Department of Labour
New Zealand Disability Strategy Implementation Work Plan. 1 July 2006 – 30 June 2007
Introduction
The Link between the Disability Strategy and the Department’s Statement of Intent
The Government’s vision is for New Zealand to be an inclusive place where all people enjoy opportunity to fulfil their potential, prosper and participate in the social, economic, political and cultural life of their communities and nation.
The New Zealand Disability Strategy points out that one in five New Zealanders has a long term impairment. Many are unable to reach their potential or participate fully in the community because of barriers they face doing things that most New Zealanders take for granted. The barriers range from the purely physical, such as access to facilities, to the attitudinal, due to poor awareness of disability issues. The aim of the New Zealand Disability Strategy: Making a World of Difference – Whakanui Oranga is to eliminate these barriers wherever they exist.
The Department of Labour’s Statement of Intent 2006/07 states the Department is aiming to achieve excellent workforce and workplace performance – a high performing labour market: high productivity, high participation, high skill levels and high performing industry sectors and regions. Contributing to this the Department wants diverse populations (people with different abilities and disabilities, people from a variety of cultures, and with a variety of personal circumstances) to have sufficient, appropriate opportunities to work in inclusive, flexible workplaces.
To maintain focus the Department has refined its long term goals. Particularly relevant to people with disabilities is Goal 4.
Goal 4: All New Zealanders will be able to grow and develop through access to well paid and meaningful employment.
Under Goal 4 the Department’s medium term priority is inter alia supporting increased labour market participation by leading the Government’s work programme on:
- enhancing parents and other carers’ choices about work and family arrangements
- assisting transitions for youth into employment
- enhancing employment for groups under-represented in the labour force
Thus barriers to participation that have prevented or discouraged New Zealanders from seeking employment must be removed—particularly parents and carers, young people, people with disabilities, older people, Maori, Pacific people, migrants and refugees.
The Department’s Disability Strategy Workplan
The Department is involved in implementing the New Zealand Disability Strategy with a focus on achieving the full participation of disabled people in the labour market. It aims to do this through:
- Policy Research and Evaluation - the Department provides strategic advice and information about the role the labour market, and intervention in the labour market, can play in the economic transformation of New Ze aland and improving outcomes for families, including those of groups underrepresented in the workforce, such as people with disabilities
- Policy and Monitoring - the Department provides policy, purchase and monitoring advice, research a nd evaluation, and ministerial servicing on the ACC scheme, and the performance of the ACC. In particular it provides policy, purchase and monitoring advice that contributes to reducing injury in New Zealand workplaces, assisting those who are injured to return to work, and vocational rehabilitation to assist people who are unable to return to their pre-injury occupation.
- Labour Market - the Department supports increased labour market participation by leading the Government’s work programme on enhancing employment for groups underrepresented in the workforce, such as peop le with disabilities.
- Building Internal Capability – the Department is also improving its own capability, policies and practices in relation to disability awareness, both for people with disabilities employed by the Department and people with disabilities who are clients of the Department.
The Disability Strategy Workplan has been divided into three levels to conform to the template supplied by the Office for Disabilities Issues. Within these levels the Department has indicated its level of commitment to the activities indicated by the template.
Level 1
Applicable to all government departments. These activities involve promoting a universal responsiveness to disability issues. This includes ensuring departments have the necessary internal knowledge, skills and systems to address disability issues. Activities may include the collection of information about disability, and ensuring the accessibility of websites, public information, employment practices, buildings and office spaces.
Level 2
Applicable to some government agencies, particularly those who have general social policy responsibilities. In addition to planning and reporting activities under level 2, these agencies will also plan and report on their level 1 activities. These activities involve encouraging departments to ensure a disability perspective is routinely considered within their ordinary work.
Level 3
Applicable to a few government agencies who have key social policy responsibilities in areas that have a significant impact on the lives of disabled people. These activities involve key disability-focused work.
