Currently, ACC reimburses the travel costs of home care workers who have to travel more than 20km to provide support for an injured person in his or her home.    However, they now propose to make the home care worker cover the cost of the first 20km of travel, however far they have to go to get to the home of the person they are caring for.

According to Richard Wagstaff, General Secretary of the PSA, home care workers are paid as little as $14.14 an hour.  They are also paid only half their hourly rate for driving time. The changes in travel reimbursement could cost them up to 19% of their income.  That means they could end up on an effective wage of as little as $11.45 an hour – that’s over $1 an hour less than the current minimum wage – after their travel costs are taken into account.

And it is not just the caregivers who will suffer.  Injured people who live in isolated areas are likely to find it increasingly difficult to find any caregiver prepared to travel to their home to provide the home help or attendant care they need.

But do ACC care?  Seems not.