Empowering Independence – Travel Training Program for NDIS Participants

Our individualised capacity building travel training program is designed to empower NDIS participants to be more independent, confident, and safe when traveling on their own. By building their skills to use public transport, they can save their NDIS funding for other capacity-building services to further enhance their independence.

About the Program

Our program offers twice-weekly, 13-week individualised travel training sessions, where participants travel as a team to the CBD and destination hubs in northern, southern, eastern, and western metropolitan Adelaide. As they progress through the program and develop their confidence, their enjoyment of travel and their excitement of the possibility this represents will also grow. Group members will work together to plan fun and interesting locations for them to develop their travel training skills across Adelaide. They will also reflect on their learning each session as a team in a cafe setting, the cost of which is covered by the program.

In a supportive and social small-group environment, participants will:

• Plan Trips Independently: Learn how to organise a trip to any part of metropolitan Adelaide using buses, trains, and trams;
• Prepare for Travel: Understand when to pack which essential items for different weather conditions and travel lengths such as food, drinks, clothing, house keys, chargers, etc;
• Ensure Safety: Develop strategies to stay safe, including what to do in emergencies;
• Manage Metro Cards: Learn to purchase, use, and recharge Adelaide Metro cards;
• Navigate Destinations: Gain skills and confidence to walk around unfamiliar places without getting lost;
• Create Personal Maps: Build a personalised map of locations they have visited for future reference.

Financial Impact

Our program not only empowers participants to travel independently but can also enable significant savings to NDIS plans. By reducing the need for paid transport services, participants can redirect their NDIS funds towards other capacity-building supports to further achieve greater independence.

Collectively, our 8 graduates to date have currently saved more than $110,000 a year.*

This is equivalent to 1500 hours of extra capacity building services per year.**

*Approximately based on individualised allocated NDIS funding.

**Based on current 1:1 capacity building NDIS rates.