Unlike travel to undertake a rehabilitation assessment (see section 9.1.1 of this manual [2]), the MRCA does not have specific legislative provisions to reimburse the travel costs associated with a person's participation in a rehabilitation program.
However, a Rehabilitation Coordinator, in consultation with the Rehabilitation Provider, has the discretion to determine whether or not a person's participation in a rehabilitation program will cause that person to incur costs additional to normal work-related travel costs, and to ensure that these costs are included in the rehabilitation plan. An example would be where a client is undertaking an approved training course as part of a vocational rehabilitation program, and needs to travel interstate in order to take part in the course. Please note, travel costs associated with a rehabilitation program can only be paid where client travel is included as a third party cost on a rehabilitation plan.
In deciding whether a person should be reimbursed for travel costs, the DVA Rehabilitation Coordinator must consider the following;
When considering the amount of any reimbursement for travel expenses associated with a rehabilitation program, Rehabilitation Coordinators should utilise the guidelines provided in section 9.1.2 of this manual [3] in relation to reimbursement of reasonable travel and/or accommodation costs to attend treatment as a benchmark of reasonable costs. It is important to note that there is no mandated kilometre rate for travel associated with attending approved rehabilitation activities. As a general principle, it would be reasonable for clients to self-fund any travel that was less than a 50 kilometre round trip. However, individual client circumstances must always be taken into account, and DVA delegates must be mindful of ensuring that they are aware of preventing any barriers to a person participating in a particular component of their rehabilitation program.
Links
[1] https://clik.dva.gov.au/user/login?destination=comment/reply/18820%23comment-form
[2] https://clik.dva.gov.au/military-compensation-mrca-manuals-and-resources-library/policy-manual/ch-9-other-benefits-under-military-rehabilitation-and-compensation-act-2004/91-compensation-travel-and-accommodation-costs-reasonably-required-or-incurred-under-military-rehabilitati-0
[3] https://clik.dva.gov.au/military-compensation-mrca-manuals-and-resources-library/policy-manual/ch-9-other-benefits-under-military-rehabilitation-and-compensation-act-2004/91-compensation-travel-and-accommodation-costs-reasonably-required-or-incurred-under-military-rehabilitati-1