Home and Community Health Association

13/04/2026

Lisa Foster (HCHA) reflects on four inspiring days at the Rural WONCA 26 Conference in Wellington. The conference delivered rich insights, meaningful connections and valuable kōrero, to inspire a future that can hold home and community health as a key enabler at the heart of healthcare.
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"Four days at RuralWONCA26 and I'm still energised by the conversations. Having time with Theadora Swift Koller from the World Health Organization and meeting amazing advocates genuinely focused on solutions made this event really special!

It was great to meet the political panel who spoke passionately about the rural sector and shared their policies and plans. Matt Doocey MPs key message stayed with me: the system should fit around whānau, not the other way around. He talked about moving decision-making closer to the frontline, trusting the people who understand communities best to act in their interests, and getting care closer to home.

Integrated care done this way is preventative and better for everyone, and this is enabled with sustainable funding. The recent fuel crisis and dramatic weather events highlight this better than ever - and the recent 30% increase for community health workers was so essential!

What struck me most was the clarity this conference offered on what rural care needs. Experts shared innovation and success on the real issues: equity, geographic isolation, psychosocial and wellbeing support, population growth impacts, increased complexity. These aren't just obstacles to work around, they're realities to design for, and the answers are already in the room.
To achieve this we need fair and transparent funding models for the community health sectors- on that reflects rural complexity; one that is cohesive and connected like our communities. Plus a workforce model built with rural sustainability in mind, including Community Health Workers and kaiāwhina. Aligned with recognition of rural generalism as a distinct pathway. Then match care to community need and have the ability and resources to be able to strengthen what's delivered locally. That's prevention in action.

It all comes back to one principle: listen to the experts- look at the whole ecosystem including the communities, the wider health workers(all of them), NGOs, social networks and whanau, and the outcomes will follow.

Then we can make it easy for people to get the care they need, when they need it, and as close to home as possible.
Mark Patterson MP Simeon Brown MP Dan Rosewarne MPHuhana Melanie LyndonDr Ayesha Verrall Todd Stephenson MP Qiulae Wong

13/04/2026

21st WONCA rural conference. A fantastic space with a sense of practical, cohesive solutions for rural health.

Putting whanau at the centre, linking up all the support systems in a constructive way to allow for resilient communities ready for what life or the environment may throw at them. That includes our community health teams (kaiawhina)!

Now to make it happen, to get politicians and policy analysts on the same page and get a plan! Funding communities to stay healthy and connected with courage to reduce the financial gravitational neverending pull of hospital centric policies.
Fantastic possibilities and potentials with the right people in the room, the right will and intentions. The Opportunity Party Matt Doocey MP Mark Patterson MP Huhana Melanie Lyndon Dan Rosewarne MP Todd Stephenson MP

09/04/2026

A word from HCHA CEO Lisa Foster on day one of the WONCA 26 Conference.

"The value of rural proofing policy, bringing in key stakeholders from the beginning and considering context are all valuable learnings so far at the Rural WONCA 26 conference.
How the community health professionals and wider workforce can be part of this as an essential workforce is my intention to highlight"

So important to have these connected conversations so HCSS can be included and seen as a vital part of the health ecosystem

Earlybird registration for Rural WONCA 2026 has now closed, and we are delighted by the strong response from across the global rural health community. With the programme live and registrations continuing, this is the perfect time to finalise your plans and start shaping your conference experience in...

07/04/2026

03/04/2026

The right move: - Great to highlight with Newstalk ZB the 30% increase was appreciated and that a sustainable fuel solution and mechanism is so needed for our Home and Community Support workers.

Home care workers are getting the help to pay for fuel they've been asking for.

02/04/2026

Great to have this positive outcome before Easter.

We will hold an urgent update meeting today at 3:00 for our members!

Thank you Hon Nicola Willis MP, Minister Simeon Brown for this swift and meaningful action. A 30% increase in mileage rates for Home and Community Support Workers - effective today, just before Easter - is fantastic news for our sector and for the people who depend on these essential services! As th...

01/04/2026

Flexible funding changes started today and please see this link by Carers NZ with links to more information

Today marks day one of the return to flexible use of funding in disability. Please click to the DSS webpage to absorb the detail and what is and isn’t possible now to use disability funding. We’ll keep sharing updates as these come through. https://www.disabilitysupport.govt.nz/disabled-people/improvements-to-disability-support-services/flexible-funding

31/03/2026

Apologies for the longer post but this is such an important topic.

It is great to see Hon Nicola Willis MP and Hon Simeon Brown MP respond with urgency to the fuel cost crisis facing our kaiāwhina (care and support workers). This crisis has also highlighted something deeper: the structural underfunding of home and community care. Having to push for every penny and manage on thin margins that do not allow for any flex or buffer.

For four years, In Between Travel rates have been frozen.
With original settlement rates increased by only 27% vs IRD rates have gone up 62.5% in 10 years.
The standard travel distance; used as an average expectation for a visit back in 2016, has been based on:
Travel distance - 3.7 kilometers
Travel time - 8 minutes 30 seconds (includes walking time!) and not changed

Providers have flagged the increasing complex reality: managing staff rosters to try to match peoples choices (with most people wanting care at the same time slot - for example, morning is typically 7–9am cluster); trying to honour client choice with consistent workers; navigating the weather, illness, annual leave and the basic geography of a mobile workforce.

Obviously we need the fuel fix now. But this moment demands a bigger question: How do we fund home and community care so it's genuinely sustainable? So providers can offer flexibility with stable, quality work and consistent care? So our support workers, kaiāwhina, are truly supported, remunerated and feel valued by our leaders. And so providers can innovate and be prepared for managing impacts?

