Opportunities for disabled people

Grouping the objectives

You may have the opportunity in your policy area to progress the objectives of the New Zealand Disability Strategy further. Looking at the objectives and actions in the Strategy may help inspire your work.

We have grouped the 15 objectives into five themes. These themes do not reflect a hierarchy of priority, nor are they mutually exclusive. Work towards one objective may contribute to serveral or all themes, which is represented in the diagram below of overlapping circles, centred around the Strategy's vision of an inclusive and non-diabling society.

1. Promoting citizenship - by fostering society’s ability to include disabled people. This requires initiatives to improve public awareness of disability, to raise the visibility and promote the leadership of disabled people, and to ensure disabled people’s rights are upheld. Objectives in this theme are: 2 - Ensure rights for disabled people, 1 - Encourage and educate for a non-disabling society, and 5 - Foster leadership by disabled people.
2. Building government capacity - by ensuring agencies have the necessary knowledge, skills and systems to address disability issues. This requires improved information collection and understanding of what will help to eliminate barriers to participation. Objectives in this theme are: 6 - Foster an aware and responsive public service, and 10 - Collect and use relevant information about disabled people and disability issue.
3. Improving disability support services - by ensuring the way they are provided enables disabled people to have ordinary choices and responsibilities. Objective 7 - Create long-term support systems centred in the individual is in this them.
4. Promoting participation by disabled people in all areas of life - by identifying and maximising opportunities in all sectors of the community. This requires government agencies to take disability issues into account when making decisions in a wide range of sectors; for example, addressing longstanding barriers in transport, sports and recreation, relationship services or companies regulations. Objectives in this theme are: 3 - Provide the best education for disabled people, 4 - Provide opportunities in employment and economic development for disabled people, 8 - Support quality living in the community for disabled people, and 9 - Support lifestyle choices, recreation and culture for disabled people.
5. Addressing diversity of need - by acknowledging that, in addition to common issues, there is huge diversity among disabled people. It is also important to address the specific needs of disabled people’s families. Objectives in this theme are: 11 - Promote participation of disabled Māori, 12 - Promote participation of disabled Pacific peoples, 13 - Enabled disabled children and youth to lead full and active lives, 14 - Promote participation of disabled women in order to improve their quality of life, and 15 - Value families, whānau and people providing ongoing support. Specific action improving the lives of people with intellectual disabilities (such as outlined in the National Health Committee’s To Have an Ordinary Life report, September 2003) is included in this group.

Diagram B: Objectives of the New Zealand Disability Strategy

Open this diagram, full-size in a new window - Gif 44kb

Areas of an ordinary life

Disabled people want ‘ordinary’ lives. They want to experience the same choices, rights and responsibilities that non-disabled people expect to experience. For this to happen, government must consider the support services and environmental accommodations that may need to be provided in all areas of life.

If disabled people participated in all areas of life with the same opportunities as non-disabled people, the overall statistical outcomes for the two populations would be similar. Currently there is a significant gap.

The broad areas of life that all people experience are described in diagram C. This model is useful when examining policy and services based on the experiences of individual people, taking a whole-of-life perspective. Each area separately contributes to a person’s well-being and having a good life.

Many disabled people face barriers to enjoying to fully enjoying these areas of life, which non-disabled people may take for granted. For example, choosing to drive to the supermarket when you want to go.

Diagram C: Areas of life model [adapted from a National Health Committee report 2003]

More information

To Have an Ordinary Life – Community membership for adults with an intellectual disability, National Health Committee, September 2003.