Second-year nursing student Ngatini Torea is having to put petrol on payment plans.
Some nursing students are resorting to buy now, pay later to fill up their fuel tanks, a student leader says.
She says fuel price increases have also led some students to question finishing their degrees.
This comes as soaring fuel prices collide with the weeks of full‑time, unpaid work placements.
These are part of the Bachelor of Nursing and can be out of town for students.
Toi Ohomai says it provides hardship support and encourages students whose studies are being affected to seek help.
According to Stats NZ, New Zealanders have been facing the steepest fuel price spike in more than a decade since the Middle East conflict began in February.
Prices for both petrol types increased in the 12 months to March 2026. Petrol was up 13.9%, and diesel was up 36.9%.
National student representative and second-year Toi Ohomai nursing student Ngatini Torea said her finances were stretched because her fuel bill had nearly doubled.
She recently paid $238, despite the tank not being empty. This is compared with $130 in the past.
“Even before we had the fuel crisis, students were already struggling to get to and from placements.”
She said she and other students had resorted to using buy now, pay later for petrol.
“It’s probably going to put us in a bit of a financial issue ... But it’s just whatever you can just scrape together.”
Torea said the strain had left many students questioning whether they can complete their degrees.
“But I just kind of hold on to hope that hopefully soon... that the Government is going to do some changes, even if it was just a bit of petrol vouchers.”
New Zealand Nurses Organisation National Student Union co-chair Poihaere Whare said these pressures felt unsustainable.
She was juggling part‑time work, and often had to choose between earning money and studying.
This was a trade‑off that took a toll on her mental well‑being.
Whare said some students had used public transport to try to cut costs.
However, she said, public transport was often unrealistic outside dense urban areas. Buses were infrequent and did not line up with placement hours.
She has heard of students turning to carpooling and couch‑surfing.
“I mean, at the end of the day, we all want to graduate and become, you know, nurses in the field, but we also have to feed our children and pay our bills and the power.”
A Toi Ohomai nursing student who did not want to be named is waiting to learn where she will be for her next placement.
She hoped to be based only about 30 minutes from home.
However, she expected she might end up at Tauranga Hospital. This would mean more than double the distance.
“I’ve noticed the difference travelling to Tauranga. I used to even go there to study in my own time at the library, but I can’t do that anymore.”
She and her husband are already stretched financially.
He took on a second job so she could study, while she also continued working.
She said she was determined to finish, but was worried about how much more strain she could absorb.
A Tauranga nursing student, who also asked to remain anonymous, said the fuel price surge had pushed her to the brink.
She recently had just $20 to last four days of her unpaid, full‑time placement.
She said she had had to cut back on food and had struggled to pay essential bills.
Her work placement had been at Tauranga Hospital.
However, she would have had to find temporary accommodation away from her children had it not been. This would have added further financial and emotional strain.
“You almost want to give up at some point, and it’s not one point, you know, there’s multiple points that you just feel absolutely broken.”
She said she was worried about how she would complete her degree while keeping her family afloat.
Toi Ohomai’s executive director of ākonga (student) success, Koren Hopoi, said the institute could work one-on-one with students to connect them with help.
The organisation, acknowledging the recent increases in fuel prices, is offering short-term petrol vouchers on a case-by-case basis.
Fifty-seven students have already received them this year, among them one nursing student.
Hopoi said students were encouraged to stay with friends of whānau if their placement was outside their region.
The placements team worked to secure clinical placements close to home, taking into consideration students’ work and family commitments, she said.
Zoe Blake is a multimedia journalist at the Bay of Plenty Times and Rotorua Daily Post.