This article is part of a series advocating for the rights of disabled people, contributed by Dr Pamela J. MacNeill, Managing Director, Disability Responsiveness New Zealand Ltd: https://drnz.co.nz/
Summarising the DPA Election 2026 Disability Scorecard
About this summary
This summary is drawn entirely from the Disability Scorecard for Election 2026, published by the Disabled Persons Assembly (DPA) in its Information Exchange newsletter of 29 October 2026. The scorecard is the original work of the Disabled Persons Assembly, CCS Disability Action and Your Way Kia Roha, who designed the questions, surveyed the parties and collated the responses. Full credit for the scorecard belongs to those three organisations.
This summary has been prepared for information only. It is not intended to persuade anyone to vote for, or against, any political party or candidate. It does not rank the parties or recommend any of them. Each party’s position is set out in the same way and in the same order, using the parties’ own self-reported answers and comments. Readers are encouraged to read the original DPA scorecard and each party’s own published policies, and to reach their own conclusions.
The parties appear in the same order DPA used: ACT, the Green Party, Labour, Te Pāti Māori, National, NZ First and Opportunity. The parties’ comments have been condensed and paraphrased; where wording matters, the original DPA document should be consulted.
How the scorecard worked
In September 2026, DPA and its partners sent the same ten questions to seven political parties: ACT, the Green Party, Labour, Te Pāti Māori, National, NZ First and Opportunity. Each party was invited to answer each question Yes, No or Undecided, to add comments, and to provide a short statement to the disabled community.
Where a party did not give one of those three answers directly, DPA assigned an answer based on the party’s comments and marked it with an asterisk. In this summary, such answers are described as an assigned answer. All answers are self-reported by the parties. ACT did not respond to the scorecard, so it is recorded as no response on every question.
Labour noted that it had not yet released its election manifesto when it responded, and that further policy would follow.
The ten questions and the parties’ answers
For each question below, the question is summarised first, then each party’s answer is given in DPA’s order, followed by a short account of any comments the parties added.
Question 1: Rights
The question asked whether the party commits to a legal framework that protects disabled people’s rights and upholds Te Tiriti o Waitangi and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, known as the UNCRPD.
ACT gave no response. The Green Party answered Yes. Labour answered Yes. Te Pāti Māori answered Yes. National answered Yes. NZ First answered Yes. Opportunity answered Yes.
Labour said it is committed to the Enabling Good Lives principles, the UNCRPD and Te Tiriti, and will progress incorporating the UNCRPD into law. NZ First said it supports protecting disabled people’s rights and fully implementing the UNCRPD, but opposes including Treaty principles clauses in general legislation, favouring one law based on need. Opportunity said its position recognises disabled people as rights-holders, recognises Te Tiriti, and commits to UNCRPD obligations.
Question 2: Disability Support Services Bill
The question asked whether the party will repeal the Disability Support Services Bill and replace it with legislation that protects choice and control, self-determination and accountability, and involves disabled people and whānau in decisions.
ACT gave no response. The Green Party answered Yes. Labour answered Yes. Te Pāti Māori answered Yes. National answered No. NZ First answered Undecided. Opportunity answered Yes.
Labour said it opposed the Bill and will repeal it, while agreeing a legislative framework for disability support funding is needed. It said the Bill was drafted without input from disabled people, whānau or carers, and that it would work with them on a rights-based framework with a focus on safeguarding. NZ First said it supports real choice, control and self-determination, and favours flexible, person-centred funding and informed self-assessment over central bureaucracy. Opportunity said it made a submission on repeal, was strongly critical of the Bill’s drafting, consultation, reliance on unpaid family carers and treatment of international and Te Tiriti obligations, and would replace it with rights-based legislation developed with the disability community.
Question 3: Consultation
The question asked whether the party commits to meaningfully involving disabled people and disabled people’s organisations in designing policy and law that affects them.
ACT gave no response. The Green Party, Labour, Te Pāti Māori, National, NZ First and Opportunity all answered Yes.
