Key Messages

• The overall goal of the New Zealand Disability Strategy is to advance New Zealand towards being a society that is fully inclusive of people with disabilities, by the removal of barriers to their participation.
• The Strategy aims to do this by providing a framework to address disability issues across agencies, policies, services and legislation.
• All government agencies are required to develop annual plans to implement their responsibilities under the New Zealand Disability Strategy.
• The Minister for Disability Issues is required to report annually on progress in implementing the Strategy as a whole.
• The Office for Disability Issues is responsible for leading the implementation of the New Zealand Disability Strategy.
• Immediate action is required to prioritise the objectives identified in the New Zealand Disability Strategy and to develop long-term strategies for leading its implementation.

New Zealand Disability Strategy

The New Zealand Disability Strategy (New Zealand Disability Strategy (NZDS)) was prepared over 2000- 2001. It provides a framework, oriented around 15 objectives and related action points, to guide government agencies in removing barriers that prevent people with disabilities participating fully in society. Its overall goal is to advance New Zealand towards being a society that is fully inclusive of people with disabilities. The Office for Disability Issues is now the lead agency for implementing and monitoring the New Zealand Disability Strategy (NZDS).

The New Zealand Public Health and Disability Act 2000, which took effect on 1 January 2001, requires the Minister for Disability Issues to develop a strategy for "disability support services".

The Act defines "disability support services" broadly, in terms of goods, services and facilities provided to people with disabilities for their care or support or to promote their inclusion and participation in society and their independence, or provided for related or incidental purposes.

The document that sets out the New Zealand Disability Strategy (NZDS), The New Zealand Disability Strategy: Making a World of Difference: Whakanui Oranga, was released on 30 April 2001 at Parliament Buildings by the Prime Minister, Rt Hon Helen Clark, and the Minister for Disability Issues, Hon Lianne Dalziel.

The document’s Foreword describes the New Zealand Disability Strategy (NZDS)’s aim as eliminating barriers that prevent New Zealanders who have long-term impairments to reaching their full potential or participating fully in the community. The Foreword says that:

The Strategy will guide Government action to promote a more inclusive society. It is an enduring framework which will ensure that government departments and other agencies consider disabled people before making decisions. It will sit alongside other govern-ment programmes such as the Positive Ageing Strategy, the New Zealand Health Strategy and the Re-evaluation of Human Rights Protections in New Zealand.

The Strategy, for the first time, gives Government a framework to address disability issues across agencies, policies, services and legislation.

Developing the Strategy

In April 2000, Cabinet directed the Ministry of Health to lead the develop-ment of an intersectoral New Zealand Disability Strategy and report back with the Strategy, an implementation proposal and publication plan, before the New Zealand Public Health and Disability Act 2000 came into force on 1 January 2001.

A sector reference group was appointed to provide the Minister for Disability Issues with advice on the content and consultation process for the New Zealand Disability Strategy (NZDS). The sector reference group comprised fifteen people with a wide range of expertise and knowledge of disability issues.

The sector reference group, in liaison with the Ministry of Health, devel-oped a discussion document about the New Zealand Disability Strategy (NZDS), Making a World of Difference – Whakanui Oranga, publicly released in September 2000. A total of 68 meetings took place around the country to consider the document. These included meetings specifically for people with disabilities, and hui and fono for Māori and Pacific peoples with disabilities. People with disabilities were also encouraged to hold their own discussion groups and make submissions.

The consultation process resulted in 700 submissions, including the feedback from the 68 meetings, encompassing submissions from individual people with disabilities and their families/whānau, service providers, and advocates.

In general, the consultation was highly supportive of the vision and the suggested actions in the discussion document. Respondents called for two new action areas to be included, focusing on opportunities for community living and other lifestyle options. There were also calls for more detail about proposals, and for the final version of the Strategy to include specific commitments for action.

This input was reflected in the recommendations for the New Zealand Disability Strategy (NZDS) presented in December 2000 by the sector reference group to the Minister for Disability Issues and the Minister of Health. The New Zealand Disability Strategy (NZDS) was prepared based on a modified summary of the group’s recommendations. In April 2001, Cabinet agreed to the public release of the New Zealand Disability Strategy (NZDS), along with a summary of the submissions received in the course of its development.

