75 per cent tier for those with more severe mobility, sensory, or cognitive impairment. The scheme sits alongside other ACT disability concessions but is specifically about taxi travel, distinct from the MyWay public-transport concession, which assumes the person can use public transport.
How Much Can You Get?
The amount type is eligibility_only with amount.period = none, so the value is the fare share covered on each trip rather than a single dollar headline. Two subsidy tiers apply. The 50 per cent tier covers half of each metered fare up to a ceiling of $30 to $32 a trip. The 75 per cent tier covers three-quarters of the fare up to a ceiling of $46 to $49.50 a trip. The trip allocation is capped at 854 trips a year.
To audit the value, follow the structure in the rule note: the subsidy on any trip equals the metered fare multiplied by the tier percentage, limited by the per-trip ceiling. On the 50 per cent tier, a $40 fare attracts a $20 subsidy, well under the $30 to $32 ceiling, so the passenger pays $20. On a $70 fare the half-share would be $35, but the ceiling caps the subsidy at around $30 to $32, so the passenger pays the rest. The 75 per cent tier lifts both the share and the ceiling: a $60 fare attracts a $45 subsidy, just within the $46 to $49.50 range, leaving the passenger to pay $15.
The 854-trip cap is the annual ceiling on subsidised journeys. A member who travels heavily — for example to regular medical appointments and work — could draw on a large share of that cap across the year, while a lighter user uses only a fraction. The cap resets each financial year and does not roll unused trips forward. Because the rule is eligibility_only, the app does not estimate a total dollar value; the realised benefit depends on how many trips a member takes and the fares involved.
No multiplier, no reduces_if, and no date_windows attach to this rule. The moving parts are the tier percentage, the per-trip ceiling, and the number of trips taken against the 854 cap.
Eligibility Conditions
The eligibility block is an all set, so every item must pass.
- ACT jurisdiction:
state = ACT. The applicant must be an ACT resident, because the TSS card is issued and the subsidy funded by the ACT. - Disability confirmed:
disability_or_illness_confirmed = true. The applicant has a confirmed disability or illness, verified by a health professional. - Public transport prevented:
disability_prevents_public_transport = true. The disability must genuinely prevent the use of public transport. This is the defining gate — a disability that does not stop a person using buses or light rail does not open the scheme.
Required fields for assessment are state, confirmed disability, and the public-transport prevention. The qualifying conditions listed in the rule note include severe activity limitation, legal blindness, severe vision impairment, cognitive, psychiatric or intellectual disability, and severe uncontrolled epilepsy. The tier a member is placed on reflects the severity of these conditions.
The excludes.any and conflicts lists are empty in the YAML, so the subsidy is compatible with other concessions and Centrelink payments. A member can hold the TSS card alongside income support, a concession card, and other ACT disability concessions without any of them reducing the others.
One practical consideration: the prevention gate is about public transport specifically, not driving. A person who cannot use buses or light rail because of a sensory or cognitive condition can qualify even if they could in principle be a passenger in a private car, because the scheme exists to replace public transport that is inaccessible to them.
How To Apply
Application metadata defines a single channel: online. The application is lodged through the ACT Revenue Office online, and an approved applicant is issued a TSS card to present to taxi drivers, who apply the subsidy to the metered fare at the point of travel.
Evidence requirements are explicitly listed in the rule and should be obtained before applying:
- Medical practitioner or occupational therapist certification — written confirmation from a medical practitioner or an occupational therapist that the disability prevents the use of public transport, and an indication of severity that informs the tier.
Two practical tips help. First, ask the certifying professional to address public-transport use directly, because the gate disability_prevents_public_transport = true turns on that specific finding rather than a general disability statement. Second, discuss severity with the certifier, since the difference between the 50 per cent tier and the 75 per cent tier — and the per-trip ceiling of $30 to $32 versus $46 to $49.50 — depends on how the limitation is documented.
Rule-Based Scenarios
Scenario 1: 75 per cent tier, regular dialysis trips
Lowanna is legally blind and cannot use public transport. Her occupational therapist certifies severe vision impairment, placing her on the 75 per cent tier. On a typical $48 fare to her appointments, the subsidy covers three-quarters, about $36, within the $46 to $49.50 ceiling, so she pays around $12. Travelling three times a week she could use roughly 150 of her 854 annual trips, leaving ample allocation for other journeys. The TSS card applies the subsidy automatically, so she never has to claim it back.