Level 1 Activities: Universal responsiveness to disability issues
| Accessible government information | Achieved/ available | Planned this year | N/A | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Agency’s websites | ||||
| Meet e-government Web-Guidelines 2.1 | Yes | |||
| Tested for accessibility for disabled people | Yes | |||
| Adapted to increase accessibility to disabled people | Yes | |||
| Downloadable files available in HTML, not only PDF | Yes | |||
| Other publications and public information available in alternative formats. (e.g. key information available in easy-to-read English, Braille, NZSL video clips, captions on TV adverts, etc) | Yes | |||
| Agency makes available alternative forms of contact (i.e. phone and fax numbers, email addresses, etc) |
Yes | |||
| The Department has a large number of websites and is committed to rationalising these and making them accessible. Substantial improvements have already been made to address WCAG Priority 1 Guidelines on the core Departmental sites all new material on the core sites is marked up in an accessible way. We expect to have made substantial improvements in many of the Department’s other sites by November 2006 and compliance with government web guidelines in June 2007. | ||||
| Accessible government buildings and sites | Achieved/ available | Planned this year | N/A | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All agency’s buildings and sites meet statutory and regulatory access requirements (e.g. NZS 4121) | Yes | Yes | ||
| Agency’s buildings and sites have Building Code compliance certification | Yes | |||
| Agency’s buildings and sites audited for accessibility by Barrier Free NZ Trust | Audited in 2004 | Plan for Audit in 2007/8 | ||
| Agency’s buildings and sites accessible. | ||||
| Frontline staff receive training in disability responsiveness | Yes | Yes | ||
| Reception areas accessible | Yes | Yes | ||
| Counters lowered for wheelchair users | Yes | Yes | ||
| Telephone staff familiar with using NZ Relay service1 | Yes | |||
| Other accommodations (please list) Work station assessments, computer aids, telephone aids, signage, hearing loops, external venues checklist, readers, guide dog accommodation | Yes | |||
| Health and Safety Representatives include accessible route as part of regular monitoring | Yes | |||
| Accessible government services | Achieved/ available | Planned this year | N/A |
|---|---|---|---|
| Service policies and procedures include reference to disability issues (e.g. policies on the use of New Zealand Sign Language Interpreters) |
Yes | ||
| Information / data on services provided to disabled people is recorded Interactions with disabilities issues groups will be recorded through the Department’s Engagement Management system | Yes | ||
| Service staff receive disability responsiveness training | Yes | ||
| When contracting for new or up-graded IT applications and environments, contracts include a requirement to ensure accessibility by disabled users | Yes |
| Responsive government employment practices | Achieved/ available | Planned this year | N/A | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Human Resource policies and procedures include EEO issues for disabled people | Yes | |||
| Recruitment and selection of vacancies responsive to disabled people (e.g. vacancies advertised to the widest possible audience, vacancies list alternative forms of contact – phone, fax, email) | Yes | |||
| Human Resource staff familiar with EEO issues for disabled people (e.g. staff receive disability responsiveness training, staff familiar with the Disability Perspective Tool Kit2, etc) | Yes | |||
| Disabled staff are supported | ||||
| Individual assessments of workplace accommodations or support are provided work station assessments; computer aids , telephone aids, reading equipment, provision for guide dogs; | Yes | |||
| Accommodations provided to disabled staff | Yes | |||
| Disabled staff provided with opportunities for career advancement (all vacancies advertised on intranet) | Yes | |||
| Agency supports a disabled staff network group | Yes | |||
| Internal agency newsletters promote the positive presence of disabled staff people | Yes | |||
| Other support provided to disabled staff (please list) | ||||
| Information and data on disabled people is collected | Achieved/ available | Planned this year | N/A | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Information on agency’s responsiveness to disabled staff people | ||||
| Number of disabled people employed (we recommend you use the State Service Commission’s EEO disability information) | Yes | |||
| Data on disability related accommodations, adaptive equipment, etc, provided by your agency | Yes | |||
| Number of disabled people employed under the State Service Commission’s ‘Mainstream programme’3. | Yes | |||
| Information on agency’s responsiveness to the disabled public | ||||
| Information and data on agency’s contact with the disabled public is recorded Interactions with disabled public will be recorded through the Department’s Engagement Management system (currently in development) Information on the ethnicity and disability of individual clients to whom services are provided is not kept | Yes | |||
| Information / data on agency’s disabled client group recorded Interactions with disability issues groups will be recorded through the Department’s Engagement Management system(currently in development) The Department maintains a list of Disability organisations that it circulates materials to. | Yes | |||