In terms of the further development of the New Zealand Disability Strategy (NZDS), the Minister for Disability Issues is required, under the New Zealand Public Health and Disability Act 2000, to consult with relevant organisations and individuals before determining or altering the strategy.

The Act also requires any amendments or replacements to the New Zealand Disability Strategy (NZDS), as well as any reports on it, to be made available to the public and to be tabled in the House of Representatives.

What the Strategy covers

The New Zealand Disability Strategy (NZDS) has a strong rights-based focus. Its vision is a fully inclusive society in which people with disabilities can say that they live in "a society that highly values our lives and continually enhances our full participation". The attributes of such a society that are listed in the strategy document include:

• Disabled people are integrated into community life on their own terms.
• Human rights are protected as a fundamental cornerstone of government policy and practice.
• Disabled people are treated equitably, regardless of gender, age, cultural background, type of impairment or when and how the impairment was acquired.

The basic premise of the New Zealand Disability Strategy (NZDS) is that society, rather than impairment, is disabling, and has built barriers to the participation and inclusion of people with disabilities. The Introduction to the New Zealand Disability Strategy (NZDS) says that:

Disability is the process which happens when one group of people create barriers by designing a world only for their way of living, taking no account of the impairments other people have… Disability relates to the interaction between the person with the impairment and the environment. It has a lot to do with discrimination, and has a lot in common with other attitudes and behaviours such as racism and sexism that are not acceptable in our society.

These barriers affect people with disabilities at all stages of life. Some groups of people with disabilities – in particular, women, Māori, and Pacific peoples – are likely to face particular disadvantage at all stages of their lives. While Government already has in place a range of services and support, consultation indicated that these are often hard to access and are not flexible enough to meet individual need.

The New Zealand Disability Strategy (NZDS) includes 15 objectives to remove the barriers to participation faced by people with disabilities and create a fully inclusive society.

The objectives are:

1. Encourage and educate for a non-disabling society
2. Ensure rights for disabled people
3. Provide the best education for disabled people
4. Provide opportunities in employment and economic development for disabled people
5. Foster leadership by disabled people
6. Foster an aware and responsive public service
7. Create long-term support systems centred on the individual
8. Support quality living in the community for disabled people
9. Support lifestyle choices, recreation and culture for disabled people
10. Collect and use relevant information about disabled people and disability issues
11. Promote participation of disabled Māori
12. Promote participation of disabled Pacific peoples
13. Enable disabled children and youth to lead full and active lives
14. Promote participation of disabled women in order to improve their quality of life
15. Value families, whānau and people providing ongoing support

Each objective is accompanied by relevant actions, ranging from 16 actions for Objective 4, to four actions for Objective 9. The actions, totalling 113 for the full strategy, provide more specific direction for implementing the general principles conveyed in the objectives.

The New Zealand Disability Strategy (NZDS) clearly identifies the objectives and the accompanying actions as the responsibility of government departments, although it does not specify which objectives and actions are the responsibility of specific agencies.

Responsibility is initially confined to "key departments", and from there to be rolled out to other departments. Noting that the decisions of territorial authorities and non-departmental public bodies also have significant impacts on the lives of people with disabilities, the Strategy says that these bodies need to support and assist in implementing the New Zealand Disability Strategy (NZDS). Ways of making this happen need to be discussed with them.

The annual implementation plans

The implementation plans are crucial for realising the New Zealand Disability Strategy (NZDS). Within the Strategy document, both the objectives and the actions are presented in terms of outcomes, and neither are prioritised or assessed for their legal,financial or other implications.

The implementation plans state the required work in terms of practical actions and link these into the overall work of the government agencies.

The first implementation plans, for 2001/02, comprised work items identified by 11 government agencies as “key” to the New Zealand Disability Strategy (NZDS), as follows:

• Ministry of Social Policy and Department of Work and Income (subsequently merged to become the Ministry of Social objectives, including intersectoral priorities Development);
• Ministry of Health;
• Department of Labour;
• Ministry of Education;
• Ministry of Justice;
• State Services Commission;
• Te Puni Kökiri;
• Ministry of Pacific Island Affairs;
• Ministry of Women’s Affairs; and
• Ministry of Transport.

