New Zealand Government Backs Down on Disbability Payment Restrictions

It has taken over a year, but the New Zealand government has lifted controversial restrictions on what disabled people can purchase with their allocated funding.

Under an approach known as Enabling Good Lives, disabled people had increasingly been given more choice and control over how they spend their disability support funding.

But in mid-March of 2024, the government announced, without consulting the sector, new limits on what they could purchase with their funding. Changes were also made to the way equipment, such as wheelchairs and home modifications, was prioritised, whereas things such as respite care were heavily restricted.

The Ministry for Disabled People said the new policy did not represent a cut in overall funding, but advocates and the opposition argued that it did by preventing families from accessing the care they needed.

By April, former Disability Issues Minister Penny Simmonds had lost the portfolio after admitting the handling of changes was inept.

An independent review subsequently found that disability support services had unsustainable spending increases, a lack of clear criteria for access to flexible funding, and had established an inequitable and unfair “postcode lottery” for disabled people around the country.

Now, 18 months later, the new minister, Louise Upston, has announced a list of changes, including the dropping of the controversial limits and a single assessment process for support. The needs of families and carers will also once again be considered, provided they are relevant to the care of the disabled person.

Upston said it was “something we heard really clearly through the consultation.”

“Supporting carers is essential to sustaining carers and the support they provide for their loved ones. It also helps everyone involved to plan for situations where the family or carers can no longer provide care,” she said.

Each Recipient to Have an Individual Budget

Each recipient will, however, have a budget based on their previous spending. This will help avoid the risk of cost escalations, Upston said in a statement.

“The disability community has made it clear they want the freedom to make their own decisions on what supports and services they need,” she said.

“We’ve taken that feedback on board. We know some difficult decisions had to be made in 2024 to limit ongoing acceleration of costs. Underlying all these were long-standing issues that had not been tackled over time.”

This year’s budget allocated $1 billion over four years towards meeting the increasing costs of disability support services, including $240 million for residential care.

“Now we can confirm the next phase, giving disabled people and their families and carers more clarity, certainty, and choice,” Upston said.

“My absolute priority is to ensure the disability support system is more consistent, transparent, sustainable, and fair.”

In New Zealand, disability support services and funding are allocated by Needs Assessment Service Coordination organisations (NASCs).

About 38,500 people already use flexible funding, with more than 90 percent of them accessing it through a NASC.

Labour’s disability issues spokeswoman Priyanca Radhakrishnan said the government had been “dithering” on the issue, leaving disabled people “suffering unnecessarily because of its cruel changes.”

“Labour has been calling for flexibility to be reinstated, and so while this news might offer some reprieve, I question why the government put disabled people and their families through such pain in the first place,” she said.