Labour linked this to its commitment to the UNCRPD and Enabling Good Lives, and to incorporating the UNCRPD into law. NZ First said it strongly supports consulting directly with affected communities and their organisations, because disabled people are best placed to state their own needs.
Question 4: The “Love Tax”
The question asked whether the party supports ending the financial penalty disabled people face when in a relationship, including removing partner income testing for the Supported Living Payment.
ACT gave no response. The Green Party answered Yes. Labour answered Undecided. Te Pāti Māori answered Yes. National answered No. NZ First answered Yes. Opportunity answered Yes.
Labour said it will end annual benefit renewals for people with verified permanent disabilities, but had not yet announced its benefit policies. NZ First said it favours reviewing benefit abatement and income testing so disabled people are not unfairly penalised for forming or keeping relationships.
Question 5: Cost of living and allowances
The question asked whether the party supports increasing the Disability Allowance and the Child Disability Allowance and making them easier to apply for, as recommended in the Child Poverty Action Group’s 2026 manifesto.
ACT gave no response. The Green Party answered Yes. Labour was Undecided. Te Pāti Māori answered Yes. National answered No. NZ First answered Yes. Opportunity was Undecided.
Labour repeated its commitment to ending annual benefit renewals for people with verified permanent disabilities and said its benefit policies were still to be announced. NZ First said its past policy supports reviewing and increasing the Child Disability Allowance, adjusting allowances for inflation and simplifying applications. Opportunity said it has no specific position, but its Tax Reset policy proposes broad reform of main and supplementary benefits to make them more accessible.
Question 6: Employment
The question asked whether the party commits to widening eligibility for, and increasing funding of, Job and Training Support Funds.
ACT gave no response. The Green Party answered Yes. Labour was Undecided. Te Pāti Māori answered Yes. National answered Yes. NZ First answered Yes. Opportunity answered Yes.
Labour said the disability unemployment rate is too high, that it will work towards systemic change to support disabled people into open employment, and that it will amend the Human Rights Act to define reasonable accommodation and recognise that denying it is discrimination. NZ First said employment is a top priority, noted its pledge to reinstate Workbridge, and said it supports expanding job and training support funds.
Question 7: Education
The question asked whether the party commits to needs-based, predictable funding for disabled ākonga in mainstream schools and kura, covering teacher aides, specialist support, accessible resources, assistive technology and reasonable accommodations.
ACT gave no response. The Green Party answered Yes. Labour was Undecided. Te Pāti Māori answered Yes. National answered Yes. NZ First answered Yes. Opportunity answered Yes.
Labour said it is committed to disabled ākonga having the tools and resources they need in mainstream schools and kura. NZ First said it advocates increasing Ongoing Resourcing Scheme funding for high-needs learners, providing Learning Support Coordinators, and creating career pathways for teacher aides.
Question 8: Access
The question asked whether the party commits to accessibility legislation with enforceable standards covering public spaces, buildings, transport, services, information, communication and digital technology.
ACT gave no response. The Green Party answered Yes. Labour answered Yes. Te Pāti Māori answered Yes. National answered Undecided. NZ First answered Yes. Opportunity was Undecided.
Labour said accessibility needs to be prioritised and that its committed domestic disability rights legislation would include a focus on accessibility. NZ First said it supports practical, enforceable accessibility measures and noted it introduced the Accessibility Standards Bill in the name of Jenny Marcroft. Opportunity said it has no set policy, but agrees everyone should have equal access and would listen to disabled people and the evidence on how to achieve it.
Question 9: Abuse in care
The question asked whether the party commits to honouring the promise to survivors by implementing and fully funding the recommendations of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care, and Honour the Promise.
ACT gave no response. The Green Party answered Yes. Labour answered Yes. Te Pāti Māori answered Yes. National answered Undecided. NZ First answered Yes. Opportunity answered Yes.
Labour said it has committed to implementing the Royal Commission’s recommendations. NZ First said it supports justice, victim support and institutional accountability, and supports implementing and adequately resourcing the recommendations to deliver redress and future protection.
Question 10: Climate and emergency preparedness
The question asked whether each party commits to involving disabled people and their organisations in climate adaptation and in emergency preparedness, response and recovery.
