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The Government has completely wound back the 2024 controversial cuts made to disability support service funding, but those affected say this is not the end of their struggle.
On March 18 2024 Whaikaha - which at the time was in charge of the disability budget - abruptly introduced new purchasing guidelines which severely restricted what disabled people and their carers could use their allocated budgets for.
The Minister in charge was Penny Simmonds - who said Whaikaha was just days away from spending all its money - and partly blamed the overspend on carers using budgets for things like massages and pedicures.
Disability operations moved into a unit within the Ministry of Social Development, the government commenced a review and overhaul of the system, and most recently people were told that on April 1 their new budgets would reflect what they had spent between June 2023 and June 2025 - which for many would be less due to the restrictions.
All of that has now been wound back, with Minister for Disability Issues Louise Upston saying the system was now stable enough to re-introduce flexible funding, and assured disabled people and carers that their budgets would not be reduced.
Carers and advocates Emily Writes, Katy Thomas and Kristy Kewene respond to the decision and Disability Support Service Transformation general manager Alastair Hill discusses the changes.
