Key disability-focused work

Twenty-two government agencies provided responses for this section. They were:

• Accident Compensation Corporation
• Child, Youth and Family
• Department of Building and Housing
• Department of Corrections
• Department of Labour
• Education Review Office
• Housing New Zealand Corporation
• Inland Revenue
• Ministry for Culture and Heritage
• Ministry of Education
• Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade
• Ministry of Health
• Ministry of Justice
• Ministry of Pacific Island Affairs
• Ministry of Social Development
• Ministry of Transport
• Ministry of Women’s Affairs
• National Library of New Zealand
• New Zealand Police
• Office of the Health and Disability Commissioner
• Sport and Recreation New Zealand
• State Services Commission

Agency highlights

Accident Compensation Corporation

• developing a set of communication resources to support people with serious injuries to make informed decisions about their lives
• developing a Serious Injury Reference Group, to assist ACC in the development of effective rehabilitation services and processes
• continuing a comprehensive review of ACC’s current rehabilitation model, designed to ensure that ACC rehabilitation services are people centred and meet their needs
• developing supported employment and living services for people with traumatic brain injury.

Child, Youth and Family

• developing an advocacy service for disabled children and young people who are involved with Child, Youth and Family
• developing a service for supporting disabled parents, in particular those with intellectual disability, who are in contact with Child, Youth and Family
• developing a joint project with Ministry of Health Disability Services Directorate, clarifying roles and responsibilities for clients who may be involved with either service
• clarifying services and responsibility for intellectually disabled youth faced with being charged with a criminal offence
• developing a joint programme with CCS for supporting parents with disabled children, with a focus on enabling the parents to retain the child
• improving availability of mental health services to children and young people involved with Child, Youth and Family
• developing services to support parents with mental health problems, who have children and young people involved with Child, Youth and Family.

Department of Building and Housing

• continuing the review of the Residential Tenancies Act 1986, ensuring that it takes account of issues facing disabled people
• continuing administration of the New Zealand Building Code, ensuring compliance with specific requirements relating to building access and facilities for disabled people
• reviewing the New Zealand Building Code, ensuring that it takes account of the issues facing the disability commun

Department of Corrections

• improving prison and security related accessibility, working with Standards New Zealand and the Department of Building and Housing.

Department of Labour

• leading the Enhancing Parents’ and Other Carers’ Choices inter-agency programme, which is aimed at involving people with caring responsibilities in meaningful work and home life
• working with the Ministries of Education and Social Development, and the Tertiary Education Commission, on youth transitions from school. The focus is on ensuring that young people, including disabled youth, are engaged in education, training, work or other options leading to economic independence
• consistent with Pathways to Inclusion, working towards achieving greater participation of disabled people in employment and in the community. This includes repeal of the Disabled Persons Employment Promotion (DPEP) Act 1960
• working to facilitate passage of the Employment Relations (Flexible Working Hours) Amendment Bill, which would introduce a duty on employers to seriously consider requests from eligible employees for flexible working arrangements – including those who have disabled children under the age of 19 years
• progressing the Return to Sustainable Earnings project, which is aimed at improving the sustainable return to work of injured people
• progressing the Cost of Injury project, which is aimed at identifying the cost of injury to society, businesses and to individuals.

Education Review Office (ERO)

• producing a ‘good practice report’ on the use of Ongoing Reviewable Resourcing Scheme (ORRS) funding in schools, aimed at guiding schools on how to more effectively use the funding
• considering ways that the ERO’s evaluation work can contribute to positive outcomes for disabled people.

Housing New Zealand Corporation

• progressing the New Zealand Housing Strategy, ensuring that it addresses unmet housing need among disabled people, and a reduction in the incidence of poor quality housing, particularly in relation to disabled Māori and Pacific peoples
• administering state rentals in a manner that contributes to the provision of affordable, suitable, and sustainable housing for disabled people
• delivering housing innovations for disabled customer groups
• working with the Office for Disability Issues to support a research project being undertaken by the Centre for Housing Research, Aotearoa New Zealand (CHRANZ), which is investigating accessible housing for the future ageing and disabled population.

Inland Revenue

• consulting and working with the deaf community on the use of New Zealand Sign Language in service delivery and the provision of information
• considering how to better allow disabled people to nominate someone to act on their behalf with respect to their tax affairs.

Ministry for Culture and Heritage

• working with NZ On Air and Television New Zealand on their plans for improving deaf people’s access to public broadcasting services.

