Major concerns about the Disability Support Services Bill
- Jul 3
- 4 min read
The DSS Bill has sparked significant debate across Aotearoa New Zealand’s disability community.
While the Government says the Bill will provide “clarity and stability to the system which supports thousands of disabled New Zealanders”, many, including Manawanui, are concerned the Bill will negatively impact how disability support is delivered, particularly Individualised Funding.
A key concern is that the Bill shifts a large portion of the substantive detail out of the primary legislation and into secondary legislation, specifically ministerial programmes.
Primary Legislation: Laws passed by Parliament, which involve a full legislative process, including Select Committee hearings and public submissions
Secondary Legislation (Regulations/Programmes): Rules made by a Minister under the authority granted by an Act. These generally do not undergo the same extensive parliamentary or public scrutiny as a full Bill
Disability advocates argue this allows future ministers to reshape the support system (potentially narrowing support and care choices or altering eligibility) without the requirement for a new Act, the robust public consultation that accompanies such changes or the same level of parliamentary scrutiny.
Another concern is that the Bill goes against a recent Supreme Court ruling recognising some family carers as employees, and that it could potentially increase reliance on unpaid care from already stretched families.
While Manawanui supports a clear legislative framework for DSS, we don't support the DSS Bill in its present form as it reinforces outdated models of disability support, limits choice and reduces the ability of our customers to self-direct.
Manawanui’s Submissions
Manawanui first opposed the Bill in a written submission on 12 June outlining its impact on our customers and the disability community as a whole. You can download a PDF of our written submission here.
We then made an oral submission, appearing before the Social Services and Community Select Committee on 30 June. Our CEO Ellen Campbell raised critical issues that needed to be addressed and was accompanied by longtime Manawanui customer Ann Cowan.
The video of our oral submission to the Select Committee is available below.
Four changes sought to proposed Bill
Speaking to the Select Committee, Ellen said: “Clause 8. The “family’s first” principle cannot be a tool for cutting someone’s funding on the assumption their family will step in unpaid. We need that in the bill explicitly.
“Two – guarantee a fair payment model for family carers. The Bill legislates expiry of the current mechanisms without any alternative specified. Develop the alternative payment model for family carers before legislating a transition timeline.
“Three – removed Clauses 12–15. How is it ethical to remove access for disabled people and their carers to the Human Rights Commission, the Health and Disability Commissioner and the Employment Court all at once without consultation?
“These accountability mechanisms exist for exactly the people that this Bill impacts. These are people who are already disproportionately discriminated against: disabled people, women, Maori, Pasifika and low-income families.
“Removing accountability is not the way to solve a court decision and the impact on government. This would be a choice about who the law protects and who it doesn’t.
“Four – remove Clause 11. It hands ministers broad power to redesign the whole disability support system through secondary legislation with no requirement to consult disabled people.
“The Government has said it won’t means test, so why do those powers need to exist in the Bill? The fiscal justification doesn’t make sense to us.
“Budget availability as a legislated constraint on services that are intended to meet a human right is exceptional. The DSS budget will underspend by about $170 million this year, so the fiscal issue has already been managed, and even if it wasn’t, is legislation the right solution to a budget problem?
“The agency that would administer this Bill is MSD and MSD is built to calculate benefit entitlement. Disability support is not a benefit; it’s personal, it’s relational, it’s endlessly variably, and applying benefit-systems thinking will make things worse, not better.
“Disability Support has spent 30 years moving away from top-down decisions about what disabled people need. Clause 11 risks undoing that quietly through ministerial programmes that Parliament and the public can’t easily scrutinise.”
Manawanui customer voices concerns
Ellen then invited Ann to share her story. In a moving presentation, Ann spoke about her son Christian, who has classic autism and an intellectual disability – she revealed how vitally important IF and Manawanui had been.
Ann also highlighted the dangers of what can happen when people don’t have access to disability support suitable for their needs.
“This Bill will force people into accepting unacceptable situations…I would ask you to slow down and codesign the system with us. Any Bill should embody the principles of Enabling Good Lives and not legislate away rights,” Ann said.
“Please hear me when I say this framework is important. Listen to our voices, nothing about us without us…Support our families and we in turn lessen the burden on the state.”
Next steps
Oral and written submissions closed on 12 June and 30 June respectively.
The Select Committee is now preparing its report on the Bill. Once it's received by the House, the Bill will progress to its second reading, where Parliament will debate and consider its proposed amendments.