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 (admin@drnz.co.nz).
Disability Policies of New Zealand’s Political Parties
A report prepared by Disability Responsiveness New Zealand ahead of the 2026 New Zealand General Election
Introduction
This report summarises the disability-related policies of the political parties currently represented in, or polling for, the New Zealand Parliament ahead of the 2026 general election. It covers the National Party, the Labour Party, the ACT Party, the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand, New Zealand First, Te Pāti Māori, and The Opportunities Party (TOP).
Where a party has not published a detailed, standalone disability policy for the 2026 election, this is stated clearly. In those cases, the report describes the party’s general policy direction as it relates to disabled people, based on its wider platform, past voting record, ministerial statements, and budget decisions.
This report draws on an independent policy comparison compiled by disability advocate Huhana Hickey (published April 2026), cross-checked against party websites and news coverage where available. Because several parties have not released a formal 2026 disability manifesto, some of the analysis below reflects informed interpretation of a party’s broader direction rather than a direct quotation from an official policy document. Readers who want to make a fully informed voting decision are encouraged to check each party’s official website closer to election day, as policies may be added or updated.
This report aims to present each party’s position fairly and neutrally. It does not endorse or recommend any party.
Quick Reference: Has Each Party Published a Disability Policy?
| Party | Standalone 2026 disability policy published? | Overall approach |
| National Party | No standalone 2026 manifesto | Focus on financial stability of disability support services, national consistency, and some restored flexibility in funding, alongside a refreshed Disability Strategy 2026–2030. |
| Labour Party | Partial – specific commitments announced | Rights-based approach; has pledged to repeal the Government’s disability support legislation and rebuild it in partnership with disabled people. |
| ACT Party | No standalone 2026 manifesto | Individual choice and smaller government; favours direct, individualised funding and less bureaucracy, with limited focus on disability rights specifically. |
| Green Party | Yes – detailed policy positions | The most explicitly rights-based platform; supports higher income support, accessible housing, and enforceable accessibility standards. |
| New Zealand First | No standalone disability policy | Disability is addressed indirectly through health and seniors policy rather than as its own area. |
| Te Pāti Māori | Partial – strong vision, less technical detail | Centres tāngata whaikaha Māori and whānau hauā through self-determination (tino rangatiratanga) and Māori-led services. |
| The Opportunities Party (TOP) | Partial – disability addressed within wider reform | Focuses on structural reform such as a citizen’s income and accessible housing, rather than a disability-specific programme. |
Party-by-Party Disability Policies
National Party
Overview
National has not released a standalone 2026 disability manifesto. Its approach centres on keeping the Disability Support Services (DSS) system financially stable, making support more consistent nationally, and restoring some flexibility and choice within funding, underpinned by a refreshed national disability strategy.
Disability Support Funding and Services
Budget 2024 allocated $1.1 billion over five years for disability support services through Whaikaha (the Ministry of Disabled People), including funding to address cost pressures. Budget 2025 added a further $240 million over four years for residential care, intended to support more than 7,000 disabled people and around 89 providers.
Individualised Funding and Choice and Control
After changes to flexible funding rules caused concern in 2024, the Government said in March 2026 that existing flexible funding allocations would remain but that some purchasing restrictions would be eased, giving people more say over supports such as respite care, while some spending would still require approval within a set budget. A more consistent, nationwide assessment and allocation process began in February 2026 in response to concerns about inconsistent access across regions.
Housing, Income Support and Transport
No enforceable accessible-housing requirements, disability-specific income reform, or transport accessibility policy have been identified in National’s current platform.
Health
Disability-related health provision sits within National’s general health policy rather than being addressed as a distinct disability health programme.
Education and Employment
Budget 2025 included substantial learning support investment (reported at $2.5 billion over the forecast period, with $746.7 million confirmed for rollout), covering more Learning Support Coordinators and expansion of the Ongoing Resourcing Scheme (ORS). No specific disability employment package has been identified.
Accessibility, Rights and the Disability Strategy
National oversaw the refresh of the New Zealand Disability Strategy 2026–2030, covering education, employment, health, housing and justice, and backed a new NZSL Strategy 2026–2036 for the Deaf community. No commitment to enforceable accessibility standards has been identified.
Māori Disabled People (Tāngata Whaikaha Māori)
No policy specific to tāngata whaikaha Māori or whānau hauā has been identified beyond inclusion within the general disability strategy framework.
