Taxi Subsidy Scheme and Lift Payment

The Taxi Subsidy Scheme (TSS) subsidises taxi travel—half of the total fare, up to a maximum of $30 per trip—for people with severe disabilities.

The TSS pays half the value of a member's taxi fare, up to a maximum fare of $60. There is no limit on the number of taxi journeys a member may take to attract the subsidy. The subsidy is paid to taxi drivers—members have no additional costs.

TSS membership lasts for a maximum of 5 years. To extend your membership you must reapply before the expiry date.

If you have a temporary disability, 6 to 12 month memberships are available.

The Queensland Government has confirmed that eligible National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) participants can continue to access the TSS until appropriate transport support arrangements are in place, up to 31 October 2025.

The Queensland Government is focused on ensuring appropriate transport support arrangements are in place for NDIS-eligible TSS members and will continue to work with the Australian Government to address this matter.

Eligibility

To be eligible you must be a permanent resident of Queensland and fully meet at least 1 of the following 6 eligibility criteria:

1. Physical disability requiring dependence on a wheelchair for all mobility outside the home.
2. Severe ambulatory problem that cannot functionally be improved and restricts walking to an extremely limited distance.
3. Total loss of vision or severe visual impairment (both eyes).
4. Severe and uncontrollable epilepsy with seizures involving loss of consciousness.
5. Intellectual impairment or dementia resulting in the need to be accompanied by another person at all times for travel on public transport.
6. Severe emotional and/or behaviour disorders with a level of disorganisation resulting in the need to be accompanied by another person at all times for travel on public transport.

How to apply

1. Complete part A of the Taxi subsidy application form. Please call 1300 134 755 if you're unable to use this form.
2. Provide 2 passport size photos.
3. Visit your doctor or specialist and have them complete parts B and C of the application form.
4. Mail the completed application with the photographs to:
   Taxi Subsidy Unit
   Department of Transport and Main Roads
   PO Box 13347
   BRISBANE  QLD  4003

Lift Payment

Lift Payments are designed to improve service provision to TSS members and will help ensure personalised transport services remain accessible to people with disabilities.

The TSS pays a Lift Payment of $25 (inclusive of GST) as a driver incentive for each eligible Wheelchair Accessible Taxi (WAT) trip involving transportation of a TSS member who is required to travel in a wheelchair. The Lift Payment is not part of the taxi fare so there is no additional cost to a TSS member.

On Christmas Day (25 December) each year, the Lift Payment is doubled to $50 per eligible trip.

To ensure drivers are eligible to receive the Lift Payment, TSS members should confirm their wheelchair use if their original application did not confirm this information or their situation has changed.

Wheelchair use confirmation

Use the Transport and Main Roads corporate forms F5411—Taxi Subsidy Scheme wheelchair use confirmation form to confirm that a TSS member must use a wheelchair when travelling by taxi.

Once the TSS member’s wheelchair usage is confirmed by a health professional, the TSS will make Lift Payments to WAT drivers each time they transport the member.

What you need to do

If you are a TSS member and you are required to stay seated in a wheelchair when travelling by taxi:

• ask your health professional (general practitioner, physiotherapist, occupational therapist or registered nurse) to complete the form, print, sign and post to
  Taxi Subsidy Scheme
  PO Box 13347
  BRISBANE  QLD  4003, or
• ask your health professional to complete this form electronically, digitally sign, save as a PDF and email to tssu@translink.com.au.

Only fill out this form if you:

• are a TSS member
• are required to stay seated in a wheelchair when travelling by taxi.

Wheelchair Accessible Taxis

A vehicle must meet special requirements to be licensed as a WAT in Queensland.

A WAT driver must give preference to the carriage of people travelling in a wheelchair. At any other time the vehicle can be used to provide a taxi service for the carriage of any public passenger.

Booking

To enable taxi booking companies to reconcile and correctly distribute Lift Payments, a booking must be recorded for each journey on their relevant booking system.

Drivers are still eligible for the Lift Payment for an eligible journey that commences from a taxi rank or is hailed from the street. To receive the payment, the driver must call their booking company immediately and provide the passenger’s name and TSS membership details to ensure the job is ‘booked’ into their booking system.

A booking fee must not be applied to Lift Payment journeys commencing from a rank or hailed from the street.

Fare administration

The Lift Payment is not added onto a TSS member’s fare.

The incentive is paid separately through the same process used for TSS payments, for example either paid directly to the booking company responsible for distributing the payments to operators or, in exempt areas, to operators or owners directly. Operators must pass on the entire $25 or $50 Lift Payment to the relevant driver.

To attract the TSS subsidy payment, a fare must be determined by the taximeter.

Accessibility information

Any passenger can be accompanied by an assistance animal if required.

Find information about assistance animals in personalised transport.

Authority to act

Use the Taxi Subsidy Scheme Authority to Act form to add a trusted person to act on your behalf for all Taxi Subsidy Scheme membership and application matters.

The person with authority to act will be able to do the following on behalf of the TSS member:

• discuss all dealings about their TSS application or membership
• update TSS application or membership details, including contact information
• report a lost or damaged TSS Smartcard
• order interstate taxi vouchers
• renew or cancel TSS application or membership.

What you need to do

You must:

• complete this form, print, sign and post to
  Taxi Subsidy Scheme
  PO Box 13347
  BRISBANE  QLD  4003, or
• complete electronically, digitally sign, save as a PDF and email to TSSU@translink.com.au.

Note that:

• if you have an existing Power of Attorney document, you can send a copy of that to us by email or in the post instead of completing this form
• if you wish to register more than one person to act on your behalf, you will need to provide a separate Power of Attorney document for each person or fill out a separate authority to act form for each person.

More information

To find out more or to cancel the TSS and Lift Payment, call the Department of Transport and Main Roads on 1300 134 755 or email TSSU@translink.com.au.

For help with NDIS transport funding, visit the NDIS website or call 1800 800 110. You can also speak with the TSS team on 1300 134 755.

Find information about travelling safely in Queensland with a wheelchair or mobility scooter.