Submissions

To: Ministry of Social Development
Date: November 2024

Purpose

This submission’s core purpose is to provide feedback on Recommendations 5 and 6 of the Independent Review into Disability Support Services (DSS), advocating for systemic change to achieve equity for disabled people in New Zealand. This is driven by the need to ensure that government decisions uphold the human rights of disabled people and improve their lives, particularly in the context of recent detrimental funding changes and ongoing underfunding within the DSS sector.

Summary of DPA submission

DPA strongly emphasises that Disability Support Services (DSS) must be underpinned by a rights-based framework. This framework specifically includes the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) – a foundational document that New Zealand has signed and ratified, confirming disabled people must have the same human rights as everyone else – and the Social Model of Disability. The Social Model posits that society, through its barriers, disables people, not their impairments, and therefore governments are charged with removing these barriers and ensuring full participation. DPA views the role of DSS as facilitating and supporting the full participation of disabled people in New Zealand life, including employment, education, and social activities.

The organisation expresses deep concern over the detrimental impacts of recent March 18 changes to DSS and Equipment and Modification Services (EMS), which have curtailed flexibility and imposed more restrictive budgets. Through member surveys and hui, DPA has heard that these changes have caused "extreme anxiety and stress" for disabled people and their families/whānau, leading to "reduced social wellbeing," "loss of independence," "poorer health and safety outcomes," "loss of ability to purchase, replace or repair needed equipment," "loss of options for carer support and respite care," "loss of jobs and education opportunities," and "concern about mental health and wellbeing".

DPA also noted that the transfer of DSS oversight from Whaikaha Ministry of Disabled People back to the Ministry of Social Development (MSD) exacerbated anxiety and confusion within the disability community.

The submission argues that the disability "sector has been significantly underfunded for many years" and that the core issue is "not so much one of cost blow outs but a failure by successive governments to allocate sufficient funding to enable the DSS system to meet both growing demand and the new ways of operating which have come about through system transformation via the Enabling Good Lives (EGL) approach".

DPA has long supported a nationwide rollout of the EGL approach, which involves pooling funding into individualised budgets to provide flexible, person-centred support, and expresses disappointment that this has been paused.

For long-term improvement, DPA recommends a fundamental overhaul of the disability system, potentially unifying income support and disability support, as outlined in the 2022 Warren Forster report "Removing Disabling Experiences".

Furthermore, DPA stresses the critical importance of early intervention and the meaningful, ongoing involvement of disabled people, whānau, and the wider disability community in all DSS decisions.

Key Recommendation:

There needs to be significantly increased investment in Disability Services and support in line with the flexible EGL approach.

Supporting Statement 1:

The DPA's member surveys and hui reveal that disabled people and their families/whānau have experienced "extreme anxiety and stress by these changes", leading to "reduced social wellbeing," "loss of independence," "poorer health and safety outcomes," and "loss of jobs and education opportunities" due to the "curtailing of flexibility through the imposition of more restrictive budgets". These direct negative impacts underscore the urgent need for increased investment and more flexible support.

Supporting Statement 2:

DPA asserts that the disability "sector has been significantly underfunded for many years" and supports the view that the issue is not "cost blow outs but a failure by successive governments to allocate sufficient funding to enable the DSS system to meet both growing demand and the new ways of operating which have come about through system transformation via the Enabling Good Lives (EGL) approach". This directly supports the necessity of increased investment and aligns it with the flexible EGL approach for meeting current and future demand.