Terms of Reference for Appointing Organisations

1. The Office for Disability Issues (the Office) has asked some disability sector organisations to appoint one or more members of the Disability Advisory Council (the Council). These organisations are known as appointing organisations.

2. We want the Council members to tell us about how to best implement the New Zealand Disability Strategy. We also want Council members to tell us about what is important for disabled people and their families.

3. By asking appointing organisations to choose Council members, the Office believes that we will get the best people for the job. This process also shows partnership with the disability sector.

4. There is a separate document called Disability Advisory Council - Terms of Reference that talks about what the Council does.

Criteria for appointing organisations

5. The Office will choose organisations that are disability consumer organisations and/or represent disabled people and their families.

6. Organisations that will not be chosen as an appointing organisation are those that mainly provide services, or that fund services, or that are professional membership based organisations.

Responsibilities of appointing organisations

7. Appointing organisations are responsible for choosing who will be members of the Council.

8. When thinking about who should be a Council member, appointing organisations should think about the diversity of the disabled community. The differences among disabled people should be reflected in the Council members. This means thinking about where the members live, their age, and cultural identity (like including Maori or Pacific people).

9. There is a separate document called Member Position Description. This document describes the type of person the Office wants as a Council member. It also says the type of things that Council members should be doing.

10. Appointing organisations need to make sure that the member they appoint is doing a good job on the Council. They need to check that members go to every Council meeting and actively participate.

11. If a Council member is not doing a good job, then the appointing organisation needs to think if they should ask someone else to be the Council member instead. In the first place, the appointing organisation should talk with the Council member to see if there is anything that can be done to help them do the job better.

12. If a Council member says that they are not able to continue to do their job, for whatever reason, then the appointing organisation needs to choose another person.

13. Council members do their job for three years.

14. The same person cannot be chosen again as a Council member right away. Someone else needs to do the job first before that same person can be chosen.

Selection as an appointing organisation

15. At the time when a Council member's term ends, the Office will review the appointing organisation to see if it is still the best choice, or whether another organisation should be chosen.

16. The Office will talk with the current appointing organisation to see if they still wish to be an appointing organisation.

Authorised

17. This Terms of Reference for Appointing Organisations comes into effect on 1 December 2008, and replaces the previous Terms of Reference for Appointing Organisations.

18. Council members that were appointed under the previous Terms of Reference will only have their time on the Council extended (from two years to three years) if the member and their appointing organisation both agree.

Jan Scown
Director
Office for Disability Issues

26 November 2008