Whaikaha - Ministry of Disabled People’s newly released analysis highlights the systemic financial hardship many disabled people face and reinforces what has been known for years: poverty among disabled people in Aotearoa New Zealand is persistent, predictable, and preventable.

IHC Director of Advocacy Tania Thomas says Whaikaha’s report helps shine a light on inequities, but the findings are not new.

"This analysis confirms a long-established reality: disabled people, particularly those with intellectual disabilities, face much greater hardship than the general population. What we need now is a plan to lift people out of poverty," Tania says.

"IHC research over the past decade has consistently shown how people with intellectual disabilities and their households are marginalised. The Cost of Exclusion report demonstrates that people with intellectual disabilities are among those hardest hit by poverty, facing disproportionately worse outcomes across income, employment, and quality of life.

"Few adults with intellectual disabilities are supported into paid employment, while many parents of children with intellectual disabilities are forced to reduce their working hours to provide care. This has a direct impact on those families’ ability to achieve and maintain financial security.

"Despite years of reporting and advocacy, there has been little meaningful shift in outcomes. The release of further government data, without a clear plan for change, risks documenting inequity without resolving it.

"Disabled people in Aotearoa deserve more than acknowledgement of the problem. They deserve a plan, backed by action, that delivers real and lasting change."

The Cost of Exclusion report identifies four priority areas for Government-led change that will enable people with intellectual disabilities to participate in their communities and achieve higher living standards:

1. Access to timely diagnosis and early support

Early diagnosis and support are critical for:

• Developing communication, daily living skills, independence, and wellbeing
• Accessing needs-based funding and support early in life
• Receiving learning support and reasonable accommodations at school
• Ensuring availability of specialist services such as speech-language therapy
• Strengthening safeguards that recognise risk and vulnerability
• Improving access to disability-related income support.

2. Adequate disability support payments 

Many people with intellectual disabilities remain in persistent poverty even when receiving all available support. Improvements should include:

• Ensuring disability-related income supports are sufficient
• Fully funding disability-related costs (e.g. transport, support needs, assistive technology, and healthcare), rather than partially subsidising them
• Adjusting benefits annually to reflect real living costs, not just inflation.

3. Genuine employment pathways 

Supporting meaningful employment requires:

• Investment in supported employment, job coaching, and inclusive workplace practices
• Ensuring all workers receive at least the minimum wage
• Leadership from the public sector and Crown entities in employing more people with intellectual disabilities.

4. A simplified disability support system 

Current systems are complex, confusing, and exclusionary. They must be reformed to:

• Provide consistent access to advocacy and support people who can act on an individual’s behalf
• Fund and include people with intellectual disabilities and their representative organisations in decision-making ("nothing about us without us")
• Embed disability equity as a core component of national poverty reduction targets.

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