Excluding thousands of Disability Support workers using their own cars to travel between homes and within the community to provide essential disability support services from the Government’s fuel relief package is unfair and must be addressed immediately, says the New Zealand Disability Support Network.
NZDSN Chief Executive Debbie Hughes says the cost of fuel pressure is the same no matter what’s in your contract.
“To claim the current 30% increase, support workers must be employed by Home and Community Support services that have in-between travel set out in their contracts. Support workers employed by other disability support service providers who are using their vehicles to provide the same types of support are being left to pick up the costs themselves,” said Debbie Hughes.
“It’s our understanding that most disability support workers are employed by providers who don’t have in-between travel included in their contracts. With fuel costs going up and funding staying the same, the system has immediately become inequitable, as some support workers receive much-needed cost relief while others miss out.”
NZDSN says many disability support services rely on workers travelling throughout the community to deliver essential disability support services and are now absorbing rising costs themselves.
This includes DSS funded Supported Independent Living services, and the Ministry of Social Development’s employment and vocational programmes, that rely on support workers travelling throughout the community to support disabled people in their homes and into work and participation. Many other services also provide essential itinerant community-based services to disabled people.
“If providers and support workers can’t absorb these costs, services will come under pressure and be forced to make cutbacks on the support they can provide. Ultimately, it’s disabled people and their whānau who’ll feel the impact.”
NZDSN is calling on the Government to urgently apply the same 30% increase to all disability support services where workers must travel between the people they support and, in the community, using their own vehicles to deliver essential supports.
“This is about fairness, consistency and making sure this essential relief gets to where it needs to. The government must act now before the fuel crisis gets worse.”