THE Member for Euroa and Shadow Assistant Minister for Health, Annabelle Cleeland, has launched new research into the failures of Victoria’s non-emergency patient transport system and the Victorian Patient Transport Assistance Scheme (VPTAS).
Ms Cleeland is urging community members to share their experiences through a survey, highlighting the real impact of delays, strict eligibility rules, and inadequate public transport links on regional patients.
“This government’s changes to non-emergency transport, combined with a VPTAS system in crisis, are leaving regional Victorians behind, especially those who rely on regular treatment like dialysis,” Ms Cleeland said.
“Patients who previously had access to subsidised travel are now being told they’re ineligible, while those still eligible are being left out of pocket as delays continue to pile up. For people in small towns with no public transport, a breakdown in this system means they are missing appointments or unable to receive treatment altogether.”
The research, supported by Parliamentary intern Flynn Healy from the Australian Catholic University, will help shape Ms Cleeland’s advocacy to repair what she described as a failing system.
“I want to hear directly from those who are living with the consequences of this failure,” she said. “Too many people are waiting months for reimbursements, struggling with complex paperwork, or being denied support altogether. Their voices need to be heard in Parliament.”
Ms Cleeland said the current arrangements were “not just a bureaucratic failure, but a moral one,” stressing that regional patients deserve affordable, timely access to care rather than additional barriers that punish them for where they live.
The survey is available at surveymonkey.com/r/PatientTransportSurvey.