Strengths and Gaps
Strengths: Significant funding to stabilise the disability support system, restoration of some funding flexibility, a national consistency approach to assessment, investment in residential care and learning support, and a refreshed cross-government disability strategy.
Gaps or concerns: No published standalone 2026 disability manifesto; limited detail on accessible housing, disability income reform, transport accessibility, enforceable accessibility standards, or a distinct policy for tāngata whaikaha Māori.
Labour Party
Overview
Labour takes a rights-based, equity-focused approach grounded in the Enabling Good Lives principles and the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. It has made specific 2026 election commitments, most notably to repeal the current Government’s proposed disability support legislation.
Disability Support System and Individualised Funding
Labour’s period in government (2017–2023) established Whaikaha, the Ministry of Disabled People, and expanded the Enabling Good Lives approach, which generally supports individualised funding and greater choice and control, alongside moves toward more nationally consistent support (not yet complete).
Repeal of the Disability Support Services Bill
Labour has pledged to repeal the Government’s disability support legislation if elected, describing it as developed without adequate engagement with the disability community. Labour says it would work with disabled people and disability organisations to co-design replacement legislation grounded in partnership and the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
Income Support and Social Welfare
Labour has previously increased main benefit levels following recommendations of the Welfare Expert Advisory Group and introduced some cost-of-living support. Partnered means testing remains in place, and no full overhaul of the disability income system has been delivered.
Housing and Accessibility
Labour’s public housing building programme included some accessibility improvements, but there is no requirement that all new state housing builds be universally accessible, and accessible housing supply nationally remains low.
Health
Labour’s health reforms established Te Whatu Ora (Health New Zealand) and, for a period, Te Aka Whai Ora (the Māori Health Authority), with a stated focus on equity. Access barriers for disabled people persisted despite these reforms.
Education and Employment
Labour expanded learning support, including growth in the Ongoing Resourcing Scheme (ORS), and supported early-intervention and inclusive education initiatives. Gaps remain in the transition from school to sustained employment for disabled people.
Accessibility and Rights
Labour passed the Accessibility for New Zealanders Act 2022, a first step toward identifying and removing barriers across society. The Act has been criticised for lacking rights-based, enforceable standards or any strong accountability mechanisms.
Māori Disabled People (Tāngata Whaikaha Māori)
Labour placed a stronger emphasis than most parties on equity for Māori disabled people, including through Te Aka Whai Ora while it existed and through Te Tiriti-informed system reform, though many outcomes remain aspirational.
Strengths and Gaps
Strengths: A clear rights-based framing, the creation of Whaikaha as a dedicated ministry, passage of accessibility legislation, a specific 2026 commitment to repeal and co-design new disability legislation, and stronger-than-average attention to Māori disability equity.
Gaps or concerns: Accessibility legislation lacks rights-based focus, enforcement teeth, no major breakthrough on accessible housing supply, the disability income system remains inadequate, and there is a gap between stated policy and people’s lived experience.
ACT Party
Overview
ACT has not released a detailed standalone 2026 disability policy. Its general philosophy of individual responsibility, smaller government and spending accountability shapes an approach favouring personal choice and simpler funding models over a rights-based or equity framework.
Disability Support System and Individualised Funding
Based on its wider policy direction, ACT favours individualised, cash-like funding paid directly to individuals rather than providers, less bureaucracy in the disability support system, and clearer rules on how funding may be used, alongside tighter oversight of spending.
Income Support and Social Welfare
ACT’s welfare policy emphasises tightening benefit obligations, reducing long-term reliance on income support and encouraging workforce participation. It does not propose large increases to benefit levels, and partnered means testing would likely continue.
Housing and Accessibility
No specific accessible-housing policy has been identified. ACT’s general housing approach relies on increasing supply through market-led development and reduced regulation rather than mandated accessibility standards.
Health
ACT supports a more efficient, performance-driven health system and has been critical of Health New Zealand’s current structure, but has not put forward disability-specific health policy.
Education and Employment
ACT’s education policy emphasises standards and outcomes, with learning assistance addressed within broader education reform rather than as a disability-specific programme. Its employment policy emphasises workforce participation, with less focus on removing workplace accessibility barriers.
Accessibility and Rights, and Transport
No commitment to expanding the Accessibility for New Zealanders Act 2022 or to enforceable accessibility standards has been identified, and no specific transport accessibility policy has been identified.