Ministry of Education

• progressing the Better Information to Address Barriers to Learning project, which is aimed at helping children achieve improved learning outcomes, through providing teachers with better resources to help identify and address educational barriers
• improving learning for children and young people with Autistic Spectrum Disorders, through conducting a series of research-led, capability building initiatives aimed at increasing related support and services
• progressing the Better Outcomes for All Students - Outcomes, Evidence and Monitoring project, which is aimed at improving outcomes for children eligible for Special Education specialist support, and their families
• working to improve the professional development of the Special Education workforce, through progressing several projects aimed at enhancing their capacity and capability
• implementing new service standards for all Ministry of Education funded specialist services. This work is aimed at ensuring that all Special Education students will be able to access more consistent and standardised services nationally
• reviewing protocols between the Ministries of Health and Education, and ACC, aimed at clarifying roles and responsibilities around Special Education students receiving therapy services and/or equipment
• developing example curriculum for students with special education needs, aimed at promoting more effective assessment and teaching
• undertaking a survey of Special Education resourcing, aimed at providing a greater understanding of how individual and school targeted funding is deployed, leading to better informed funding and resource policy decision making
• developing a Behaviour Screening Tool, aimed at ensuring that children who need behavioural services are accurately and effectively identified, and receive appropriate support services
• working to provide better support to schools to manage the impact of severe student behaviour problems, and to enable better integration of children who have received specialist or off-site support into school
• working with the Department of Labour, the Ministry of Social Development and the Tertiary Education Commission, on youth transitions from school. The focus is on ensuring that young people, including disabled youth, are engaged in education, training, work or other options leading to economic independence
• progressing a five-year plan aimed at implementing the New Zealand Sign Language Act 2006, which includes a focus on communication and awareness, workforce development and access to learning through New Zealand Sign Language.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade

• supporting the development of a robust United Nations convention to protect the rights of disabled people.

Ministry of Health

• progressing the health sector plan on the removal of language barriers for deaf people. This includes implementing the Ministry’s Access to New Zealand Sign Language interpreter policy, and working to improve services the Ministry funds via the Deaf Association
• working with and supporting a Consumer Consortium of disabled people and their families, who will provide advice and input into the Disability Services Directorate’s planning and work activities
• providing more support to enable disabled people to live as others do in their homes and communities
• continuing the relocation of people with intellectual disabilities, who have been living at the Kimberley Centre, into community residential services
• implementing the Autism Spectrum Disorder work programme, which is aimed at improving and co-ordinating related services across agencies
• developing information systems around the provision of long-term support, leading to improved, dependable and co-ordinated services
• running a twice-yearly Ministry/NGO (non-government organisation) forum, where disabled people are able to have input into the development and evaluation of policy
• progressing a research project focusing on the experience of Māori accessing health and disability services, with the aim of contributing to more effective service delivery
• developing a nationally consistent framework for the planning and delivery of health services for older people with mental illness
• ensuring that all screening and assessment services provided via BreastScreen Aotearoa, the national breast screening programme, are proactive and responsive to disabled women
• ensuring that all screening and assessment services provided via the National Cervical Screening programme are proactive and responsive to disabled women
• progressing the Like Minds, Like Mine project, which is aimed at reducing the stigma and discrimination associated with mental illness
• reviewing and considering the long-term sustainability of funding for the health of older people and disability support services.

Ministry of Justice

• implementing the New Zealand Sign Language Act 2006, including developing and implementing an Interpreters Strategy aimed at enhancing interpreter services.

Ministry of Pacific Island Affairs

• working with the Ministry of Health to address the knowledge gap and lack of awareness around Pacific disability issues, and assist in establishing more formal linkages with Pacific providers and communities
• supporting the progress of the Ministry of Health’s Pacific Health and Disability Action Plan Review, including identification of priority areas related to disabled Pacific people
• supporting the progress of the Ministry of Health’s Pacific Health and Disability Workforce Development Plan, which includes the aim of improving outcomes for disabled Pacific people.