Level 2 Activities: Disability perspective included in ordinary work
| Planned this year | N/A | |
|---|---|---|
| Disability responsiveness training and resources | Yes | |
| Disability responsiveness training offered to all staff (Where training is provided your end of year report should indicate who gave the training, when it was given, and how many staff and what kind of staff attended) Disability Responsiveness training will be offered to Work Directions staff through the “Surfing the Wave” training programme. This will include raising awareness of NZ Sigh language tikanga, including its use by non-speakers in meeting situations, learning basic signs, and finding out how signs can be used appropriately e.g. greetings. This will act as a pilot for use in other parts of the Department. | Yes | |
| Promotion of the Disability Perspective Tool Kit4 within your agency (e.g. this website resource distributed to policy and strategic personnel, receiving training or advice on the use of this resource, etc) (Where known, your end of year report should indicate any training or advice received on the use of this resource, who gave the training and who attended) Toolkit will be made available to staff via the e-Lab intranet and promoted to staff | Yes | |
| Other: Promotion of the Diversity Game within agency (has disability questions) Information on Sign Language Act and access to interpreters placed on Departmental Intranet Planning for New Zealand’s future labour market | Yes |
| Disability perspective included in ordinary work | Planned this year | N/A | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Key documents to incorporate a disability perspective (In your end of year report you will be asked to indicate key papers or examples of where a disability perspective was included in your agency’s ordinary work) | |||
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Yes | ||
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Yes | ||
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Yes | ||
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Yes | ||
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Yes | ||
| As part of their role of engaging with key labour market stakeholders, the Department’s Labour Market Knowledge Managers will continue to develop relationships with regional disability-related organisations. | Yes | ||
| Work Directions is currently building its capacity to meet obligations under the Departments labour market knowledge role. As part of this they want to create an additional staff role to be filled through Mainstream. | Yes | ||
| Work Directions will take into consideration and promote the benefits of greater job market participation of disabled people within the context of their regional and sectoral engagements. It will report on initiatives, knowledge gained from the experience and outcomes to inform the development of initiatives in future engagements. | Yes | ||
| Labour market information currently produced by Work Directions is available to a range of disability related organisations. Work Directions, as part of developing its labour market knowledge role, will seek to extend its coverage of such organisations. It will also consider ways to tailor the information to make it more accessible to disabled people, including meeting SSC standards for government websites and the feasibility of adapting hard-copy publications to formats suitable for disabled people. | Yes | ||
| Implementing the NZ Disability Strategy beyond your agency | Planned this year | N/A |
|---|---|---|
| Agencies, Crown Entities, boards, reference groups, etc, that your agency is responsible for are encouraged to consider disabled people and disability issues (e.g. staff / membership supports the inclusion of disabled people, compliance with level 1 activities is encouraged, your agency’s purchase agreements require compliance with the Disability Strategy, and where appropriate requires the provision of any data/information on disability issues/disabled clients) | ||
| Other (please indicate) ACC | Yes |
1. Enhancing Parents’ and Other Carers’ Choices (EPOCC)
Description
- Enhancing Parents’ and Other Carers’ Choices is an integrated whole of government, inter-agency programme of work, which enhances and builds on existing work and research programmes already underway in a number of areas, that contribute to the overall outcome of productive work and high quality working lives through facilitating the optimal involvement of people with caring responsibilities in meaningful work and home life. The Department of Labour is the lead agency in the development of this work.
- Included in the work programme are initiatives that will enhance the choices of carers who care for adults with disabilities or older people, such as:
- The work-life balance project will undertake further policy development covering work-life balance solutions for people with parenting, other caring, and multiple caring responsibilities; and flexible working arrangements;
- The Working New Zealand programme of work will improve services to support employment and work development activities, including for those with caring responsibilities. It involves the restructuring of income support for carers to remove out-dated requirements and to support social participation and employment, through Core Benefit reforms;
- Agencies are working with Carers Alliance on their proposal to develop a Carers Strategy for consideration by Ministers.
