Submission on the Disability Support Services Bill 2026

Introduction

Blind Low Vision NZ welcomes the opportunity to provide feedback on the Disability Support Services Bill 2026, we are happy to speak to our submission.

Blind Low Vision NZ supports the establishment of a clear legislative framework for disability support services. Greater consistency, transparency, and accountability within the disability support system are important objectives. The Government says the Bill is intended to improve consistency, fairness, transparency, and sustainability, and that existing services, funding allocations, and eligibility criteria do not immediately change. Those aims are legitimate.

However, we are concerned that the Bill, as currently drafted, prioritises fiscal sustainability, executive control, and legal risk management over the rights, autonomy, and participation of disabled people.

For blind, deafblind, and low vision New Zealanders, disability support is not simply a contribution towards wellbeing. It is often the difference between being able to access education, employment, transport, information, community life, and independence, or being excluded from these fundamental aspects of society.

The Bill’s emphasis on managing funding constraints, particularly through Clause 3 and its reference to Fleming v Attorney-General [2025] NZSC 188, risks establishing a legislative framework where decisions are driven primarily by budget considerations rather than the needs, rights, and aspirations of disabled people.

Blind Low Vision NZ recommends that the Select Committee substantially amend the Bill to align with:

• The social model of disability;
• The social model of disability;
• Te Tiriti o Waitangi obligations;
• The Enabling Good Lives (EGL) principles; and
• Whaikaha’s New Zealand Disability Strategy 2026-2030.

The primary purpose of disability support legislation should be to enable disabled people to participate fully and equally in society, rather than to manage financial liabilities.

About Blind Low Vision NZ

Blind Low Vision NZ is the operating name of the Royal New Zealand Foundation of the Blind. Our organisation was founded in 1890 and has been serving New Zealanders who are blind, deafblind or low vision for over 135 years. We are motivated as a ‘for purpose’ organisation guided by our mission, values, and strategic plan.

Blind Low Vision NZ exists to empower our approximately 16,000 clients who are blind, deafblind, or low vision to live the life they choose. We estimate that 193,000 New Zealanders live with vision loss [i], [ii], and expect that number to grow to 225,000 by 2028 [iii]. Some common eye conditions include Age-related Macular Degeneration, Diabetic Retinopathy, Glaucoma, and Cataracts.

Blind Low Vision NZ is New Zealand’s leading provider of vision rehabilitation services. The services we provide are as follows:

• Orientation and Mobility Services
• Community and Support
• Guide Dog Services
• Library Services
• Accessible Formats Service
• Daily Living Skills
• Adaptive Technology
• Vision Store
• Sport and Leisure
• Emotional Support
• Employment and Youth Transition
• Deafblind Services
• Children’s Services
• Support Grants

These services ensure that everyone in our community has the support they need to thrive.

Comments on the Bill and it’s Clauses

New Zealand has spent decades developing a disability support system grounded in the social model of disability. This approach recognises that disability arises not from an individual’s impairment but from barriers within society that prevent equal participation. The Enabling Good Lives framework further strengthened this approach by placing disabled people and their whānau at the centre of decision-making, promoting self-determination, choice, and control over supports. This framework should be reflected into all policies and legislation. Blind Low Vision NZ is concerned that Clauses 7 and 8 represent a significant departure from these principles.

The Bill describes disability support services as contributing towards outcomes within available funding rather than establishing a clear obligation to provide support that enables participation. It also places primary responsibility on families and communities before State support becomes available.

For blind, deafblind, and low vision people, access to support is often essential for daily living. Orientation and mobility training, adaptive technology, accessible information, guide dog services, support workers, and transport assistance are not optional extras. They are fundamental enablers of participation.

By positioning State support as supplementary rather than essential, the Bill risks increasing inequities and reducing access to the services required for disabled people to live independently.

The Legal Context: Fleming v Attorney-General

The Bill responds to Fleming v Attorney-General, where the Supreme Court addressed paid family care. The RIS says the Supreme Court determined that two paid family carers were employees ([Ministry of Social Development][3]). The Bill then limits future claims, extinguishes some proceedings, and bars some discrimination complaints. All governments have a right to adjust or create legislation to ensure that parliament intentions are reflected in judiciary decisions.

