Actions

These Actions will inform the annual NZ Disability Strategy implementation work plans to be developed by government departments.

Objective 1: Encourage and educate for a non-disabling society

1.1 - Develop national and locally-based anti-discrimination programmes.

1.2 - Recognise that it is disabled people who are experts on their own experience.

1.3 - Recognise and honour the achievements of disabled people.

1.4 - Include the perspectives of disabled people in ethical and bioethical debates.

1.5 - Encourage ongoing debate on disability issues

Objective 2: Ensure rights for disabled people

2.1 - Provide information for everyone about the rights of disabled people.

2.2 - Provide education to ensure that disabled people understand their rights, recognise discrimination and are able to be self-advocates.

2.3 - Educate agencies responsible for supporting children and families about the rights and abilities of disabled parents.

2.4 - Review Human Rights legislation to ensure the ongoing enhancement and strengthening of the rights of disabled people.

2.5 - Investigate, and if appropriate, support, development of a United Nations convention on the rights of disabled people.

2.6 - Investigate the level of access that disabled people have to independent advocacy, and address any shortfall in service provision.

2.7 - Evaluate New Zealand's performance on the rights of disabled people.

2.8 - Consider disabled people whenever New Zealand's performance is being evaluated against international human rights obligations, for example, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, and United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child

Objective 3: Provide the best education for disabled people

3.1 - Ensure that no child is denied access to their local, regular school because of their impairment.

3.2 - Support the development of effective communication by providing access to education in New Zealand Sign Language, communication technologies and human aids.

3.3 - Ensure that teachers and other educators understand the learning needs of disabled people.

3.4 - Ensure that disabled students, families, teachers and other educators have equitable access to the resources available to meet their needs.

3.5 - Facilitate opportunities for disabled students to make contact with their disabled peers in other schools.

3.6 - Improve schools' responsiveness to and accountability for the needs of disabled students.

3.7 - Promote appropriate and effective inclusive educational settings that will meet individual educational needs.

3.8 - Improve post-compulsory education options for disabled people, including: promoting best practice, providing career guidance, increasing lifelong opportunities for learning and better aligning financial support with educational opportunities

Objective 4: Provide opportunities in employment and economic development for disabled people

Planning and training for entering employment

4.1 - Provide education and training opportunities to increase the individual capacity of disabled people to move into employment.

4.2 - Enable disabled people to lead the development of their own training and employment goals, and to participate in the development of support options to achieve those goals.

4.3 - Educate employers about the abilities of disabled people.

4.4 - Provide information about career options, ways to generate income, and assistance available for disabled people.

4.5 - Investigate longer-term incentives to increase training, employment and development opportunities for disabled people.

4.6 - Ensure a smooth transition from school to work.

4.7 - Investigate the requirements of the International Labour Organisation Convention on Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment, with a view to ratification.

Employment and economic development

4.8 - Encourage the development of a range of employment options recognising the diverse needs of 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.

4.10 - Make communication services, resources and flexible workplace options available.

4.11 - Operate equal employment opportunity and affirmative action policies in the public sector.

4.12 - Investigate a legislative framework for equal employment opportunities across the public and private sectors.

4.13 - Ensure disabled people have access to economic development initiatives.

4.14 - Encourage staff and service organisations (for example, unions) to appoint or elect disabled people as delegates and members of their executives.

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.

4.16 - Review income support provisions to ensure they provide an adequate standard of living

Objective 5: Foster leadership by disabled people

5.1 - Encourage disabled people to take part in decision-making as service users, as staff in the delivery of services, and in the governance, management, planning and evaluation within all services that disabled people access.

5.2 - Assist self-help initiatives, service provision and advocacy organisations run by disabled people for disabled people.

5.3 - Model the inclusion of disabled people in leadership roles within government departments, in order to encourage leadership by disabled people within all organisations.

5.4 - Support the establishment of a leadership development and mentoring programme for disabled people.