Māori Disabled People (Tāngata Whaikaha Māori)
ACT’s general opposition to policy targeted by ethnicity means it has not proposed a specific policy for tāngata whaikaha Māori or whānau hauā, instead emphasising equal treatment under the law.
Strengths and Gaps
Strengths: A clear, consistent emphasis on individual choice and autonomy through individualised funding, a focus on reducing bureaucracy, and an emphasis on transparency and accountability in public spending.
Gaps or concerns: No standalone disability manifesto; limited recognition of disability as a rights or equity issue; no accessible-housing policy; weak focus on accessibility enforcement; and no targeted policy for Māori disabled communities.
Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand
Overview
The Green Party has the most explicitly rights-based and equity-driven disability platform of the parties reviewed, grounded in the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, Te Tiriti o Waitangi, and the view that disability results from barriers created by society rather than individual impairment.
Disability Support System and Individualised Funding
The Greens support the Enabling Good Lives approach, full choice and control over supports, moving away from rigid deficit-based assessments, expanding individualised funding, and reducing bureaucratic barriers to access.
Income Support and Social Welfare
This is a core Green policy area: significant benefit increases, movement toward a Guaranteed Minimum Income, removing punitive sanctions, and reforming or removing partnered means testing so that disabled people are not penalised for a partner’s income.
Housing and Accessible Housing
The Greens support large-scale public and community housing building, mandatory universal design standards for new housing, increasing the supply of accessible homes, and stronger renter protections.
Health
The Greens emphasise equity in health outcomes, accessible and culturally appropriate services, and reducing cost barriers to disability-specific care, alongside strengthening the public health system generally.
Education and Employment
The Greens support fully funded inclusive education and expanded learning support (including ORS), and frame employment policy around removing structural and workplace barriers rather than requiring disabled people to adapt, including support for fair pay and supported employment pathways.
Accessibility and Rights, and Transport
The Greens support strengthening the Accessibility for New Zealanders Act 2022 with enforceable standards and firm timelines for transport, buildings and digital access, making them the party most focused on real enforcement rather than strategy alone.
Māori Disabled People (Tāngata Whaikaha Māori)
The Greens explicitly centre tāngata whaikaha Māori and whānau hauā, Te Tiriti obligations and kaupapa Māori approaches, and support Māori-led solutions that address the combined effects of colonisation and ableism.
Strengths and Gaps
Strengths: The strongest rights-based disability framework of the parties reviewed, a clear commitment to income adequacy, a major focus on accessible housing and universal design, support for enforceable accessibility standards, and an explicit commitment to tāngata whaikaha Māori.
Gaps or concerns: Policies would require substantial public investment, and there is less public detail on how proposals would be operationalised and funded at scale.
New Zealand First
Overview
New Zealand First does not treat disability as a standalone policy area. Its pragmatic, state-focused approach addresses disability indirectly through health, superannuation and community services, with a strong emphasis on older New Zealanders.
Disability Support System and Individualised Funding
No detailed disability system reform policy has been published. NZ First’s general platform supports maintaining reliable, state-funded support services rather than large-scale system redesign.
Income Support and Social Welfare
NZ First’s strongest related policy area is protection of New Zealand Superannuation and support for older people and veterans. It has not put forward a disability-specific income reform agenda, and support for disabled people of working age is largely indirect.
Housing and Accessibility
NZ First supports increasing general housing supply and helping older people remain in their homes, but has no explicit accessible-housing standards or universal design requirements.
Health
NZ First places strong emphasis on public health access, particularly for seniors and rural communities, but disability-specific health needs are addressed within general health policy rather than targeted separately.
Education, Employment and Transport
NZ First’s education policy focuses on general standards and vocational pathways, with limited explicit disability-specific learning support or workplace accessibility policy. No specific transport accessibility policy has been identified.
Accessibility and Rights
NZ First has not been a leading voice on strengthening the Accessibility for New Zealanders Act 2022 or introducing enforceable accessibility standards.
Māori Disabled People (Tāngata Whaikaha Māori)
No distinct policy for tāngata whaikaha Māori or whānau hauā has been identified; NZ First’s broader position emphasises universal rather than targeted policies.
Strengths and Gaps
Strengths: Strong support for public services generally, particularly health, a focus on stability and continuity, and consistent advocacy for older people, including older disabled people.
