In spite of recent gains, disabled people continue to be over-represented among those who lack qualifications, who are not working, and/or who have low incomes. Because the population of disabled people is growing, making real gains in New Zealand’s overall wellbeing and prosperity means addressing the challenges faced by disabled people. The expectations as to how those challenges are addressed by government and by society have changed.

All New Zealanders aspire to a good life

New Zealand has experienced increasing prosperity over the last 15 years. Job growth and active employment policies and services have reduced unemployment. Higher wages and greater financial support from government for low to middle income working families have helped to improve people's standard of living and financial security.

Disabled people tend to have poorer outcomes

While there have been improvements for disabled people, they have not shared equally in this prosperity. Figure 1 shows that, on a range of key indicators, disabled New Zealanders are doing considerably less well than other New Zealanders.³ This, in combination with the extra costs of living with disability, results in many disabled people being unable to accumulate the level of assets needed to be financially secure and independent.

Figure 1 - Proportion of people having selected socio-economic characteristics, by disability status

We cannot make real economic and social gains without addressing disability issues

We are not going to be able to meet broader social objectives like ending child poverty, attaining a decent standard of living for everyone or improving labour productivity if we do not make further progress towards addressing the challenges that face disabled people. Disabled people are disproportionately represented among those who lack qualifications, who do not have work, and who are living on low incomes.

Recent New Zealand research indicates that 28 per cent of families include an adult family member with some degree of disability. Where the disability is moderate to severe (21 per cent of all families), this is associated with lower overall economic living standards and an increasing likelihood of being in severe hardship.⁴

The disabled population is diverse

Your portfolio, and the Office for Disability Issues, is concerned with all disabled people regardless of the type of impairment, cause, time of onset, or services and supports required. This encompasses anyone with long-term physical, psychological, psychiatric, intellectual, neurological or sensory impairments that, in combination with various external barriers, hinder their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others.⁵

One in every six New Zealanders is disabled. We expect the number of disabled people to grow by 60 per cent as our population ages over the next 40 years.⁶

Figure 2 - Projected number of disabled New Zealanders, by age group, 2006–2046

This expectation is based on the marked increase in disability prevalence with increasing age.⁷

Figure 3 - Disabled people as a proportion of people in each age group, 2006

Disabled people want the same opportunities as everyone else

The aspirations of disabled people and their families and whanau in New Zealand, and across the world, have changed considerably over recent decades. Current thinking on disability recognises that disabled people have the same rights of citizenship as everyone else. This includes the opportunity to participate in society and to lead an ordinary life. Disabled people, however, face barriers that are quite different to those facing non-disabled people. This current thinking is reflected in the New Zealand Disability Strategy, written in partnership with disabled people in 2001.

This approach challenges assumptions that, in the past, meant disabled children were denied education and people with intellectual disabilities and/or other complex support needs lived in residential institutions (rather than in their communities like everyone else).

The shift in thinking can be illustrated in the experiences of today's young disabled adults. These young people have been educated at their local school along with their non-disabled peers, sharing the same sorts of aspirations for their adult lives as their former schoolmates, and expecting the same sorts of opportunities.

Consistent with this shift in thinking are new expectations around the role disability support services play, and how they are delivered. Disabled people, like others, want to be in control of their own lives, to be involved in decisions that affect them, and to live their lives with as much dignity and autonomy as possible. Often, to get access to the support services they need, people have had to go through processes that categorised them as 'invalid', 'unemployable', 'dependant' or 'unsafe' (and so forth). People tell us they want services that are easy to access, reliable and provided in ordinary settings. Support services should enable them to achieve the goals they set for themselves, rather than the goals being determined or limited by the nature of the supports provided.

For example, we used to assume that people on an Invalids Benefit were not able to work, so benefit eligibility rules limited them to 15 hours paid work a week. Since last year people who want to work more than 15 hours can do so with the right support, which may be continuing to receive some level of Invalids Benefit to top up their income.

More can be done. Some young physically-disabled people, to receive the daily living support they require, have to live in an aged-residential care facility. This is inappropriate for their age and stage of life and does not meet their other needs.

The New Zealand Disability Strategy and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

The New Zealand Disability Strategy reflects this modern citizenship-based approach. It recognises we live in a disabling society - one built largely in a way that assumes many things. For example, it assumes we can all move quickly from one side of the road to the other; we can all see signs, read directions, hear announcements, reach buttons; and we all have the strength to open heavy doors. It also assumes we all have stable moods and perceptions. While New Zealand has standards for accessibility, many of our public and private buildings and other spaces remain largely inaccessible. In the main, our schools, workplaces, supermarkets, banks, marae, churches and houses have been designed and built for non-disabled users.

The Disability Strategy is about changing New Zealand from a disabling society to an inclusive one. Government agencies develop annual work plans to implement the Strategy, and the Minister for Disability Issues reports annually to Parliament on progress.

Disabled people have a high degree of ownership of the New Zealand Disability Strategy and of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. They lobbied strongly for each of them and were integrally involved in their development. They expect, in the spirit of both, to have a leading role in their implementation and monitoring.

The Convention is consistent with the fully inclusive approach of the New Zealand Disability Strategy, and was ratified by New Zealand on 26 September 2008.

New Zealand led the negotiations on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (from 2002 to 2006) and included disabled people as full participants in our delegation. This meant the Convention modelled and directly incorporated the needs and aspirations of disabled people and is very practically focused. The Disability Strategy provided a framework that could be translated internationally. In recognition of our international leadership and also of our domestic practices New Zealand received the 2007 Franklin Delano Roosevelt International Disability Award. This prestigious award recognises sustained achievements by a country in promoting the participation of disabled people in society.

Government impacts on people’s outcomes in many ways

Government can and does make a difference to people's day-to-day wellbeing, the skills, knowledge and resources with which they build their lives, and the quality of the communities and the environments in which they live and work.

Government does this through a range of policy instruments: legislation, regulatory frameworks, public education, income transfers, the direct provision of services, full and partial funding of services, and community development. As members of the general population, disabled people access government services available to everyone.

In addition, disabled people access disability-related services. Broadly, these disability-related services support people to communicate, move around, look after themselves and their families, and make decisions. As detailed in the Appendix, funding for disability related support services comes from 11 Votes, together with funding from three Crown agencies. For the 2005/2006 year the total was about $2.8 billion.

At 35 per cent of total expenditure, the cost of residential care services (such as group homes or rest homes) represents the single largest disability support service expenditure category. The second highest category (19 per cent) is non residential care services (personal care and home help). We expect these proportions will shift as services are increasingly designed to enable people to continue to live in their own homes and communities.

Income assistance for disabled people is provided separately from their disability supports. Like many other countries, New Zealand has experienced growth in the numbers of people who receive income support on the grounds of disability and/or health conditions. The Appendix provides more detail about the growth in numbers of people who receive income assistance through Invalid's and Sickness Benefits.