5.5 - Establish a register of disabled people for government appointments.

5.6 - Make information available to disabled people and their advocacy organisations about how to influence government policy

Objective 6: Foster an aware and responsive public service

6.1 - Develop mechanisms to ensure that all government policy and legislation is consistent with the objectives of the NZ Disability Strategy.

6.2 - Adapt public sector training to ensure that service development and service delivery are consistent with the NZ Disability Strategy.

6.3 - Ensure that all government agencies treat disabled people with dignity and respect.

6.4 - Improve the quality of information available, including where to go for more information, the services available and how to access them.

6.5 - Make all information and communication methods offered to the general public available in formats appropriate to the different needs of disabled people.

6.6 - Ensure the locations and buildings of all government agencies and public services are accessible.

6.7 - Work with territorial authorities to develop ways they can support the NZ Disability Strategy.

Objective 7: Create long-term support systems centred on the individual

7.1 - Ensure that overarching processes, eligibility criteria and allocation of resources are nationally consistent, but that individual needs are treated flexibly.

7.2 - Ensure that government agencies, publicly funded services and publicly accountable bodies co-operate to ensure that the disabled person is at the centre of service delivery.

7.3 - Investigate the development of a holistic approach to assessment and service provision, that applies across agencies and funding sources.

7.4 - Develop and maintain effective rehabilitation services.

7.5 - Encourage equity of funding and service provision for people with similar needs, regardless of the cause of their impairment.

7.6 - Identify unmet need and develop affordable solutions to fill these gaps.

7.7 - Improve timeliness of service provision.

7.8 - Develop a highly skilled workforce to support disabled people.

7.9 - Ensure that disability services do not perpetuate the myth that disabled people are ill, while recognising that disabled people do need access to health services without discrimination.

Objective 8: Support quality living in the community for disabled people

Living in the community

8.1 - Increase opportunities for disabled people to live in the community with choice of affordable, quality housing.

8.2 - Support disabled people living in rural areas to remain in their own communities by improving their access to services.

8.3 - Support the development of independent communication for disabled people.

8.4 - Ensure disabled people are able to access appropriate health services within their community.

Moving around the community

8.5 - Require all new scheduled public transport to be accessible in order to phase out inaccessible public transport.

8.6 - Encourage the development of accessible routes to connect buildings, public spaces and transport systems.

8.7 - Develop nationally consistent access to passenger services where there is no accessible public transport.

Objective 9: Support lifestyle choices, recreation and culture for disabled people

9.1 - Support disabled people in making their own choices about their relationships, sexuality and reproductive potential.

9.2 - Provide opportunities for disabled people to create, perform and develop their own arts, and to access arts activities.

9.3 - Educate arts administrators/organisations and other recreational and sporting organisations about disability issues and inclusion.

9.4 - Support the development of arts, recreational and sports projects, including those run by and for disabled people

Objective 10: Collect and use relevant information about disabled people and disability issues

10.1 - Ensure that guidelines for research funding take into account the need for research on disability issues, include disabled people in the development and monitoring of the disability research agenda, and enable disabled people to put forward their own experiences in the context of the research.

10.2 - Collect relevant and useful information about disability through all relevant surveys to inform the research programme.

10.3 - Use disability research, and analyse disability data, including that from the 1996 and 2001 Disability Surveys, to contribute to policy work, service development and monitoring.

10.4 - Undertake research focusing on disability issues for Māori and Pacific peoples.

10.5 - Make disability research information available to disabled people in culturally appropriate and accessible formats.

10.6 - Adopt ethical and procedural standards for disability research projects.

10.7 - Appoint disabled people as members of ethics committees.

Objective 11: Promote participation of disabled Māori

11.1 - Build the capacity of disabled Māori through the equitable allocation of resources within the context of Māori development frameworks.

11.2 - Establish more disability support services designed and provided by Māori for Māori.

