Last updated September 2026. Processing times and forms are set by Safe Transport Victoria and can change; always confirm current details on their website before applying.
How to complete a Multi Purpose Taxi Program application
If you’re not sure you qualify yet, the eligibility rules and how MPTP sits alongside NDIS funding are covered in our guide to NDIS and MPTP transport funding in Melbourne. This page picks up from the point where you know you’re eligible and want the card. A multi purpose taxi program application runs through a specific process, and a missed step is a common reason applications stall.
Before you start
Have your Centrelink concession card or DVA card number ready, and know which doctor or specialist you’ll be asking to complete the assessment. Booking that appointment is usually the slowest part of the whole process, so it’s worth calling ahead rather than waiting for a routine check-up.
Step 1: A doctor completes an online medical assessment
You don’t fill out a medical form yourself. Your regular doctor, or in some cases a psychologist, psychiatrist, optometrist, or ophthalmologist for vision-related conditions, completes an online assessment directly with Safe Transport Victoria. Asking the wrong practitioner sends you back to the start, so check with your GP first whether they can complete it or whether it needs a specialist.
Every section of that form needs to be filled in properly. An incomplete form gets sent back rather than processed.
Step 2: You’ll be sent a consent form
Once Safe Transport Victoria receives the completed medical assessment from your doctor, they post you a request to consent. You fill that out and send it back using the details they provide.
Step 3: Wait roughly 15 working days
Once your consent form is back with them, allow around 15 working days for a decision. You’ll be notified in writing either way. Final responsibility for accepting or rejecting an application sits with Safe Transport Victoria, and their own customer service team can’t fast-track it, so there’s no shortcut to calling and asking.
What to do while you wait
The 15 working days is a guide, not a guarantee, and the clock starts once Safe Transport Victoria has your signed consent form back, not from the day you first saw a doctor. If you need transport before a decision arrives, you don’t have to sit and wait for the card. A wheelchair-accessible taxi booking can go ahead at the normal fare in the meantime, and the MPTP subsidy applies once the card is in hand. There’s no reason to put off a trip you need now on the chance the card turns up first.
If the wait is running longer than 15 working days, calling Safe Transport Victoria directly on 1800 638 802 is a better use of time than guessing. Their team can tell you whether your file is sitting in a normal queue or missing something on their end, which isn’t something anyone outside their office can see.
If the answer is no
At the time of writing, Safe Transport Victoria doesn’t publish a formal appeals process for a declined application. If you’re knocked back and believe the assessment doesn’t reflect your situation, the practical step is to contact them directly on 1800 638 802 and ask what your options are, since that’s information we can’t provide on your behalf.
We checked Safe Transport Victoria’s own published material specifically for a review or appeals pathway, and there isn’t one listed. There’s also no published waiting period before you can start a new assessment if your medical situation changes. So a decline isn’t necessarily the end of it. If your circumstances change, or you think the original assessment missed something, the phone call is still the way to raise it rather than assuming the door is closed for good.
Renewing your card
You don’t need to reapply from scratch. A new card is sent to you automatically two weeks before your current one expires, so as long as your address is up to date with Safe Transport Victoria, renewal happens without you doing anything.
If your details change
Moved house, changed your name, or your circumstances are different from when you applied? Safe Transport Victoria has a specific change of details form for this rather than a new application. Keeping your address current matters more than it sounds, since it’s also where your renewed card gets posted two weeks before expiry.
Once you have the card
The MPTP discount only reduces the fare. It doesn’t change what vehicle turns up. If you need a ramp or hoist, that’s a separate thing to arrange with whichever taxi or rideshare service you book, and it’s worth confirming before the day rather than assuming every MPTP-accepting vehicle can take a wheelchair.
We’ve been running wheelchair-accessible bookings since 2005, and the most common snag we see at the curb has nothing to do with the application process. It’s a card that’s expired without the passenger noticing, or one that’s been left on the kitchen counter on the day. Keeping the card wherever the wallet or Myki lives, rather than tucked away with other paperwork, avoids a fare mix-up right when a trip is already stressful enough.
We’re a wheelchair-accessible service based in the City of Casey, running ramp and hoist-equipped vehicles since 2005, and we accept MPTP cards as standard. If you’ve got a card and want to book, call 0432 712 248. For the official application forms and current details, Safe Transport Victoria’s MPTP members and applicants page is the source to work from.
