It’s been a long time coming, but last week saw the announcement of a new Ministry for Disabled People, that’ll be hosted within the Ministry of Social Development.
This new Ministry (launching in July 2022) recognises that disability is not a health issue and shouldn’t be overseen by a business unit within the Ministry of Health. The announcement also strengthened the Government’s commitment to a national roll-out of Enabling Good Lives (EGL) and the implementation of accessibility legislation in 2022. The new Ministry is expected to lift the profile of disability across Government.
Probably most important in this announcement is that the voices of disabled people have been heard, and that partnership with disabled people and whanau will be a ‘top table’ issue – starting with a disabled person- and whanau-led governance structure.
These changes are likely to enable more people to access personal budgets, and prompt the redesign of practice and service models across the sector.
It’s an exciting announcement if the new structure can create a more holistic and EGL-focused change, and drive innovation and positive outcomes for disabled people and their whanau.
There’s a lot of detail still to work through, but we’re supportive of the announcement and look forward to seeing further details to understand how it’ll be implemented and the resources that are required to do so…