Ministry of Social Development

• progressing the Keeping it Legal project, which is aimed at helping improve the governance and management of community and voluntary organisations, including those within the disability sector
• promoting and reporting on the New Zealand Positive Ageing Strategy, which is aimed at raising awareness of the different needs of the ageing population within policy development, leading to the improved wellbeing of disabled older people
• working to facilitate changes to the Enduring Power of Attorney legislation, aimed at protecting the property and personal rights of older people, especially disabled older people
• leading an inter-agency review of long-term disability support services, which is aimed at ensuring these services improve outcomes for disabled people and their families, are easier to access, more co-ordinated, fairly distributed, more flexible and are consistent with the New Zealand Disability Strategy
• promoting and monitoring the New Zealand Disability Strategy, including facilitating the annual cross-government planning and reporting process
• facilitating the New Zealand Disability Strategy implementation review, the aim of which is to evaluate the effectiveness of the processes used to implement the Strategy, the impact of these upon the lives of disabled people over the past five years, and their potential for creating positive change in the future
• leading an inter-agency review of options for improving support for family caregivers of disabled people
• leading an inter-agency review of funding mechanisms for New Zealand Sign Language interpreters across government
• leading inter-agency work aimed at implementing New Zealand Sign Language interpreter standards, for use in criminal justice settings
• supporting the development of a robust United Nations convention to protect the rights of disabled people
• supporting a post-census national Disability Survey, conducted by Statistics New Zealand, with the aim of making available high quality and up-to-date statistical information relevant to disabled people
• establishing a nominations service to promote the appointment of disabled people to Crown boards and committees. This is aimed at increasing the visibility of disabled people, and raising community expectations about the roles disabled people can perform
• continuing to fund DPA and People First to develop leadership of disabled people, and for disabled people and families to attend conferences
• working with and supporting a Disability Advisory Council, made up of disabled people and their family members, which provides advice to the Office for Disability Issues and wider government on progressing the New Zealand Disability Strategy
• progressing the Cost of Disability research project, which is aimed at enhancing knowledge about the types and amounts of costs associated with disability
• undertaking an evaluation of how vocational service providers and users have responded to the government’s strategy to increase participation of disabled people in employment and in the community, as expressed within Pathways to Inclusion
• continuing work on simplifying the benefit system and strengthening Work and Income services, so that more people, including disabled people, are able to move into employment
• leading a cross-sectoral strategy aimed at putting in place a comprehensive system of early interventions for children, including disabled children, from pre-birth to their transition to school. This is aimed at ensuring all children have the best start in life, and are supported to reach their potential
• continuing to actively encourage participation by young disabled people in youth development programmes, led by the Ministry of Youth Development
• continuing to co-ordinate and report on government compliance with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, to the United Nations. This is a comprehensive international human rights treaty protecting the rights of all children and young people.
• developing integrated (cross-government) contracts between providers of disability services and their government funders, to facilitate the delivery by providers of a holistic approach to disability service provision
• progressing implementation of the Work and Income New Service Approach, which includes a focus on services for disabled people. This is aimed at ensuring disabled people have increased opportunities to participate in their communities and in work.

Ministry of Transport

• responding to the recommendations made in the Human Rights Commission Inquiry into Accessible Public Land Transport, including developing a framework to measure improvements in access and mobility.

Ministry of Women’s Affairs

• continuing to monitor the progress of the Action Plan for New Zealand Women, including outcomes for disabled women.

National Library of New Zealand

• progressing the National Library Print Disabilities Strategy, which is aimed at ensuring that disabled people are able to access print resources.

New Zealand Police

• working to ensure that Community Constables are aware of the significance of their role to the disability sector, and encouraging their engagement with local disability service providers
• progressing initiatives designed to ensure all Police staff apply the principles of the New Zealand Sign Language Act 2006 in matters relating to the deaf community.

Office of the Health and Disability Commissioner

• continuing to provide a responsive complaints resolution process, including ensuring that disabled people living in residential care are properly supported throughout
• working with disabled Māori and Pacific peoples consumer advisory networks, to gather and share information and ideas for improving disability services
• progressing the Interpreting and Translation project, alongside the Office of Ethnic Affairs and the Office for Disability Issues. This is aimed at introducing a national standard in interpreting and translation for all people facing communication barriers.

Sport and Recreation New Zealand

• progressing the No Exceptions Strategy, which is aimed at creating more sport and recreation opportunities for disabled people. This work is guided by a National Advisory Group comprised of disabled people representing a combination of impairment and sporting experience
• putting in place a training programme targeting teachers, coaches and club officials, aimed at increasing awareness of disability issues and responsiveness to disabled people in educational, sporting and recreational settings.

State Services Commission

• continuing to promote and administer the Mainstream Supported Employment programme, with a focus this year on highlighting the achievements of the programme over the past 30 years
• working to ensure the accessibility of government websites, through continuing to review, update and promote the New Zealand Government Web Guidelines. Also, through working with the Office for Disability Issues to commission an external accessibility audit of government agency websites
• continuing to promote Equal Employment Opportunities (EEO) for disabled people, through providing related guidance and assistance to government agencies
• ongoing development of the all-of-government portal, www.govt.nz, thereby improving access to information and services for disabled people.