11.3 - Ensure mainstream providers of disability services are accessible to and culturally appropriate for disabled Māori and their whānau.

11.4 - Train more Māori disability service provider professionals and increase the advisory capacity of Māori.

11.5 - Ensure that Government funded or sponsored marae-based initiatives meet the access requirements of disabled people (and encourage all other marae-based initiatives to also meet those requirements).

11.6 - Support training and development of trilingual interpreters for Deaf people.

11.7 - Ensure Te Puni Kokiri undertakes a leadership role in promoting the participation of disabled Māori.

Objective 12: Promote participation of disabled Pacific peoples

12.1 - Increase access to, and quality of, both Pacific and mainstream service providers that deliver disability services to disabled Pacific peoples, their families and communities.

12.2 - Support disability workforce development and training for Pacific peoples, by training Pacific peoples as providers of disability information and services for their local communities.

12.3 - Encourage Pacific communities to consider disability issues and perspectives and further their own understanding of disability through the development of community-based plans for disability issues.

12.4 - Support training and development of trilingual interpreters for Deaf people.

12.5 - Ensure the Ministry of Pacific Island Affairs undertakes a leadership role in promoting the participation of disabled Pacific peoples.

Objective 13: Enable disabled children and youth to lead full and active lives

13.1 - Ensure all agencies that support children, youth and families work collaboratively to ensure that their services are accessible, appropriate and welcoming to disabled children, youth and their families.

13.2 - Ensure that the Youth Development Strategy recognises the needs of disabled children and youth.

13.3 - Conduct anti-discrimination and education campaigns that are age-appropriate and effective.

13.4 - Establish a process for including advice from disabled people on disability issues for children and youth within relevant government agencies and Commissioners' offices.

13.5 - Provide access for disabled children, youth and their families to child, youth and family-focused support, education, health care services, rehabilitation services, recreation opportunities and training.

13.6 - Improve support for disabled children and youth during transition between early childhood education, primary school, secondary school, tertiary education and employment.

13.7 - Introduce ways of involving disabled children and youth in decision-making and giving them greater control over their lives.

13.8 - Develop a range of accommodation options so that disabled young people can live independently.

13.9 - Provide and evaluate educational initiatives about sexuality, safety and relationships for disabled children and youth.

13.10 - Ensure the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Ministry of Social Policy undertake a leadership role in promoting the participation of disabled children and youth.

Objective 14: Promote participation of disabled women in order to improve their quality of life

14.1 - Promote women's rights and provide opportunities for disabled women to achieve the same level of economic wellbeing and educational attainment as men.

14.2 - Provide equitable, appropriate and welcoming access to services.

14.3 - Support disabled women to live independent and secure lives in the environment and with the people of their choosing.

14.4 - Ensure that criteria and considerations for the health and reproduction-related treatment of disabled women are the same as for non-disabled women.

14.5 - Include the perspectives of disabled women in the development of all strategies.

14.6 - Ensure the Ministry of Women's Affairs undertakes a leadership role in promoting the participation of disabled women, to improve their quality of life.         

Objective 15: Value families, whānau and people providing ongoing support

15.1 - Ensure needs assessment processes are holistic and take account of the needs of families/whānau as well as the disabled person.

15.2 - Improve the support and choices for those who support disabled people.

15.3 - Provide education and information for families with disabled family members.

15.4 - Ensure that, where appropriate, the family, whānau and those who support disabled people are given an opportunity to have input into decisions affecting their disabled family member.

15.5 - Develop a resource kit for professionals on when and how to interact with families/whānau of disabled people.

15.6 - Work actively to ensure that families, whānau and those who support disabled people can be involved in policy and service development and delivery, and in monitoring and evaluation processes where appropriate.

15.7 - Encourage debate around responsibility for caring, payment for caring and how to further recognise and value the caring role.

15.8 - Provide families and those who support disabled people with information that is accurate, accessible and easily found.

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