Specialist child development non-profit Royal Far West is supporting aeromedical transport service Little Wings in its call for urgent, targeted funding support during the current fuel crisis.

Royal Far West partners with Little Wings through its Medical Wings program to deliver specialist outreach clinics directly into regional communities several times each year.

Little Wings also supports approximately 40 per cent of all families travelling to Royal Far West’s Centre for Country Kids in Manly, with three to five families relying on the service every week to access developmental assessments and therapy.

The ongoing aviation fuel crisis has created extraordinary and unsustainable pressure on Little Wings’ operating costs, and without urgent intervention, there is a real risk that flights may need to be reduced or suspended.

“The past few months have been really heartbreaking. We are doing the best we can with the resources we have, but we’ve cut our capacity and will have to reduce our services even further if the avgas continues to go up,” Clare Pearson, CEO of Little Wings, said.

“Little Wings eases the pressure on these families, and we become a part of their long-term journey. The fuel crisis is tearing that lifeline to shreds, leaving them without a backup, and we need swift support to keep our operations running,” she added.

Dr Briony Scott, CEO of Royal Far West, highlighted the consequences facing rural and remote families – who already face barriers to accessing specialist developmental health services – if Little Wings has to reduce or suspend services.

“[It] would have an immediate impact,” Dr Scott said.

“Delayed diagnoses, missed treatments, and reduced access to specialist services would widen existing inequities for children who already face significant challenges accessing care.”

In the 2024–25 financial year, Royal Far West supported 512 children, 302 parents and carers, 496 educators, 29 schools and five early learning centres across the Western and Far West NSW region, with clinicians spending 10 weeks delivering services directly in-community.

“Little Wings is a critical enabler of equitable healthcare access for country children,” Dr Scott said.

“Their service directly supports earlier diagnosis, continuity of care, and reduces the financial burden on families who are already doing everything they can to support their children.”

Anyone interested in donating to Little Wings can do so via the organisation’s website at www.littlewings.org.au/ways-to-donate.