Removing Disabling Experiences

Four enforceable rights of the proposed future system

This is a proposed new system proposed to create enforceable rights for persons with impairments to personalised social support, income support, habilitation, and healthcare. Creating this new system will meet the principles of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, empower people to live their best life, and increase choice and control. These would be provided by the state through a centralised administrative system for people with impairment, similar to the way entitlements are currently available under the ACC system. This includes modifications, adjustments and supports for a person with impairment, to ensure their enjoyment or exercise of all human rights and fundamental freedoms on an equal basis with others.

These are all existing rights that should already be provided through a “rights based” framework. But disabled people know that these are not enforceable, not effective and are not provided in a person-centric manner, let alone person-directed. This work focuses primarily on developing a system to create enforceable rights, and then a roadmap to implement this system over the next decade. Whilst the system of enforceable rights has an important role to play in removing disabling experiences, the future system will not be able to remove many of the wider systemic barriers and it will not stop discrimination. The future system will work alongside the accessibility system and anti-discrimiation system.

Six Guiding Principles

As we create the future system we will be informed by six guiding principles. The future system must:

• meet the requirements of Te Tiriti o Waitangi, the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and the Human Rights frameworks that we have committed to

• deliver integrated, person-directed legally enforceable rights with a person-centred dispute resolution pathway

• innovate the funding model to ensure sustainability and equity for current and future generations

• progressively realise the vision of the future system through a planned approach over time

• improve the health and safety of communities through creating an evidence-based system and investment in communities

• provide oversight and coordination between this system, the barrier identification and removal system (accessibility), the anti-discrimination system and the wider health and social systems.

Read the full report here:

An Independent Research Report produced with generous support from The New Zealand Law Foundation