Disabled people left reeling after shock restructure of Whaikaha - Ministry of Disabled People

Media release
15 August 2024

CCS Disability Action – New Zealand’s largest pan-disability support agency – is deeply concerned about news of a Whaikaha - Ministry of Disabled People restructure.

Today Minister Upston announced that Disability Support Services will be moved from Whaikaha - Ministry of Disabled People to the Ministry of Social Development in October this year. The news follows earlier upheaval for the sector, with abrupt changes to eligibility for flexible disability support and respite funding announced in March this year.

“Disability Support Services was held by the Ministry of Social Development decades ago, so this is a huge step backwards. I’m absolutely gutted. This goes against everything that we – as disabled people – have been fighting for, for so many years,” says Richard Buchanan, General Manager for CCS Disability Action’s Southern region.

The shock move raises several major concerns. Chiefly the lack of consultation with the disability support sector and the disabled community during the Heather Simpson-led Health and Disability review.

Debbie Ward, CCS Disability Action’s Disability Leadership Coordinator is disappointed, but not surprised that disabled voices were sidelined.

“Ironically, a major criticism of the March announcement – news that sparked the sector review – was the lack of communication with disabled people and their families. Where was the consultation for this latest review? Once again, we see major decisions made about the lives of disabled people, with no effort to engage with us,” she says.

Disabled people and their families are feeling upset and anxious by today’s announcement and the speed at which the changes will be implemented. “This comes off the back of the introductions of the traffic light system for social welfare and potential sanctions. There is no clarity from the Ministry of Social Development on how these will impact disabled people. We also know that securing existing disability support entitlements through Work and Income New Zealand is so hard, many people give up. It does not give us the reassurance we hoped for after the turmoil of this year,” explains Debbie.

Of particular concern is the sidelining of the new model of disability support, called Enabling Good Lives. Enabling Good Lives promised greater flexibility and control over allocated funding.

Today’s announcement halts the work of decades of consultation, co-design and development into Enabling Good Lives.

“Just like non-disabled people, our lives do not fit into neat boxes and Enabling Good Lives promised to change that. To read the comment that Enabling Good Lives has been put on hold ‘to make sure access to support is fair and based on need, not location’ is frankly, insulting. So many disabled people must fight for adequate funding now and many more miss out – to imply that Enabling Good Lives is somehow extravagant is reminiscent of suggestions earlier this year that respite funding was being wasted on ‘haircuts and pedicures’. I urge Minister Upston to talk to disabled people and their families to better understand the positive difference a flexible funding model can have,” says Debbie Ward.

CCS Disability Action has been lobbying for increased funding for disability support provision for decades.

“It is interesting that this situation is viewed with a lens of an overspend as opposed to chronic underinvestment. I think what we are seeing is a Government with little to no interest in prioritising human need and worth over ‘return on investment’ politics. This announcement appears to see disabled people as a burden. We think, with adequate support, disabled people have much to contribute to today’s society and urge the Minister to reframe her thinking,” says Richard Buchanan.

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For further information contact:

Lucy Green
National Manager Marketing Communications & Fundraising
CCS Disability Action
Phone: 027 434 9256
Email: Lucy.Green@ccsDisabilityAction.org.nz

CCS Disability Action background information

CCS Disability Action is the largest disability support and advocacy organisation in Aotearoa New Zealand.

We support people with all types of impairments and have been working alongside disabled people since 1935. We are at the forefront of service provision, advocacy and information sharing in the disability sector. We partner with disabled people, their families and whānau to remove barriers at an individual, community and national level. Our vision is to see every disabled person and whānau hauā interwoven into the lives of their whānau and community.

We provide direct support to around 5,000 children, young people, and adults through our 18 branches, which operate from Northland to Invercargill. Our support focuses on breaking down barriers.

CCS Disability Action is a leading advocate for inclusive education in New Zealand, working to ensure that disabled students have equal access to learning opportunities in their local education setting.

We also run New Zealand’s nationwide Mobility Parking Permit scheme. This scheme currently supports more than 160,000 people to access their communities and facilities more easily. Our subsidiaries, Lifemark and BarrierFree, advocate for and provides universal design consultancy to improve the accessibility of New Zealand’s housing and built environments.

We receive a mixture of government and charitable funding.