• Namoi Care Connect

    Namoi Care Connect provides friendly, personal and caring transport for members of the local community who are transport disadvantaged. Including on demand transport, fortnightly bus services between Wee Waa and Tamworth and Gwabegar and Narrabri, and other community and health related transport services.

    Check out the NCC website for information 

  • IPTAAS

    IPTAAS (Isolated Patients Travel and Accommodation Assistance Scheme) is a NSW government program which provides financial assistance towards your travel and accommodation costs when you need to travel long distances for specialised health treatment that is not available locally.

    Click here for more information on IPTAAS 

The challenge of travel in rural NSW

We heard from the Wee Waa community that the need to travel to access health services can be a major barrier.

Travel and transport often become major barriers to accessing health services in rural areas like Wee Waa because distance, cost, and limited infrastructure stack up in ways that make even basic care hard to reach.

Rural residents may need to travel long stretches to access basic health services, meaning more time off work and additional costs like fuel and accommodation. For those without private transport, it can be impossible to rely on public transport, which may not be available at all, or may run infrequently and inconsistently. This can make it difficult to coordinate appointments or result in a much bigger time commitment to attend appointments. Our survey revealed that many Wee Waa residents rely on friends or family to drive them to appointments, and many reported missing appointments or going without medical care as a result of travel barriers.