A new joint survey from the PSA and E tū of 921 home support workers reveals more than a third of respondents (36%) have been unable to attend scheduled work in the past six months because of soaring fuel costs and the Government’s failure to increase mileage allowances. A fifth (18%) have had to stop supporting a regular client altogether, leaving vulnerable people at risk.
“Home support workers are bearing the brunt of skyrocketing fuel expenses out of their own pockets,” said Fleur Fitzsimons, National Secretary for the Public Service Association Te Pukenga Here Tikanga Mahi.
“When low-paid workers are subsidising the health system just to do their jobs because their mileage rates are far too low, the system itself is broken.
“This is all on the Government which has failed to review the workers’ in between travel allowance as they are legally required to do.”
E tū National Secretary, Rachel Mackintosh said, “This situation shows that the Government seriously undervalues home support work. Decisionmakers need to view the work of supporting the most vulnerable people in our society as invaluable social infrastructure.”
“E tū members are forgoing trips to see their whānau so they have enough petrol to do their jobs. Undervaluing this vital system in a way that seriously damages the lives of those providing care is a blight on our society and yet another point of shame for our government.
“Workers are also giving up work because they can’t afford to get there. This damages the standard of care, as elderly and unwell members of our community lose the services that enable them to live with dignity. Our government is abandoning everyone who needs home support.”
This survey reinforces the concerns the PSA raised with Health Minister Simeon Brown in their 7 October letter, noting that months have passed without a response on the overdue 2026 travel rate review.
“Minister Brown can’t continue to ignore this. The inadequate mileage rate for home support workers is now impacting the care of our most vulnerable, particularly in rural areas,” Fitzsimons said.
Sarah Carter, a home support worker, PSA delegate who has been a home support worker for three years and is based in Taumarunui, says the crisis is hitting less-experienced staff the hardest and leaving some rural clients without care because the cost to get them is too high.
“The younger and less experienced staff coming in are often the ones handed the longer-distance jobs, yet they are on the lowest wages,” Carter says.
“When the mileage rate doesn’t cover the cost of the fuel, it’s just impossible, because we are essentially paying to do the job. In rural areas like ours, if workers can’t afford the fuel to travel and clients have to be dropped, they are left relying entirely on family. If they don’t have family nearby, they simply can’t get the critical home support they need.”
Home support worker and E tū member, Monique Behan-Kitto said, “I used to be able to cover my petrol costs – but only just. Now I’m having to pick and choose what jobs I take and whether I will have enough gas to get through to my next pay day. It’s getting to the point where I may have to look at moving into residential care, or out of the sector all together.”
96% of workers surveyed state that their in-between travel payments fail to cover other costs of using a private vehicle for work, such as maintenance, servicing, tyres, WOF, registration, and insurance.
The PSA and E tū have taken an Employment Relations Authority claim against Health New Zealand, arguing that requiring low-paid workers to fund and maintain their own vehicles as a condition of employment breaches the Wages Protection Act.
The unions are calling on the Government to urgently release the stalled 2026 review and deliver a realistic mileage rate that reflects actual vehicle running and fuel costs.
Rally event
Home support workers in the Wellington region will be rallying in Petone on Friday to call on the government to deliver a realistic mileage rate.
Date: Friday 6 November
Time: 1:00pm – 1:30pm
Location: Heretaunga Boating Club, 138 The Esplanade, Petone
Notes
Travel costs for home support workers are governed by the In Between Travel Settlement Act, introduced under a National-led Government in 2015. There has only been three increases to the mileage rate in a decade. The most recent was in early April 2026 but was only a temporary 12-month increase in the allowance from 63.5 cents to 82.5 cents per kilometre. IRD recommends $1.20 per km for the use of a private vehicle for business.
Related stories
– 7 October PSA letter to Hon Simeon Brown
– 2 April – Temporary mileage rate increase
– 31 March – Care workers’ unions take Health NZ to court over travel costs as petrol prices soar