Scenario 2: 50 per cent tier, capped fare
Jedda has a severe activity limitation and is approved on the 50 per cent tier. On a short $24 fare the half-share subsidy of $12 sits below the per-trip ceiling, so she pays $12. On a longer $68 cross-town fare, the half-share would be $34, but the ceiling caps the subsidy at around $30 to $32, so she pays the balance. Across the year she uses about 200 trips of her 854 cap, mostly short local journeys where the subsidy lands well within the ceiling.
Scenario 3: disability that does not prevent public transport
Kirra has a confirmed physical condition but can still board and ride ACT buses and light rail with some difficulty. Her doctor confirms the disability but cannot certify that it prevents public transport use, so the gate disability_prevents_public_transport = true is not met. Kirra is not eligible for the taxi subsidy. She is instead directed to the MyWay public-transport concession, which is designed for people who can use public transport at a reduced fare.
Scenario 4: subsidy stacked with income support
Jarrah receives the Disability Support Pension and has severe uncontrolled epilepsy that prevents him from using public transport. Because the conflicts and excludes lists are empty, his TSS membership sits alongside his pension with no reduction to either. On the 75 per cent tier, a $40 fare costs him only $10 after the subsidy. The taxi subsidy and his income support are independent, so he keeps the full value of both within the 854-trip annual cap.
Common Mistakes
- Assuming any disability qualifies: the defining gate is
disability_prevents_public_transport = true. A confirmed disability that still allows bus or light-rail travel does not open the scheme; the certification must address public-transport use specifically. - Expecting the full fare to be free: the subsidy covers 50 or 75 per cent of the fare, not all of it, and is capped per trip at $30 to $32 or $46 to $49.50. On long fares the passenger pays the balance above the ceiling.
- Overlooking the per-trip ceiling on the 50 per cent tier: on a $70 fare the half-share of $35 exceeds the $30 to $32 ceiling, so the subsidy is capped and the passenger pays more than half. The percentage and the ceiling work together, whichever is lower.
- Treating the 854 trips as transferable: the cap is per person for the financial year and does not roll unused trips into the next year. A light user cannot bank trips, and the allocation resets annually.
- Confusing it with the MyWay concession: the taxi subsidy is for people who cannot use public transport, whereas the MyWay concession reduces public-transport fares for those who can. Applying for the wrong one misroutes the claim.
- Worrying it will cut a pension: the conflicts and excludes lists are empty, so the subsidy does not reduce or block the Disability Support Pension or any other Centrelink payment. Members can hold both in full.
Related Rules And Interactions
The conflicts and affects lists in this rule are empty, but the disability and transport context connects the scheme to several other ACT and federal rules. Use these links to navigate the surrounding rules.
- ACT Public Transport MyWay Concession — the public-transport counterpart. The taxi subsidy is for people who cannot use public transport, while the MyWay concession reduces fares for those who can, so the two route different applicants.
- ACT Motor Vehicle Registration Concession — a concession for eligible drivers, an alternative for members who travel mainly by private car rather than taxi.
- ACT Disability Duty Concession Scheme — a home-buyer duty concession in the same disability-support landscape, often relevant to the same household.
- ACT Low Vision Aids — a companion concession for members with vision impairment, one of the conditions that qualifies for the 75 per cent taxi tier.
- NSW Taxi Transport Subsidy Scheme — the equivalent scheme in NSW, relevant for members who move interstate and need to re-enrol.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many trips can I get each year?
Up to 854 subsidised trips a year. The cap is per person and resets each financial year; unused trips do not roll forward. The subsidy is applied to each fare up to the per-trip ceiling for your tier.
What do the two tiers cover?
The 50 per cent tier subsidises half of each fare up to $30 to $32 a trip. The 75 per cent tier subsidises three-quarters up to $46 to $49.50 a trip, for members with more severe mobility, sensory, or cognitive limitations.
What conditions qualify?
Severe activity limitation, legal blindness, severe vision impairment, cognitive, psychiatric or intellectual disability, or severe uncontrolled epilepsy, where the condition prevents public transport use. A medical practitioner or occupational therapist must certify this.
How is the subsidy paid?
At the point of travel. An approved member receives a TSS card that the taxi driver uses to apply the subsidy directly to the metered fare, so the passenger pays only their share. There is no reimbursement claim to lodge afterwards.
Will it affect my Disability Support Pension?
No. The conflicts and excludes lists are empty, so the subsidy does not reduce or block the Disability Support Pension or any other Centrelink payment. Members keep the full value of both alongside the 854-trip allocation.
Why was my application sent to the MyWay concession instead?
If your certifier confirms a disability but cannot state that it prevents public transport use, the gate is not met. You are directed to the MyWay public-transport concession, which reduces fares for people who can use buses and light rail.
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