The truth is simple: staying healthy at home costs less and delivers better outcomes than waiting for acute crisis care. It stops the deluge and overload on Hospitals and yet we keep building a system driven by emergency rather than prevention. Others before me have explained this is a false economy but it persists.

Home and community care is the vital heartbeat of health, the steady unseen element that focuses on maintaining wellness for people with disabilities, supporting older people to remain at home and those facing injuries. It includes carers and those managing individual funding and deserves a holistic, interconnected view that reflects the reality of costs across systemic boundaries, not just patch fixes when crisis hits.

Thank you to the Ministers for stepping in urgently. Let's use this moment to reset and collaborate across the system and silos.
Casey Costello MP, Louise Upston MP, Scott Simpson MP Mark Patterson MP, Matt Doocey MP

Health Minister Simeon Brown says relief could be offered by boosting the existing mileage allowance which workers receive.

30/03/2026

Concerning redirection from Te Whatu Ora, how bad do things have to get to get authentic and respectful partnership rather than what appears to be blame?

As you are probably aware the fuel crisis is hitting home care workers and the vulnerable whānau they support in ways that are hard to overstate. And it's being too easily redirected away from government onto providers.

Surely the cost of fuel, especially during a fuel crisis, sits with the funder? Or are we missing something? Health New Zealand seems to be saying providers should wait until the next contract uplift to address it. Surely not.

Yet Health New Zealand's Martin Hefford told RNZ that care workers aren't HNZ employees. They're employed by contracted providers. So the burden of fuel costs falls to the providers, not the funder.

This is deeply concerning given the ongoing warnings of service impact. We hope we don't need a tragedy to make this clear that it matters. It is our whanau and people in our communities affected here, it could be your Mum or Dad, we need action not sidelining.

Hefford said HNZ's current funding arrangements already recognised cost pressures faced by providers and their workforces, including fuel costs.
"Health New Zealand is currently considering funding settings for 2026/27, including the impact of rising fuel prices on third party providers."

The Union has now filed legal action under the Wages Protection Act. Please read the Stuff and RNZ reporting, and share your thoughts in the comments.

Simeon Brown MP, Casey Costello MP, Louise Upston MP, Nicola Willis MP, Mark Patterson MP, Scott Simpson MP, Dr Ayesha Verrall, Marama Davidson MP, Christopher Luxon, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer, MP,

Carers in remote areas say the price of petrol is so high they are losing money visiting their more remote clients.

29/03/2026

When support workers can't afford their fuel, vulnerable New Zealanders and their whanau pay the price.

Home and Community Health Association is calling on Nicola Willis MP to recognise and value the essential work that care and support workers and community health professionals do each day; work that strengthens our hospitals and primary care centres. Our open letter demands action.

Make no mistake this is a 'funding' issue with real, immediate health system consequences. That means it sits with our Finance Minister to respond to yet impacts Hon Simeon Brown, Hon Scott Simpson and Hon Louise Upston.

It hits our most vulnerable first: rural whānau, isolated elderly, people with disabilities. But the cost ripples outward to all of us; preventable hospital admissions, overwhelmed primary care, a collapsing workforce. We can avoid this outcome. We must act today.

✓ Fuel cost impacts increasing
✓ Travel reimbursement frozen since 2022
✓ Rural whānau losing access to care

As a society, we can't afford to ignore this. Sensible funding that protects home care is protecting our entire acute and urgent care system. That's not sentiment - it's plain economics!

Home care offers a stable foundation for health and wellbeing. Let's fund it accordingly. 💚

When support workers can't afford their fuel, vulnerable New Zealanders and their whanau pay the price.

24/03/2026

As detailed in yesterdays press release, New Zealand's health targets are ambitious and welcome. The government is clearly committed to delivering better outcomes for our communities, and we want to help our health Minister Hon Simeon Brown MP

Our home and community care sector stands ready. In the Home and Community Support Sector, we employ approx 26,000 healthcare professionals and support workers including family carers, embedded in communities across the country. We're in people's homes, building relationships, preventing crises. We can contribute meaningfully to these targets. We can liaise and deliver care to reduce pressure on GPs, and link to the amazing community groups and organisations that are the fabric of support for many.

But right now, fuel costs are creating an unexpected barrier.

Support workers are facing real financial pressure. And it's forcing difficult choices: Many workers are understandably feeling the pressure and refusing to visit rural and remote clients. The impacts are real and NOW.

Our most vulnerable are losing out because of this. This is a dangerous situation and one that deserves urgent attention.

We're not looking for a handout. We're looking for vital support to help keep the health system flowing by doing the essential work we do. Funding travel costs for our workforce isn't an add-on to health targets, it's fundamental to achieving them

Clear improvements are being delivered across all five Government health targets, with the quarterly results for October to December 2025 showing year‑on‑year gains and more Kiwis accessing care sooner.

19/03/2026

Delivering Home Based care depends on travel and our Kaiawhina (care and support workers) need support during this fuel crisis 🚗💙

Rising fuel costs are hitting our kaiawhina hard. Many work early mornings and late evenings in regional areas where public transport doesn't exist they have no choice but to drive.

The real impact? Some workers are avoiding rural visits because they can't afford to fill up. That means vulnerable people lose access to essential services.

The Home and Community Health Association (HCHA) is calling on government for targeted relief not broad fuel subsidies, but smart support for those who need it most:

- Fuel subsidies/rebates
- Tax credits for documented fuel expenses
- Direct payments to employers to offer to staff

Creating efficiencies with smart rostering and planning is already being done and there is only so much money that can be saved with smart mapping out of visits. Funding is needed urgently and working together with government is the only answer for service sustainability and people's safety and wellbeing.

Kaiawhina keep our communities running. It's time travel is funded effectively. 🤝