Desired Outcome
The goals of the EPOCC Plan of Action are to:
- achieve quality outcomes for children, families and others who require care;
- achieve greater fairness in opportunities to participate and progress in high quality and diversified employment for both men and women and all socio-economic groups;
- enable people to balance their work and other aspects of their lives; and
- increase productivity and economic growth.
Outcome measures and timeframes
Monitoring and evaluation framework being developed.
Report back to Cabinet November 2006.
Links to Disability Strategy objective and action
| 2.0 | Ensure rights for disabled people |
| 3.0 | Provide opportunities in employment and economic development for disabled people |
| 15.0 | Value families, whanau and people providing ongoing support |
2. Youth Transitions
Description
The Government has a shared goal with the Mayors Taskforce for Jobs (MTFJ) that by 2007 all young people aged 15-19 will be engaged in appropriate education, training, work or other options leading to long-term economic independence and well-being. One second tier priority agreed by Cabinet is “improving support services available for young people with disabilities”.
The Youth Transitions Steering Group proposes to work closely with the MTFJ on several collaborative projects to be undertaken during 2006. One of these projects is on raising the profile of young people with disabilities with employers. This project will use a whole-of-community approach to raise employers’ awareness of the opportunities arising from employing young people with disabilities. It will also aim to increase the awareness of the support services available to assist young people with disabilities into jobs.
Desired Outcome
It is proposed that work is carried out in 2006/07 to discover how well the current transition system is working for young people with disabilities, and those with intermittent health, mental health or behavioral issues, and to develop policy options on how improvements could be made. An assessment will also need to be made of the requirements (including resourcing) involved in monitoring outcomes for these young people on an ongoing basis.
Outcome measures and timeframes
Research will be carried out in 2006/2007; this will inform the policy direction.
Links to Disability Strategy objective and action
| 4.0 | Provided opportunities in employment and economic development for disabled people |
| 4.6 | Ensure a smooth transition from school to work |
3. Pathways to Inclusion
Description
Pathways to Inclusion is the Government’s direction for vocational services for people with disabilities aimed at achieving greater participation of people with disabilities in employment and in our communities. This includes work on vocational services and the repeal of the Disabled Persons Employment Promotion (DPEP) Act 1960. The evaluation is governed by the Ministry of Social Development’s Sickness Benefit and Invalids Benefit strategy.
The DPEP Bill has been reinstated on to the Parliament’s legislative programme. Following the repeal of the DPEP Act the Department of Labour will review the work required to support the policy intent of the repeal.
Desired Outcome
Disabled people will have the same rights, responsibilities, opportunities and protections as other workers.
Outcome measures and timeframes
The Department of Labour has conducted a baseline evaluation of Pathways to Inclusion. The Ministry of Social Development will lead the ongoing evaluation strategy for the implementation of Pathways to Inclusion, in consultation with stakeholders.
Assuming the DPEP Act is repealed this year, the Department of Labour will review the work required to support the policy intent of the repeal.
Links to Disability Strategy objective and action
| 2.0 | Ensure rights for disabled people |
| 4.0 | Provide opportunities in employment and economic development for disabled people |
| 4.9 | Ensure disabled people have he same employment conditions, rights and entitlements as everyone else has, including minimum wage provisions for work of comparable productivity. |
4. Working New Zealand (Future Directions 2)
Description
Working New Zealand is the second phase of major and historic changes to the social assistance system, with an explicit focus on employment interventions. The work is led by the Ministry of Social Development.
Desired Outcome
To ensure that New Zealand has a social assistance system and an associated suite of employment and training interventions that support labour market participation and sustainable employment for all population groups (including people with disabilities), to the greatest extent possible and without sacrificing income adequacy.
Outcome measures and timeframes
Input into work led by MSD, timing dependent on lead agency.
