Our Submission to Disability Support Services Consultation

March 25, 2025 | Advocacy, Life with MS, News, Support

Following our two open platform sessions on 12th March where we gathered your comments, insights and feedback into the review of Disability Support Services (DSS), we are pleased to share with you our submission and recommendations.

During our sessions, we heard your comments:

“It is extremely dis-empowering. Unless you know your rights and entitlements.”

“It affects your self-esteem to admit you need help. Then having to go through this difficult process affects it even more.”

We can see that paid employees in the private and public sector are, under legislation, entitled to a minimum of four weeks paid leave, and ten days sick leave. Unpaid family carers receive nowhere near this level of support, yet most undertake more demanding work physically, mentally and often work 24/7. We can also see that family carers are burning out. It is usually only when carers are at their tipping point of being unable to sustain the role of a family carer that they need to look at residential care facilities.

We made numerous recommendations including:

• Pre-assessment information made available to disabled people and their whānau
• Clarity in advance about what supports are available and what information will be discussed
• Consistent training for NASCs Assessors with monitoring to ensure they are meeting standards

We see this review providing the opportunity for the Government to look wider than MSD funded disability services to address inconsistencies and inequities for disabled people. Until then, people with disabilities or non-traumatically acquired health conditions will not be fairly treated.

We urge the government to look wider at disability funding to ensure it is truly equitable and transparent.

Download and read our Submission to DSS Consultation here.