Support Workers Challenge Government Over Fuel Crisis Mileage Rates

Home and community support workers are calling on the government to send ministers out on the road for a day, after announcing what they describe as an inadequate response to the fuel crisis battering their sector.

The government recently increased mileage reimbursement rates for home and community support workers by 30 percent, raising the rate from 63.5 cents to 82 cents per kilometre. The increase has been welcomed by some as a step in the right direction, but workers and advocates say it still falls well short of what is needed — and the conditions attached to it raise further concerns.

The rise is temporary. It will remain in place for one year, or until petrol prices drop below three dollars per litre for four consecutive weeks. With pump prices pushing toward four dollars per litre in many parts of the country, there is no certainty about when or whether that threshold will be reached.

Helen, a support worker from Waikanae with 18 years of experience in the sector, tracked a typical working day and found the numbers to be sobering. She drove 45 kilometres, visited six or more clients, and received $37 in mileage reimbursement — roughly $15 below what the Inland Revenue Department recommends as a fair rate for vehicle costs. There was no time allocated for a meal break.

“Our cars don’t run on feel-good feelings,” Helen said of the government’s announcement.

She described the pay rise as inadequate and called out the political framing of it. “It’s almost like a joke,” she said, before issuing a direct challenge to those responsible. “I challenge anyone to come out and spend the day with me — see what we do for a day.”

The mileage rate increase still sits below IRD-recommended levels, which have themselves struggled to keep pace with the rapid rise in fuel costs since global oil supply was disrupted. For workers who rely on private vehicles to travel between clients — often in rural or semi-rural areas where public transport is not a viable option — the shortfall represents a genuine financial hit absorbed directly from take-home pay.

The sector was already under strain before the fuel crisis took hold. Support workers were among those affected when pay equity progress stalled, with many still earning wages that advocates describe as inadequate for the skilled, physically demanding work involved. Staff shortages have become severe in some regions, with providers struggling to maintain service coverage as workers leave for better-paid roles in other sectors.

The combination of stagnant wages, high vehicle operating costs, and lost pay equity gains has left many workers questioning whether the job remains financially viable. Helen’s account of a typical day — six clients, limited reimbursement, no breaks — is not unusual in the sector, and workers say the government’s response has done little to address the underlying pressures.

The government has framed the mileage increase as a practical, targeted measure designed to address a specific problem created by the fuel price spike. Ministers have noted that the 30 percent rise is significant and that the temporary nature of the measure reflects the expectation that prices will eventually stabilise. Critics, however, say the approach treats a structural problem in home and community care funding as though it were a short-term inconvenience.

Home and community support services are a critical part of New Zealand’s health and social care system. Workers in this sector help older people and those with disabilities to remain in their own homes, reducing pressure on residential care facilities and hospitals. The work requires both care skills and consistent transport access, making fuel costs an unavoidable operational reality.

Providers say they are caught in the middle — unable to absorb the gap between what the government reimburses and what it actually costs workers to operate their vehicles, and unable to attract and retain staff when net pay after vehicle costs is so low. Some providers in regions with high rural caseloads have warned that they may struggle to maintain services if the situation does not improve.

The challenge from workers like Helen points to a broader question that the government has yet to fully answer — whether New Zealand’s home and community care system is funded at a level that reflects the true cost of delivering it, or whether it has long relied on workers effectively subsidising services through out-of-pocket expenses and unpaid time.

The mileage rate increase buys some time, but the conditions attached suggest it is not intended as a permanent fixture. If petrol prices fall below three dollars per litre, the rate will revert. If they do not, the one-year clock continues to tick.

For Helen and thousands of workers like her, the answer they are looking for is not a temporary rate adjustment tied to pump prices. It is a funding model that reflects the actual cost of the work they do — and leaders willing to come out and see it for themselves.

You can read the original RNZ report here.

What do you think about the government’s handling of the fuel crisis for essential workers? Share your thoughts in the comments below.