Participation in Disability Interagency Steering Group
Links to Disability Strategy objective and action
| 2.0 | Ensure rights for disabled people |
| 4.15 | Ensure that the needs of disabled people are taken into account in developing more flexible income support benefits, to make access to work and training easier. |
5. Employment Relations (Flexible Working Hours) Amendment Bill
Description
This Green Party Members Bill seeks to amend the Employment Relations Act to provide employees with young and dependant children the statutory right to request part-time and flexible hours, and a framework in which they can negotiate reduced working hours. The Bill introduces a duty on employers to seriously consider requests from eligible employees for flexible working arrangements. Eligible employees are those who have worked for the same employer for a minimum of six months, and have a child under the age of five years, or a disabled child under the age of 19 years.
Desired Outcome
This Bill aims to improve the lives of parents of disabled children by recognising the challenge of balancing caring responsibilities with paid work, and the need for flexible working arrangements within this.
Outcome measures and timeframes
This Bill passed its first reading in the house, and was referred to Select Committee for consideration. The Committee heard submissions on the Bill and released an interim report recommending that the Bill aside for one year and they have asked officials to undertake further work to collect and collated reliable information in New Zealand working practices regarding flexible working hours, and to consult more widely on both the principles of and delivery mechanisms for flexible working hours.
Links to Disability Strategy objective and action
| 15.2 | Improves the support and choices for those who support disabled people. |
6. Return to Sustainable Earnings (RTSE) Project
Description
This project involves collection of information relating to the sustainable return to work of injured people who are covered by ACC. The information will be used to inform policy decisions concerning legislative and other means to improve the sustainable return to work of injured people.
Desired Outcome
The desired outcome is to improve the sustainable return to work of injured people.
Outcome measures and timeframes
Determine outcomes from case law (including applications for review lodged with Dispute resolution Services Limited) regarding vocational rehabilitation by June 2006.
Analyse policy implications of information gained from outcomes 1 to 5 and advise of any legislative or other means to improve the sustainable return to work for injured people completed by June 2007
Determine how effective vocational rehabilitation is within the context of the IPRC Act 2001 completed in 2007.
Links to Disability Strategy objective and action
| 2.0 | Deliver products and services that enhance the full participation of disabled people in the labour market |
| 3.0 | Deliver innovative policy advice that contributes to disabled people achieving their economic and social aspirations |
7. Cost of Injury Project
Description
Long term disability is commonly caused by injury. Measuring the costs of injury is integral to making proper decisions about preventing and managing the effect of injuries in New Zealand. The Cost of Injury project seeks to identify the cost of injury to society, businesses and to individuals.
Desired Outcome
- In May 2004, “Measuring the Costs of Injury in New Zealand” was published by Department of Labour. This report is the culmination of the second phase of the Costs of Injury Project and sets out a basic framework to navigate through the complexity of measuring injury costs and identifies the state of current information to support consistent measurement of costs of injury. The report identifies a range of further work, and data to collect, to produce the cost information identified.
- In April 2006, the National Occupational Safety and Health Advisory Committee (NOHSAC) reported to the Minister of Labour on The Economic and Social Costs of Occupational Disease and Injury in New Zealand.
Outcome measures and timeframes
The Department will report to the Minister for ACC in June 2006 on the next steps for the Cost of Injury project.
Links to Strategy objective and action
NZ Disability Strategy
| 2.0 | Ensure rights for disabled people |
| 4.0 | Provide opportunities in employment and economic development for disabled people |
| 4.9 | Ensure disabled people have the same employment conditions, rights and entitlements as everyone else has, including minimum wage provisions for work of comparable productivity. |
| 4.15 | Ensure that the needs of disabled people are taken into account in developing more flexible income support benefits, to make access to work and training easier |
| 6.0 | Foster an aware and responsive public service |
The New Zealand Action Plan for Human Rights
| 3.7 | Elimination of Poverty – Minimise segregated employment for disabled people and remove exemptions from the minimum wage |
| 3.7 | Elimination of Poverty – Undertake research to identify the cost of disability to disabled people and their families |
1. For information on NZ Relay service
2. The Disability Perspective Tool Kit is available on the Office for Disability Issues’ website
3. Information on the State Service Commission’s Mainstream Programme
4. The Disability Perspective Tool Kit is available on the Office for Disability Issues’ website