Gaps or concerns: No standalone disability policy platform; limited focus on accessibility enforcement, accessible housing, disability income reform, transport accessibility, or Māori disabled communities specifically.
Te Pāti Māori
Overview
Te Pāti Māori approaches disability through tino rangatiratanga (self-determination), Te Tiriti o Waitangi, kaupapa Māori values and collective whānau wellbeing. Disability is framed as part of human diversity within whakapapa, and policy focuses on returning decision-making power to whānau, hapū and iwi rather than only reforming existing state systems.
Disability Support System and Individualised Funding
Te Pāti Māori supports by-Māori-for-Māori disability services and devolving decision-making to whānau, hapū and iwi. It aligns with Enabling Good Lives principles but goes further, emphasising Māori authority over Māori disability services rather than choice and control within an existing state system.
Income Support and Social Welfare
Te Pāti Māori supports structural change to lift people out of poverty, including broader income-guarantee style policies and reducing punitive welfare settings, framing poverty as a structural issue grounded in Māori worldviews rather than individual failure.
Housing and Accessible Housing
Housing is a central policy pillar, with support for large-scale investment in Māori housing and papakāinga (community-based housing on ancestral land), community-led housing models, and building homes that meet both accessibility needs and whānau living structures.
Health
Te Pāti Māori strongly supported Te Aka Whai Ora (the Māori Health Authority, since disestablished) and advocates for Māori-led health systems and holistic wellbeing models covering physical, mental, spiritual and collective aspects of health, within which disability is embedded rather than treated separately.
Education and Employment
Te Pāti Māori supports culturally grounded, inclusive education and pathways for tāngata whaikaha Māori and whānau hauā learners, and frames employment policy around meaningful participation and Māori economic development rather than compliance-based work expectations.
Accessibility and Rights, and Transport
Te Pāti Māori supports strengthening the Accessibility for New Zealanders Act 2022 and embedding accessibility in housing, transport and public spaces, framed as a matter of mana (dignity) and inclusion rather than compliance alone.
Māori Disabled People (Tāngata Whaikaha Māori)
This is the foundation of Te Pāti Māori’s approach rather than an add-on: tāngata whaikaha Māori and whānau hauā leadership and lived experience are placed at the centre of policy design, with explicit recognition of the combined effects of colonisation and ableism.
Strengths and Gaps
Strengths: Centres tāngata whaikaha Māori and whānau hauā leadership, strong alignment with Te Tiriti and kaupapa Māori frameworks, a whānau-based and collective approach, and integration of disability across housing, health and economic development rather than treating it as an isolated welfare issue.
Gaps or concerns: Less publicly available technical and costing detail than some other parties, with some policies expressed at a high, aspirational level pending wider structural change.
The Opportunities Party (TOP)
Overview
TOP does not treat disability as a standalone policy area, instead framing disadvantage as the product of flawed underlying systems, particularly income and housing. Its approach is evidence-based and system-focused rather than rights-based (as with the Greens and Labour) or welfare-based (as with National and NZ First).
Disability Support System and Individualised Funding
No detailed standalone reform of the Disability Support Services system has been published. TOP supports improving access to social services, funding advocacy services for disabled people, and faster access to support such as neurodivergence assessment pathways.
Income Support and Social Welfare
This is TOP’s core disability-relevant policy: a proposed means-tested ‘citizen’s income’ that would replace the current welfare system, including disability-related income support, alongside a guaranteed income floor. Disability-specific costs of living may need to be explicitly built into such a scheme to avoid being under-recognised.
Housing and Accessible Housing
TOP supports increasing housing supply, building public housing with improved accessibility, and reforming the Building Code to promote accessibility, including proposals in some policy comparisons for new homes to be built accessible by default. This is one of TOP’s stronger disability-relevant policy areas.
Health
TOP supports improving healthcare access and training healthcare workers to reduce bias toward disabled patients, though disability-specific health policy is not a major standalone focus.
Education, Employment and Transport
TOP supports increased funding for teacher aides and specialist learning support, alongside flexible lifelong learning. Employment policy is tied to education outcomes and economic reform rather than being disability-specific. No specific transport accessibility policy has been identified.
Accessibility and Rights
TOP has signalled support for co-designing accessibility legislation with disabled people, enforceable accessibility standards, and accessible media requirements, positioning it between the Greens’ strong enforcement stance and Labour’s slower, framework-based approach.