These agencies had already developed their 2001/02 work programmes when Government approved the New Zealand Disability Strategy (NZDS) in April 2001. This means that their implementation plans consisted of extensions to work items already in work programmes that would promote the inclusion of people with disabilities.

From 2002/03, all government departments and ministries are required to develop implementation plans on an annual basis. These plans should incorporate new initiatives under the New Zealand Disability Strategy (NZDS), and take account of:

• the agency’s assessment of the relative priority of the New Zealand Disability Strategy (NZDS) objectives, including intersectoral priorities;
• work that is needed as a matter of urgency or logistical necessity;
• work that is already under way and that aligns with the New Zealand Disability Strategy (NZDS)’s vision, objectives and actions;
• funding priorities;
• the New Zealand Disability Strategy (NZDS) sector reference group’s recommendations to the Minister for Disability Issues; and
• the agency’s ability to implement the New Zealand Disability Strategy (NZDS) through the leverage it has over funders, providers and other entities in its sector.

Thirty-seven departments have developed implementation plans for 2002/03.

From 1 July 2002, the Office for Disability Issues within the Ministry of Social Development took over responsibility from the Ministry of Health for reviewing, finalising, co-ordinating and monitoring the implementation plans.

Monitoring and reporting on the Strategy

The Minister for Disability Issues is required to report to Parliament annually on progress in implementing the New Zealand Disability Strategy (NZDS), and full reviews of progress are to be conducted after five and 10 years.

The Minister’s first progress report, Progress in Implementing the New Zealand Disability Strategy, was provided to the House of Repre-sentatives in December 2001. It was based on the self-reporting of the key government agencies that prepared implementation work plans for 2001/ 02, and covered the three months from 1 July to 30 September 2001.

The report noted that “The short timeframe for reporting and absence of a formal monitoring process means that this first report may not cover all initiatives and work in progress. This situation is expected to be remedied in future reports.” Long-term strategies for monitoring progress and reporting on this will be a priority focus for the Office for Disability Issues.

Promoting the Strategy

The New Zealand Disability Strategy (NZDS) is currently being promoted through the requirement for annual implementation plans and reporting, and through the New Zealand Disability Strategy (NZDS) website. The website, at http://www.New Zealand Disability Strategy (NZDS).govt.nz, provides background information on the New Zealand Disability Strategy (NZDS) and its development, as well as information on the departmental implementation plans.

Viewers can download the text of the Strategy, its annual implementation plans and other key documents. The Office for Disability Issues is respon-sible for maintaining the New Zealand Disability Strategy (NZDS) website.

The availability of other versions of key documents also helps promote the New Zealand Disability Strategy (NZDS). To increase accessibility for people with disabilities, the Ministry of Health produced the strategy document in hard copy, large font, easy-to-read, pictorial, Braille and audiotape versions. The December 2001 progress report is also available in hard copy, large print, Braille, audiotape and easy-to-read summary versions. The Office for Disability Issues has assumed responsibility for the distribution and promotion of these documents, which can be requested through the New Zealand Disability Strategy (NZDS) website.

Planned action to improve implementation

The Office for Disability Issues is currently working to identify priorities for action within the New Zealand Disability Strategy (NZDS). This work requires assessing each of the various objectives and actions included in the Strategy and prioritising them against criteria to determine where the biggest and earliest gains are available. The Office is also giving priority to:

• long-term strategies for the development of the annual progress reports on the implementation of the New Zealand Disability Strategy (NZDS);
• processes to improve the effectiveness of agencies’ implementation plans and address the following areas of concern1:
  • development of plans without the involvement of people with disabilities;
  • lack of focus on Māori and Pacific peoples’ issues;
  • some misunderstanding of some of the New Zealand Disability Strategy (NZDS) Objectives and Actions;
  • lack of reference to intersectoral projects;
  • lack of detail on timelines;
  • an "in-house" orientation to reports that limits their accessibility for people outside the agencies concerned; and
• identifying and involving key agencies other than government departments and ministries in developing and reporting on implementation plans.

Endnotes

1. Refer “Message from DPA” included in the December 2001 Progress Report.

For further information contact the Office for Disability Issues.