Executive Summary

Pathways to Inclusion sets out the Labour/Alliance Government's new direction for vocational services for people with disabilities.

The Government has agreed that the aims of vocational services are:

• to increase the participation of people with disabilities in employment, and
• to increase the participation of people with disabilities in communities.

This new direction is the result of a review of vocational services funded by the Department of Work and Income (DWI). The review has also considered a range of vocational services funded through other agencies.

Services that do not have employment or community participation aims, but focus on providing services such as respite care and day care, are not included in the new direction. Boundary issues between different government agencies (such as DWI, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Education, and any other relevant agency), and how to manage these issues, are part of a stream of further work arising out of the review.

The Government will repeal the Disabled Persons Employment Promotion (DPEP) Act 1960, the legislation that provides for minimum wage and holidays exemption for sheltered employment workplaces. This decision is in line with the aim of increasing the participation of people with disabilities in employment as promoted in the New Zealand Disability Strategy.

The changes outlined in this document will be implemented over a five-year period. This transition will give providers time to adjust to the new direction, and ensure that people currently in sheltered employment will continue to have access to the services they need.