Blind Low Vision NZ is concerned that the Bill appears designed to limit the practical implications of this decision rather than incorporate its findings into future disability support policy and the Bill in its current form expands into other areas without wider consultation.

The Bill may reduce Crown fiscal and litigation risk, but it also weakens access to justice. NZBORA protects freedom from discrimination and links that right to the Human Rights Act. New Zealand has also ratified the UNCRPD with no reservations. The UNCRPD recognises rights to independent living, community inclusion, and social protection.

Purpose and Framing (Clauses 3 and 7)

Purpose clauses matter because they guide how legislation is interpreted, implemented, and applied. Blind Low Vision NZ is concerned that Clauses 3 and 7 embed concepts of funding constraint, risk management, and administrative control at the centre of the legislation. These provisions create a framework where scarcity may become the primary lens through which support decisions are made, rather than providing the right response, at the right time to the right person. For disabled people, including those who are blind, deafblind, or have low vision, support should be assessed according to need and desired outcomes rather than available funding.

The Bill explicitly defines support services as operating within a “constrained funding environment” and as “a contribution to care”. This language is not neutral. It signals a deliberate repositioning of responsibility, shifting it from the state to individuals and whānau, and from rights to resource management, focusing on what can be funded rather than on societal participation.

Family and Whānau Responsibility (Clause 8)

Blind Low Vision NZ acknowledges the vital role that families and whānau play in supporting disabled people. However, family support should complement and not replace the State’s responsibility to provide disability supports. The Bill reinforces this shift in care by stating that responsibility is “in the first instance” with whānau. It shifts system failure onto households, normalising unpaid, informal care as a substitute for adequate support, despite framing this as a recognition of whānau’s importance. Blind Low Vision’s ‘Shining A Light on Blindness’ report shows that those with visual impairments are over-represented amongst those living in areas of socio-economic deprivation.

Many disabled people do not have access to family networks capable of providing extensive support. Others may have family members who are themselves ageing, disabled, employed, or financially stretched. Whānau and family members hold roles as partners, parents, children etc. When legislation creates more pressure for these roles to also be the primary caregiver before consideration of government supports, this unfairly disadvantages the familial roles. Clause 8 risks creating inequitable outcomes by making access to disability support dependent on the availability of informal support networks. This may particularly disadvantage Māori, Pacific peoples, rural communities, and people living alone.

Blind Low Vision NZ is concerned that the clause reinforces assumptions that family members should absorb responsibilities that properly belong within the disability support system.

Ministerial Powers and Programmes (Clauses 10–12)

Blind Low Vision NZ is concerned about the breadth of powers granted to the Minister through Clauses 10 to 12. These provisions enable significant decisions regarding eligibility, funding, service delivery, and care arrangements to be determined through secondary legislation rather than through Parliamentary scrutiny. While currently decisions about programs for disability are made through executive power, the question remains as to why this needs to be imbedded in legislation without ability for robust consultation? Clause 10 provides that the Minister can make binding directions, and at the same time, approve support service programmes. These two aims appear to be in conflict with each other. The disability community has experienced significant uncertainty over recent years as a result of sudden changes to disability support funding and eligibility settings. The concentration of decision-making power within the Executive branch risks further undermining trust and confidence in the system. Meaningful consultation with disabled people must be a core requirement of any future changes.

This is particularly important for blind, deafblind, and low vision communities, whose experiences and access needs are often overlooked in mainstream policy development.

Safeguards, Complaints, and Appeals

Blind Low Vision NZ is deeply concerned that the Bill establishes significant powers and obligations without simultaneously establishing safeguards, complaints processes, and appeal rights. Access to independent review and redress is fundamental to a fair disability support system. It is fundamental that government decisions and determinations have the capacity to be reviewed. Blind, deafblind, and low vision people frequently rely on disability supports to maintain independence, participate in employment, access education, and engage in their communities. Decisions affecting those supports can have profound consequences. Without clear review and appeal mechanisms, disabled people may have limited ability to challenge incorrect or unfair decisions.

