{"id":38385,"date":"2026-04-14T15:29:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-14T05:29:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/?p=38385"},"modified":"2026-04-14T15:29:00","modified_gmt":"2026-04-14T05:29:00","slug":"nsw-act-ndis-workers-struggling-to-afford-driving-costs-support-calls-for-higher-fuel-allowance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/2026\/04\/14\/nsw-act-ndis-workers-struggling-to-afford-driving-costs-support-calls-for-higher-fuel-allowance\/","title":{"rendered":"NSW\/ACT NDIS workers struggling to afford driving costs support calls for higher fuel allowance"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>NDIS workers in NSW and the ACT are still struggling to afford fuel to drive clients to essential appointments, the Australian Services Union NSW &amp; ACT has warned as it backs calls for a higher car expenses allowance.<br>The ASU NSW &amp; ACT &#8211; the union for NDIS workers &#8211; is supporting the ACTU&#8217;s application to the Fair Work Commission to increase the amount community and disability sector workers can claim for transport and fuel expenses when driving their own car for work.&nbsp;<br>ASU NSW &amp; ACT Secretary Angus McFarland said the government\u2019s initial fuel excise cut was welcome, but not enough to shield disability workers from pain at the pump.<br>\u201cWe support the ACTU\u2019s call for a higher allowance that better protects essential workers, including disability support workers, from high fuel costs,\u201d Mr McFarland said.<br>\u201cOur union has been inundated with calls from NDIS workers across NSW and the ACT who can&#8217;t afford fuel to support people with disabilities. Hundreds of disability support workers have told us that the cost of fuel is affecting their work, their wellbeing, and their lives outside their job.<br>&nbsp;<br>\u201cThe higher that fuel prices are, the more money disability support workers lose simply for doing their job of driving people with disability to the care and support they depend on.&nbsp;<br>\u201cNDIS workers often use their own cars to drive people with disabilities to medical appointments and other important services. With sky-high fuel prices,&nbsp;NDIS travel reimbursements are falling short, leaving workers out of pocket.<br>\u201cDuring the COVID\u201119 pandemic, the government stepped in with urgent support to keep disability services running. We need that same urgency now. NDIS workers need a transport allowance that covers high fuel costs so they can keep driving and supporting their clients.\u201d<br>&nbsp;<br>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>NDIS workers in NSW and the ACT are still struggling to afford fuel to drive clients to essential appointments, the Australian Services Union NSW &amp; ACT has warned as it backs calls for a higher car expenses allowance.The ASU NSW &amp; ACT &#8211; the union for NDIS workers &#8211; is supporting the ACTU&#8217;s application to &hellip; <a href=\"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/2026\/04\/14\/nsw-act-ndis-workers-struggling-to-afford-driving-costs-support-calls-for-higher-fuel-allowance\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;NSW\/ACT NDIS workers struggling to afford driving costs support calls for higher fuel allowance&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-38385","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-aussie"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38385","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38385"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38385\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":38386,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38385\/revisions\/38386"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38385"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38385"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38385"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}