Māori Disabled People (Tāngata Whaikaha Māori)
TOP’s policy includes involving Māori disability organisations in policy design, increasing funding for Māori providers, and has floated proposals such as a Māori disability authority, though with less grounding in tino rangatiratanga than Te Pāti Māori’s approach.
Strengths and Gaps
Strengths: A strong focus on income reform through the citizen’s income proposal, recognition of structural drivers of inequality, support for accessible housing and Building Code reform, and support for co-designed accessibility legislation.
Gaps or concerns: No detailed, disability-specific policy framework; heavy reliance on general system and economic reform rather than targeted disability measures; limited detail on the future of Disability Support Services and transport accessibility.
Comparison Tables by Policy Area
The tables below bring together each party’s stance on a specific area relevant to disabled people, so they can be compared one topic at a time. Where a party has not published a position in a given area, this is stated as ‘No specific policy identified’ rather than left blank.
Individualised Funding and Choice and Control
| Party | Stance / Policy Position |
| National | Supports restoring some flexibility and choice within existing flexible funding, alongside a move toward nationally consistent assessment and allocation. |
| Labour | Generally supports individualised funding, choice and control, building on the Enabling Good Lives approach established while last in government. |
| ACT | Favours direct, individualised (cash-like) funding to individuals rather than providers, with an emphasis on reduced bureaucracy. |
| Green | Strongly supports expanding individualised funding and full choice and control, moving away from rigid, deficit-based assessments. |
| NZ First | No detailed individualised funding policy identified; general preference for maintaining existing state-funded services. |
| Te Pāti Māori | Supports Enabling Good Lives principles but goes further, emphasising Māori authority and control (rangatiratanga) over Māori disability services. |
| TOP | No detailed individualised funding policy identified; focus is on faster access to support and advocacy funding rather than funding model reform. |
Income Support and Social Welfare
| Party | Stance / Policy Position |
| National | No specific disability income reform identified; general welfare settings apply. |
| Labour | Has previously increased main benefit levels; partnered means testing remains in place and no full overhaul of disability income support has been delivered. |
| ACT | Emphasises tightened benefit obligations and reduced reliance on income support; does not propose large benefit increases. |
| Green | Supports significant benefit increases, a move toward a Guaranteed Minimum Income, and reform or removal of partnered means testing. |
| NZ First | Strongest focus is protecting New Zealand Superannuation; no disability-specific income reform agenda identified. |
| Te Pāti Māori | Supports structural welfare reform and income-guarantee style policies, framed around reducing poverty as a structural issue. |
| TOP | Proposes a means-tested ‘citizen’s income’ that would replace existing welfare payments, including disability-related income support. |
Housing and Accessible Housing
| Party | Stance / Policy Position |
| National | No enforceable accessible-housing requirements identified. |
| Labour | Large public housing building programme with some accessibility improvements, but no requirement that all new builds be universally accessible. |
| ACT | Relies on market-led housing supply and reduced regulation; no accessible-housing standards identified. |
| Green | Supports mandatory universal design standards for new housing and large-scale accessible public and community housing builds. |
| NZ First | Supports general housing supply increases and helping older people stay in their homes; no explicit accessible-housing standards. |
| Te Pāti Māori | Central policy pillar: investment in Māori housing and papakāinga, built to meet both accessibility needs and whānau living structures. |
| TOP | Supports accessible public housing and reforming the Building Code to promote accessibility in new homes. |
Transport Accessibility
| Party | Stance / Policy Position |
| National | No specific transport accessibility policy identified. |
| Labour | General transport policy includes a proposed $20-per-week public transport fare cap; no disability-specific transport accessibility policy identified for 2026 (a mobility-card-linked free transport policy was part of Labour’s platform in 2023). |
| ACT | No specific transport accessibility policy identified. |
| Green | Accessibility push includes firm timelines and enforceable standards for transport access, as part of a strengthened Accessibility Act. |
| NZ First | No specific transport accessibility policy identified. |
| Te Pāti Māori | Supports embedding accessibility in transport as part of its wider accessibility and mana-based design approach. |
| TOP | No specific transport accessibility policy identified. |
Health
| Party | Stance / Policy Position |
| National | Disability health needs addressed within general health policy rather than as a distinct programme. |
