Appendix 3: What has changed in the 2015 update

In 2015, an update process was run by the Office for Disability Issues (on behalf of the Disabled People’s Organisations and government agencies) that involved opportunities for the wider disability sector to provide feedback on the Plan’s priorities and actions. The Plan’s vision, person-driven outcomes and the shared results were not included in the scope of the update process, because of the need to maintain consistency in the strategic direction.

The 2014 recommendations from the United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the Independent Monitoring Mechanism also informed the 2015 update process.

Changes to the Plan were negotiated by Disabled People’s Organisations and government agencies, with the final updated Plan approved on 13 November 2015.

The changes in the updated Plan consist of:

• adding in new actions
• changing some actions by:
  • rewording to reflect completion of initial work and continuation to the next phase of implementation
  • merging those addressing closely related issues and rewording to better clarify what is intended to be achieved
  • removing two actions that are considered to be single agency-led and therefore out-of-scope for the inclusion in the Plan.

Note that numbering of priorities and actions have changed from the initial Plan.

Shared result: Increase employment and economic opportunities

Priority: Increase the number of employers who are confident in employing disabled people, with the public sector taking a lead.

• New action: Work with private sector partners to progress employment of disabled people in the private sector. Lead: Ministry of Social Development.
• Reword former action 3(b) to reflect change in thinking: Building on work in [former action 3(a)], identify better alternatives so that the minimum wage exemption process can be removed. Lead: Ministry of Social Development and Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment.
• Delete, because single agency-led: Priority – Increase the educational achievement of disabled children and adults; and former action 1 (a) Build capability for inclusive education to improve delivery in the CRPD context. Lead: Ministry of Education.
• New action: Improve DPO capability (individually and collectively) to engage with government agencies and their wider community, and consider representation of different population groups in DPOs. Lead: Office for Disability Issues and DPOs.
• Merge and reword existing actions 8(a) and (b): DPOs advise and work with government agencies and the National Enabling Good Lives Leadership Group to support changes to the disability support system, including learning from the Enabling Good Lives approach (particularly its demonstrations) and other initiatives. Key principles of this work are being culturally responsive, strengths based, holistic, involve whānau (whānau ora principles), and an integrated approach. Lead: Ministry of Social Development, Ministry of Health, and Ministry of Education.

Shared result: Transform the disability support system

Priority: Promote the involvement of Disabled Peoples’ Organisations in the design and monitoring of the disability support system transformation.

• New action: Improve DPO capability (individually and collectively) to engage with government agencies and their wider community, and consider representation of different population groups in DPOs. Lead: Office for Disability Issues and DPOs.

• Merge and reword existing actions 8(a) and (b): DPOs advise and work with government agencies and the National Enabling Good Lives Leadership Group to support changes to the disability support system, including learning from the Enabling Good Lives approach (particularly its demonstrations) and other initiatives. Key principles of this work are being culturally responsive, strengths based, holistic, involve whānau (whānau ora principles), and an integrated approach. Lead: Ministry of Social Development, Ministry of Health, and Ministry of Education.

Shared result: Ensure personal safety

Priority: Reduce barriers to disabled people making decisions to determine their own lives.

• New action: Explore the framework that protects the bodily integrity of disabled children and disabled adults against non-therapeutic medical procedures, including the issue of consent. This action will focus initially on options to protect against non-therapeutic sterilisation without the fully informed consent of the individual. Lead: Ministry of Health, with support from the Ministry of Justice.

Priority: Reduce the number of disabled children and adults who are victims of violence, abuse or neglect.

• Merge and reword old actions 6(a), 6(b), 6(c) and 6(e) into the new action: Explore options to reduce violence, abuse (all types, including bullying) and neglect of disabled people and understand the impact of different cultural contexts. This work will include:
  • building on previous work to educate disabled people about their rights
  • ensuring the needs of disabled people are built into the Family Violence work programme
  • scoping a new work programme for abuse by non-family members.

Lead: Ministry of Social Development

• Delete, because single agency-led: Priority: Increase the responsiveness to disabled people of civil defence and emergency management around New Zealand; and former action 7(a) Promoting implementation by local civil defence and emergency management sector of the guidelines for inclusive practice, including learnings from experiences of disabled people in the Canterbury earthquakes. Lead: Ministry of Civil Defence and Emergency Management.

Shared result: Promote access in the community

Priority: Increase government services’ responsiveness to disabled people.

• New action: Implement the work programme of the Disability Data and Evidence Working Group, including a focus on Māori and Pasifika. Lead: Office for Disability Issues and Statistics New Zealand
• New action: Undertake a stocktake to identify any legislation that is not consistent with the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and explore options to improve consistency. Lead: DPOs and Office for Disability Issues
• New action: Investigate opportunities for technology to increase disabled people’s participation in work, community and political life, including through both assistive and access to mainstream technology. Lead: ACC
• New action: Develop a framework for understanding the costs of disability and mechanisms for meeting these. Lead: ACC and Ministry of Social Development
• Deferred until 2017/18, new action: Investigate how Government can utilise a whānau ora approach for disabled persons who prefer a whānau and community inclusive approach to government services. Lead: to be determined
• Reword former action 11 B to reflect next phase of implementation: Understand the journey through the justice sector for disabled adults, disabled children and their families. Lead: Ministry of Justice

Priority: Increase the accessibility for disabled people of the built environment and transport services.

• New action: Understand the impact of disability on housing needs and influence the social housing reform programme to meet the needs of disabled people. Lead: Office for Disability Issues.
• Reword former action 12 A to reflect the next phase of implementation: Implement the recommendations agreed by the Chief Executives’ Group on Disability Issues, which were identified through the stocktake on the accessibility of public transport. Lead: Ministry of Transport and New Zealand Transport Agency
• Reword former action 12 B to reflect the next phase of implementation: Implement the Accessibility Plan: Public Buildings. Lead: Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment

New priority: Promote opportunities for disabled people to participate in cultural life, recreation, leisure and sport.

• New action: Investigate the feasibility of introducing a companion card programme in New Zealand to reduce the cost barrier for disabled people who require a companion to attend paid-entry activities. Lead: Ministry for Culture and Heritage.