Enabling Good Lives and Māori Participation

Blind Low Vision NZ is disappointed that the Bill does not explicitly embed Enabling Good Lives principles despite their central role in disability system transformation. The absence of these principles risks reinforcing a deficit-based approach that focuses on managing services rather than enabling good lives. Similarly, the Bill lacks meaningful mechanisms to support Māori participation in governance, decision-making, and accountability. Tāngata Whaikaha Māori continue to experience significant inequities across disability, health, education, employment, and social outcomes. Effective disability legislation must recognise the importance of Māori leadership and participation in shaping policy and services. The ‘Shining a Light on Blindness’ report unsurprisingly reflects that Māori and Pacific Peoples have a higher rate of both severe and other visual impairments compared to those identified as other ethnicities.

Blind Low Vision NZ supports stronger mechanisms that reflect both Te Tiriti o Waitangi obligations and the diversity of disabled communities.

Impact on Blind, Deafblind and Low Vision New Zealanders

Blind, deafblind, and low vision New Zealanders already face significant barriers to participation. These barriers include inaccessible information, limited employment opportunities, transport challenges, housing accessibility issues, digital exclusion, and social isolation. In 2023, 60% of those with severe visual impairment had an income between $20,000 and $40,000 as reported in the ‘Shining a Light on Blindness’ report. Any changes to supports or access to supports unfairly burdens those who can afford it the least. Disability support services help remove these barriers by providing practical assistance, adaptive technology, specialist rehabilitation, orientation and mobility training, communication supports, and other services that enable independence. These tools and support help to elevate inequities for blind, deaf blind and low vision people. The Bill’s emphasis on constrained funding, family responsibility, and executive discretion creates a risk that access to these supports will become less certain over time.

Blind Low Vision NZ believes disability legislation should strengthen pathways to inclusion rather than create additional barriers to support.

Recommendations

• Amend Clauses seven and eight to reflect the social model of disability and Enabling Good Lives principles by requiring support services to actively enable participation, inclusion, and independence.
• Reframe Clauses three and seven to establish autonomy, participation, accessibility, inclusion, and independent living as the primary purposes of disability support services.
• Clarify that family and community support should never be used as a substitute for State-funded disability supports where those supports are required to enable participation and independence.
• Introduce mandatory consultation requirements with disabled people, Disabled People’s Organisations, and Māori disability organisations, alongside stronger Parliamentary oversight of significant policy changes through the mechanism of Whaikaha.
• Allow employment status to be determined according to the genuine nature of the relationship rather than predetermined legislative exclusions.
• Include independent complaints, review, and appeal mechanisms within the Bill itself rather than deferring them to future legislation.
• Explicitly embed Enabling Good Lives principles throughout the legislation and establish mechanisms for Māori participation, partnership, and accountability.

Conclusion

The Disability Support Services Bill 2026 represents a significant shift in the direction of disability policy in New Zealand. While Blind Low Vision NZ supports the objective of establishing a clearer legislative framework, we are concerned that the Bill places excessive emphasis on funding constraints, executive control, and risk management while providing insufficient recognition of disabled people’s rights, autonomy, and participation. Without substantial amendment, the Bill risks creating a disability support system that is less equitable, less transparent, and less responsive to the needs of disabled people. The Bill answers a real problem, but in the wrong order. It builds the fence around the budget before it builds the doorway for disabled people. BLVNZ should welcome clarity, but argue that clarity without rights, review, and accessible process is not enough.

Blind Low Vision NZ urges the Committee to recommend amendments that ensure disability support services are grounded in human rights, equity, inclusion, participation, and self-determination.

Footnotes

[i] Thornley SJ, Gordon K, Shelton C, Marshall R. The prevalence of visual impairment: a capture-recapture study in three urban regions of New Zealand. Available on our website.

[ii] Original numbers were obtained from: New Zealand Disability Survey 2013. Available on the Stats NZ website.
[iii] Moore, David; Rippon, Rebecca; and Niemi, Malin. Vision Rehabilitation in New Zealand. 27 February 2019. Sapere Research Group. Page 14, Section 4.4. Shining a Light on Blindness: Blind Low Vision NZ. Available on our webite.