Non-emergency patient transport

Non-emergency patient transport (NEPT) is for patients who require clinical monitoring or supervision during transport, but do not require a time critical ambulance response.

Most NEPT transfers occur between hospitals, or between home and hospital. Some aged care patients may also be transported to and from specialist health appointments and rehabilitation. The majority of non-emergency patient transports are provided by road, with a small number undertaken by air services.

Non-emergency patient transports need to be authorised as clinically necessary by an appropriate health professional. Authorisation considers whether there is a demonstrated clinical need as prescribed in the Non-Emergency Patient Transport Regulations 2016.

These patients will:

require the use of specialised medical equipment contained within the vehicle
require the clinical skill levels and qualifications of the staff in the vehicle
have an illness or a disability that makes it impractical to use any other form of transport; for example, severe immobility or disorientation.

The Ambulance transport payment guidelines for Victoria provide information on who is responsible for the payment of NEPT fees.

Transport must be booked through a NEPT provider or through Ambulance Victoria, in consultation with the patient’s health practitioner authorised to request NEPT services and/or health facility. Patients cannot make the booking themselves.

You can download a NEPT form from the Ambulance Victoria website.

Public register of licenced NEPT Providers (VIC)

Public register - list of licensed non-emergency patient transport providers

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Non-emergency patient transport review

The process for how we will conduct the review of the existing procurement arrangements for non-emergency patient transport

Applying to become a NEPT service provider

Apply for approval in principle before submitting your NEPT service licence application, to ensure you fulfill all conditions before financial outlay.

NEPT legislation and clinical practice protocols

The Department of Health is responsible for developing and implementing NEPT legislation.

Reviewed 23 May 2023

Health.vic

Contact details

NEPT, First Aid and Investigations Unit GPO Box 4541, Melbourne , VIC 3001

neptfirstaidregulation@health.vic.gov.au