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This article explains how kilometres work for NDIS clients - how they’re recorded, how they map to NDIS funding categories, and how they flow through to invoicing. For the generic mechanics of recording and exporting kilometres, see Kilometres sync. NDIS kilometre codes are tightly regulated. Each kilometre type maps to a specific funding category in a participant’s plan, and plan managers reject invoices that use the wrong code. Understanding the distinction between activity-based transport and provider travel - and how Visualcare handles each - is essential for setting up NDIS clients correctly.

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Terminology: NDIS vs Visualcare

The NDIS uses different language to what you see inside Visualcare: The split between labour and non-labour cost exists because the NDIS distinguishes time (a labour cost, paid at the worker’s applicable rate) from distance (a non-labour cost, billed as a separate line item).
These terms cause confusion when clients raise queries using NDIS terminology. If you hear “provider travel non-labour cost isn’t working”, they’re talking about kilometres between shifts.

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NDIS kilometre codes

NDIS kilometre codes follow a strict format. The middle three digits of a support item number indicate what type of service the kilometre relates to:
  • 590 - activity-based transport (kilometres during a shift)
  • 799 - provider travel (kilometres between shifts)
Provider travel has far more codes than activity-based transport because it spans every support category. Activity-based transport codes are fewer and simpler - typically two or three common ones. When a worker drives a participant during a shift, the kilometre claim needs to match the service being delivered. For example, if the shift is coded to community access (04 prefix with 0125 group code), the kilometre code must be the activity-based transport equivalent for that same category. A plan manager rejects the invoice if the codes don’t align.
Not all service types allow activity-based transport. For example, self-care shifts cannot claim kilometres during a shift. If a worker drives a participant during a self-care shift, either change the service code or handle the adjustment in your accounting software.

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How kilometres appear in timesheets

Kilometres are only added to a shift once it’s a confirmed timesheet - there is no way to set a kilometre budget at the roster stage. Timesheets have three kilometre columns: Calc KM looks at the addresses in each client’s profile and uses Google Maps to calculate the distance and driving time between consecutive shifts for the same worker on the same day. It skips the first shift of the day, shifts where the client address is blank, and gaps that exceed the threshold set in settings.
Most providers have office staff calculate between-shift kilometres rather than allowing workers to enter them through the app.
Travel time caps at 30 or 60 minutes per shift based on the participant’s Modified Monash Model (MMM) level, in line with NDIS travel claiming rules.

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Configuring charge codes

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Global KM charge code (activity-based transport)

The global charge code for kilometres during a shift is set in Settings → Finance → Kilometre, under Charge Code. This maps to an inventory item in your accounting software and applies to all clients unless overridden.

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Agreement-level override

If a specific client’s activity-based transport needs a different code, open the client’s agreement and enable Override KM Charge Code. The code set there takes precedence over the global setting for that client.

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Provider travel code (kilometres between shifts)

The code for kilometres between shifts is set at the service level, not globally. Go to Maintenance → Services, open the relevant service, and select the appropriate NDIS KM code from the NDIS KM dropdown. This is how Visualcare knows which provider travel code to use for each service. For example, a community access service on a weekday daytime maps to a provider travel code starting with 04_799, while a different service maps to a different variant. The code must correspond to the same support category as the service itself.

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How it flows to invoicing

When you export timesheets to Xero, kilometres become separate line items on the invoice with distinct descriptions. A plan manager receiving the invoice sees:
  • The shift itself
  • Activity-based transport (kilometres during the shift)
  • Provider travel non-labour cost (kilometres between shifts)
  • Provider travel labour cost (travel time), if applicable
The description text for each line item is configured in Settings → Data Export → Xero Invoice Description. You customise what appears for KM charge, provider travel, and travel time separately.
After exporting, open the invoice in the invoices view to confirm the kilometre line items appear separately with the correct codes and descriptions.

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Charge and pay settings

Under Settings → Finance → Kilometre, configure whether kilometres between shifts are:
  • Charge and pay
  • Charge but no pay
  • No charge but pay
  • No charge and no pay
This is set during implementation based on your preference. The SCHADS Award requires travel time between shifts to be paid as time worked - the setting supports either approach. For travel time pay, if the Pay Code Travel Time field is left blank, Visualcare adds travel time hours into the same pay item as the service being provided. A worker doing Sunday shifts then gets Sunday-rate pay for their travel time automatically, rather than a flat travel rate regardless of the day.
Leaving the travel time pay code blank is usually the correct approach for NDIS providers, as travel pay then inherits the correct penalty rate for the day.

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Location roster shifts

Location shifts work differently because the worker is rostered to a location, not to individual clients. There is no automatic link between the worker timesheet and each client shift. If a worker enters kilometres at the end of their shift without attributing them to specific clients, those kilometres won’t appear on any client timesheet and can’t be invoiced. To correctly attribute kilometres on a location shift, the worker uses the Vworker app:
  1. During the shift, tap Profile
  2. Select the specific client they transported
  3. Enter the kilometres for that client
This adds the kilometres to the relevant client shift and totals them on the worker timesheet automatically. If a worker took multiple clients on different trips, they enter kilometres for each client separately and the app totals them.
This is a significant process change for providers coming from a simpler setup, and it gets missed often - especially in day programs. If a worker enters one total at clock-off without attributing it to clients, the kilometres appear on the worker timesheet but not on any client timesheet. The worker is paid but nothing is charged, which adds up quickly. Support workers used to entering one total at clock-off need specific training on the location roster workflow.

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Running into issues?

See Finance troubleshooting for common errors and fixes.

Kilometres sync

How Visualcare captures, calculates, and exports kilometre data

Vworker: Location roster shifts

How workers view and manage location roster shifts in the app

NDIS agreements

Applying NDIS Support Catalogue price updates

Billing to accounting software

Export invoices to your accounting platform