ACT gave no response. The Green Party answered Yes. Labour was Undecided. Te Pāti Māori answered Yes. National answered Yes. NZ First answered Yes. Opportunity answered Yes.
Labour said it recognises the importance of meaningful engagement with disabled people and their organisations in this area. NZ First said it supports Civil Defence and regional response plans that cover all community members, and actively involving disabled people and their organisations so plans meet accessibility needs.
The parties’ statements to the disabled community
Four parties provided a general statement. They are summarised below in DPA’s order. ACT, NZ First and Opportunity did not provide a general statement, although NZ First and Opportunity commented on individual questions as described above.
Green Party
The Green Party said it wants an Aotearoa where disabled people and whānau live with dignity and autonomy and have access to services such as transport and good-quality housing. It said current laws, policies and social norms deny disabled people equal rights, with greater barriers for tāngata whaikaha Māori and disabled people from marginalised communities. It said the current Government has made support harder to access. Its plan would build on Enabling Good Lives, be grounded in Te Tiriti, operate on a high-trust model, and include disabled people with disabling conditions who do not currently receive support.
Labour
Labour said its manifesto was still to be released. It said that during this term it opposed the Government’s changes to flexible funding, restrictions on residential care, funding freezes, the halt to Enabling Good Lives sites, changes to Whaikaha, the move of Disability Support Services into the Ministry of Social Development, and the Disability Support Services Bill. It listed seven commitments for a Labour government: systemic change to support disabled people into employment; ending annual benefit renewals for people with verified permanent disabilities; requiring at least 25 percent of new Kāinga Ora builds to be accessible; building disabled leadership capacity with disability communities; amending the Human Rights Act to define reasonable accommodation and treat its denial as discrimination; progressing incorporation of the UNCRPD into law; and repealing the Disability Support Services Act in favour of a rights-based framework developed with disabled people, carers and their organisations.
Te Pāti Māori
Te Pāti Māori described disability justice as a matter of mana, tino rangatiratanga and human rights, with tangata hauā, whānau hauā and Disabled People’s Organisations at the centre of decisions. Its approach is grounded in Te Tiriti and the UNCRPD and supports Māori-led, whānau-centred solutions. It said it would establish a Māori-led Mana Hauā Authority, strengthen accessible and inclusive education, improve access to culturally safe health and disability services, support employment, and make all new government-built housing accessible. It also recognised unpaid care and whānau support as valuable work and supports income settings that allow disabled people to live with dignity.
National
National said it wants disabled New Zealanders to participate in their communities and live the lives they choose, and that support should reflect individual needs and choices. It said that in government it has committed more than 2.1 billion dollars in additional Disability Support Services funding, removed the 2024 flexible funding purchasing restrictions, introduced nationally consistent needs assessments, refreshed the New Zealand Disability Strategy 2026 to 2030, and strengthened Disability Support Services legislation after more than 3,000 submissions. On education, it said it is investing more than 317 million dollars in specialist education infrastructure, including 142 new specialist classrooms, three new specialist schools and major redevelopments at six existing schools, as well as earlier support through Kaikaranga and Autism New Zealand. It said its wider focus includes employment barriers, accessibility, New Zealand Sign Language and safeguarding, and that there is more to do.
Source and further information
Source: Disabled Persons Assembly, Information Exchange newsletter, 29 October 2026, 2026 Election Disability Scorecard Edition, produced with CCS Disability Action and Your Way Kia Roha. The DPA Scorecard webpage on the Disabled Persons Assembly website holds the media release and the full scorecard results in text-only format and in a format with graphics. DPA can be contacted by email at info at dpa dot org dot nz.
This summary, prepared by Dr Pam MacNeill of Upper Hutt, is a condensed account of DPA’s work, prepared for information only. It does not endorse any party, and it should not be read as advice on how to vote.
A “thank you” to Dr Pamela J. MacNeill, Managing Director, Disability Responsiveness New Zealand Ltd for sending this article to The Upper Hutt Connection.
02/11/26