| Labour | Health reforms (Health New Zealand, and previously the Māori Health Authority) emphasised equity, though access barriers for disabled people persisted. |
| ACT | Supports a more efficient, performance-driven health system; no disability-specific health policy identified. |
| Green | Emphasises equity in health outcomes, accessible and culturally appropriate services, and reduced cost barriers to disability-specific care. |
| NZ First | Strong emphasis on public health access generally, especially for seniors and rural communities; disability needs addressed within general health policy. |
| Te Pāti Māori | Supports Māori-led, holistic health systems in which disability is embedded rather than treated as a separate category. |
| TOP | Supports improved healthcare access and reduced bias toward disabled patients; not a major standalone policy focus. |
Education and Employment
| Party | Stance / Policy Position |
| National | Substantial learning support investment (Budget 2025) including more Learning Support Coordinators and ORS expansion; no specific disability employment package identified. |
| Labour | Expanded learning support and ORS; gaps remain in school-to-employment transition outcomes. |
| ACT | Learning assistance addressed within general education reform; employment policy emphasises participation with less focus on workplace accessibility barriers. |
| Green | Supports fully funded inclusive education and frames employment policy around removing structural and workplace barriers. |
| NZ First | General education and vocational policy; limited explicit disability-specific learning support or employment policy identified. |
| Te Pāti Māori | Supports culturally grounded inclusive education and frames employment around meaningful participation and Māori economic development. |
| TOP | Supports increased funding for teacher aides and specialist support; employment policy tied to education and economic reform generally. |
Accessibility Legislation and Enforceable Rights
| Party | Stance / Policy Position |
| National | Oversaw refresh of the Disability Strategy 2026–2030 and a new NZSL Strategy 2026–2036; no commitment to enforceable accessibility standards identified. |
| Labour | Passed the Accessibility for New Zealanders Act 2022, criticised for lacking enforceable standards; has pledged to co-design replacement disability legislation with the sector. |
| ACT | No commitment to expanding accessibility legislation or introducing enforceable standards identified. |
| Green | Supports strengthening the Accessibility Act with enforceable standards and firm timelines for transport, buildings and digital access. |
| NZ First | Not a leading voice on accessibility legislation; no enforceable standards policy identified. |
| Te Pāti Māori | Supports strengthening the Accessibility Act and embedding accessibility across housing, transport and public spaces. |
| TOP | Supports co-designed accessibility legislation, enforceable standards, and accessible media requirements. |
Māori Disabled People (Tāngata Whaikaha Māori / Whānau Hauā)
| Party | Stance / Policy Position |
| National | No specific policy identified beyond inclusion in the general disability strategy framework. |
| Labour | Stronger-than-average emphasis on equity for Māori disabled people through Te Tiriti-informed system reform, though outcomes remain partly aspirational. |
| ACT | No specific policy identified; general position emphasises equal treatment under the law rather than targeted approaches. |
| Green | Explicitly centres tāngata whaikaha Māori and whānau hauā, Te Tiriti obligations, and Māori-led solutions. |
| NZ First | No specific policy identified; general position emphasises universal rather than targeted approaches. |
| Te Pāti Māori | Tāngata whaikaha Māori and whānau hauā are the foundation of the party’s disability approach, not an add-on. |
| TOP | Supports involving Māori disability organisations in policy design and has floated a possible Māori disability authority. |
Sources
- Hickey, H. (2026). “All the 7 polling political party disability policies in one document.” Huhana Hickey, Substack, 11 April 2026.
- New Zealand Labour Party. “Our Policies.” labour.org.nz, accessed August 2026.
- Waatea News. “#election2026: Labour Pledges to Scrap Disability Bill if Elected.” 4 July 2026.
- The Opportunities Party. opportunity.org.nz, accessed August 2026.
- CCS Disability Action. “Election 2023: Political parties policy analysis.” ccsdisabilityaction.org.nz.
- Policy.nz. “Policies for Party vote — Disability.” policy.nz/2023/party-vote.
- Wikipedia. “2026 New Zealand general election” and “Party lists in the 2026 New Zealand general election.”
Because most parties have not published a single, comprehensive 2026 disability policy document, this report combines the independent comparison above with official party sources and recent news coverage. Party positions can change during a campaign — check each party’s official website for the most current information before voting.
A “thank you” to Dr. Pamela J. MacNeill, Managing Director, Disability Responsiveness New Zealand Ltd for sending this article to The Upper Hutt Connection.
02/09/26
The Upper Hutt Connection 