Fuel crisis widening mental health access gap
31 March 2026
Australia’s fuel crisis is widening existing gaps in access to psychological care in rural and remote communities, with a peak psychology body calling for an urgent review into National Disability Insurance Agency’s (NDIA) travel cuts*.
The Australian Association of Psychologists Inc (AAPi) says that with surging fuel prices and supply disruptions, patients are delaying or forgoing essential mental healthcare due to travel costs.
AAPi Executive Director Tegan Carrison said in rural and remote Australia, where accessing care often requires travelling hundreds of kilometres, rising fuel costs are not just a cost-of-living issue - they are stopping people from getting the care they need.
“At the same time, psychologists are facing reduced capacity to deliver outreach and in-home services due to the (NDIA) decision to reduce travel funding for therapy supports,” she said.
Ms Carrison said the combination of rising fuel costs and reduced travel funding is blocking access for both patient and provider.
“Just as it becomes more expensive for clients to travel to care, it is also becoming less viable for psychologists to travel to them.
“For many people in rural and remote communities, particularly NDIS participants, travel is not optional. It is essential.”
Ms Carrison said clinicians in regional Australia were already reporting increased cancellations and reduced service delivery, with concerns that this would lead to worsening mental health outcomes and avoidable deterioration.
AAPi Director and rural NSW psychologist, Daniela McCann, said the impact was evident in her own community.
“In rural towns, we don’t have the luxury of multiple nearby providers. If a psychologist can’t travel, the service often just doesn’t happen,” she said.
“The reality is that outreach work is already marginal in terms of viability. When you increase fuel costs and reduce travel funding at the same time, you effectively risk removing services from entire communities.”
AAPi Director and rural Victorian psychologist, Dr Naomi Malone, said the changes disproportionately affected those already facing the greatest barriers to care.
“We are talking about children needing early intervention, people with complex needs, and families who are already stretched,” she said.
“For many of my clients, there is no alternative. Telehealth is not always clinically appropriate, and there may be no other provider within a reasonable distance.”
Ms Carrison said the NDIA’s funding cuts for travel were out of step with reality.
“These cuts do not reflect the practicalities of delivering care across vast distances. They simply reduce access to care.”
Ms Carrison said the impacts are expected to be felt most acutely by people in rural and remote communities, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, children and families and people with complex or high-support needs.
“We are calling for a review and reversal of the reduction in travel funding for psychology supports and direct engagement with the psychology profession to understand service delivery impacts,” she said.
“Without urgent action, we risk widening the mental health gap at the time communities need support the most.”
*Background
From 1 July 2025, changes to NDIS Pricing Arrangements introduced significant limitations on the ability of psychologists to claim travel associated with delivering therapy supports. This includes capping the labour component of provider travel to no more than 50% of the applicable therapy price on a pro rata basis, alongside existing limits on travel time based on geographic classification.
At the same time, jurisdictional pricing differences were removed, resulting in reduced effective funding in several states and territories. These changes have had a direct impact on the viability of delivering outreach and in-home psychological services, particularly in rural and remote areas.
AAPi has consistently raised concerns that these settings would:
- Reduce service availability in rural and remote communities
- Disincentivise providers from delivering outreach services
- Increase inequities for participants with complex needs who cannot access clinic-based care
- Undermine work with children and families
About the Australian Association of Psychologists Inc (AAPi)
The AAPi is a not-for-profit peak body for all psychologists that aims to preserve the rich diversity of psychological practice in Australia. Formed in 2010 by a group of passionate grassroots psychologists, the AAPi’s primary goal is to address inequality in the profession and represent all psychologists and their clients equally to government and funding bodies. Its primary mission is to lobby for equitable access for the Australian public to professional psychological services such as Medicare Better Access Scheme and the National Disability Insurance Scheme.
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