A driver’s licence changed his life. Now the charity that made it possible could be forced to close

Monday, 20 July 2026

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Wellington youth charity Youth Inspire warns its Hutt Valley driving school could close in September after losing over $600,000 in public funding.

Youth Inspire has helped more than 1500 people gain driving licences but now has only two months of operating funds remaining.

The charity's funding application to NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi Community Road Safety Fund was declined in May this year.

Wellington youth employment charity, Youth Inspire, says its Hutt Valley driving school could shut at the end of September, after missing out on more than $600,000 in public sector funding it had previously relied on to operate.

The charity says closing the driving school would make it harder for young people in the region to find work and increase the risk of long-term benefit dependence.

Former Youth Inspire student Leevi Dougherty knows first-hand how a lack of reliable transport can stand between a young person and a job. When he was 18 and trying to find steady work, the same question kept coming up.

“The most reoccurring fundamental question was, ‘Do you have reliable transport?’ And basically, not having a full driver’s licence was… an immediate no,” Dougherty told Stuff.

He said he moved on and off Jobseeker Support for about three years while picking up casual work that often did not fit around bus timetables. Construction and traffic-control sites could shift from Porirua one week to Masterton the next, making work impractical without a licence.

Dougherty said he was referred to Youth Inspire through Work and Income in 2021, and the charity helped him gain his restricted and full licences through free professional lessons using its own vehicle.

With little parental support to fall back on, Dougherty said it was a “huge relief” not to have to pay while his employment and income were unpredictable.

“I just had to turn up and do what I was meant to do,” he said.

He said Youth Inspire provided some of the guidance he had lacked growing up, while its instructors taught him “little mindsets and perspectives” about driving that had stayed with him.

“It’s more the tutors, really - the instructors - that really make it better than what it is.”

When Dougherty gained his full licence in 2025, he said it felt as though he could “do anything”. Now 23, he works in construction, has travelled to jobs in Masterton, Mana Island and Wellington, and is looking for a carpentry apprenticeship after completing a Level 2 course earlier this year.

“Luckily I have a full driver’s licence, because I would not be able to get to any of those jobs, nor would I be recommended for any of those jobs,” he said.

Dougherty is one of more than 1500 people Youth Inspire says it has helped gain a licence.

But Chief executive Zainab Ali said Youth Inspire had enough money to keep the driving school operating for about two more months.

“At the moment we have enough funding to run to the end of September… and It is terrifying,” Ali said.

The service had received funding through the NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi Community Road Safety Fund, but its application was declined in May. Ali said the charity had since raised about $4000, was drawing on its reserves and had launched a crowd-funding campaign, while more than 150 rangatahi remained on its waiting list.

The charity was seeking $100 donations through its pay-it-forward campaign, which it says would cover a licence test for one young person.

The school provides free support for learner, restricted and full licences, including theory tuition, professional lessons, vehicle use and test fees. Ali said it was established because not having a licence was one of the biggest barriers preventing young people from finding work.

She said closing the school would make it harder to intervene before young people became long-term unemployed or dependent on welfare.

“If we shut down, we still need the rangatahi to get a licence so that they can engage in the workforce,” she said. “The problem doesn’t go away. If anything, we just make it harder for them.”

Ali said she knew of several organisations in the Hutt Valley that had previously offered driving support who were no longer doing so.

Her warning comes as 13.6% of people aged 15 to 24 were not in employment, education or training in the year to March 2026, rising to 17.1% among those aged 20 to 24. While Wellington’s unemployment rate reached 6.3% climbing to its highest level since 2015.

In a statement, an NZTA/Waka Kotahi spokesperson said the Community Road Safety Fund was refreshed in 2025 with new eligibility requirements and assessment criteria, and all applications were assessed consistently. As a contestable fund, previous funding did not guarantee future success.

The agency had $17 million available but received 138 applications seeking more than $90m. Funding was awarded to 21 applicants for 22 initiatives, and there was, “no remaining funding to allocate”.

The spokesperson said the decisions reflected funding constraints and comparative assessment outcomes, rather than a judgement on the value of the programmes. Another funding round was planned for later this year, and Youth Inspire had been given feedback on its previous application, the spokesperson said.

Gagau Annandale-Stone, Ministry of Social Development regional commissioner for the Wellington region, said driver licence support was available to clients, who did not necessarily need to be receiving a benefit. She said the support could include lessons and test fees, and the Ministry funded seven Hutt Valley providers with 810 places available.

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