Help getting around - A Guide for Carers

Total Mobility scheme

This scheme enables people with long-term impairments and difficulty using transport to access transport. It works as a subsidised taxi service providing door-to-door transport in areas where providers operate. The scheme subsidises taxi fares by 50 percent up to a maximum fare. The scheme has no minimum fare threshold.

Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency looks after the scheme’s operational administration, working with regional councils to administer and fund the scheme. If you are eligible you will be issued with an electronic card or a book of vouchers from your regional council.

Who can get Total Mobility Scheme help?

The scheme is available to people with a permanent, temporary or fluctuating disability that prevents them from travelling on public transport or getting to or from where the public transport starts or ends.

To find out more

read the Total Mobility around New Zealand brochure on the New Zealand Transport Agency, or
contact your regional council.

National Travel Assistance Scheme for Health and Disability Services

The National Travel Assistance (NTA) Scheme provides financial support to some people who need to travel frequently or long distances for specialist health or disability treatment.

To get this service, you need to be referred by a specialist (not your doctor) to see another specialist or to receive specialist services. Both the specialists must be part of a service funded by government.

For example, a specialist cancer centre, a NASC organisation, or a child development centre.

Some of the costs covered by the scheme include travel, accommodation and support personal costs.

Who can get help from the NTA

Getting this service depends on how far and how often you need to travel, and whether you hold a Community Service Card.

You may not be able to get help from this scheme if you already get, or could get, help with travel costs from somewhere else – for example, ACC, Work and Income, the Ministry of Education.

To find out more

talk to your local DHB’s travel co-ordinator, outpatient clinic, ward administrator, a hospital social worker or your specialist, or
visit the Travel assistance page on the Ministry of Health, or
call 0800 281 222, or
email travel@health.govt.nz

Mobility Parking Permit Scheme

The Mobility Parking Permit Scheme supports people with mobility impairments to travel more freely within their communities. As a mobility parking permit holder, you can park in designated mobility parking spaces. These are wider than standard parking spaces and are located closer to services and facilities. The permit also allows the permit holder to park in some regular parking spaces for longer than the designated time. This varies depending on where in New Zealand the permit holder lives.

The permit is registered to an individual and can only be used when the permit holder is using the vehicle. There is a fee charged for a permit and to renew an existing permit.

There are clear criteria on who is eligible for a permit and permit holder’s responsibilities. This ensures that mobility parking spaces are available for people who really need them. The scheme is open to people of all ages but having a medical condition or disability does not automatically entitle someone to a mobility parking permit.

Who is eligible for a permit

The person you care for may be eligible for a permit if:

they are unable to walk and always require the use of a wheelchair, or
their ability to walk distances is severely restricted by a medical condition or disability. If, for example, they require the use of mobility aids, experience severe pain or breathlessness, or
they have a medical condition or disability that requires them to have physical contact or close supervision to safely get around and they cannot be left unattended. For example, if they experience disorientation, confusion, or severe anxiety.

A doctor needs to confirm eligibility unless you are renewing a long-term permit.