NZ Disability Rights

02/04/2026

Today is World Autism Acceptance Day, and it’s Autism Acceptance Month throughout April. This is an opportunity to celebrate, but also a time to be even more active in our work for increased support for the autistic and wider autism communities.

If you want to hold an Autism Acceptance month event, there’s still plenty of time to get ready for Hoods Up Volume Down on April 29th. All the info is available here: https://autismnz.org.nz/autism-acceptance-month/

And tell us in the comments - what does acceptance mean to you?

30/03/2026

As Disability Rights Commissioner, I'm hosting a community discussion about emergency management, Te Tiriti o Waitangi and disabled people when I visit Ngāmotu New Plymouth on Monday 13 April.
If you can make it, please do! It's so important that our emergency management strategies are inclusive and designed to work for all of us.
No registration needed. Refreshments will be be provided. NZSL will be offered via online interpreting.
Join me from 10am to 11.30am at Taranaki Disabilities Information Centre, 28 Young Street, Ngāmotu New Plymouth.
- Prudence Walker

Taranaki Civil Defence Emergency Management

29/03/2026

Great to see all of the work and wisdom of the Kōrero for Change webinar series collected together in their report 'Insights and Actions for Change' launched last week.

As Kimberly Graham says “the solutions are neither abstract nor unknown” ... “Universal design works. Co-design works.”

Accessibility is a bedrock of dignity, freedom and participation, an accessible future can start today if we take the actions recommended in this report. - Prudence Walker, Disability Rights Commissioner at Te Kāhui Tika Tangata Human Rights Commission.

The report is available at the link below in PDF, Word and large print with other accessible formats pending.

The Accessible Futures Summit brings together disabled leaders, researchers, think tanks and government officials to address the cost of excluding disabled people, whānau and carers by connecting the disability sector, research organisations, and government.

23/03/2026

🎙️ Tomorrow, people with Down syndrome will be speaking at the United Nations in New York. And you can watch LIVE.

The World Down Syndrome Day Conference is one of the most important events in our calendar — and this year, with our theme of Together Against Loneliness, it is more powerful than ever.

Self-advocates with Down syndrome will take to the global stage to share their experiences, demand change, and show the world what it looks like when people speak up for themselves.

This is not a panel of people talking about people with Down syndrome. This is people with Down syndrome speaking for themselves — to world leaders, policymakers, and a global audience.

Don't miss it.

📅 Monday 23 March 📍 The United Nations, New York — LIVE 📲 https://events.ds-int.org/15thWorldDownSyndromeDayConference #/watch

See you tomorrow. 💙💛

23/03/2026

Today is World Down Syndrome Day!

You can wear our boldest, brightest, most eye-catching socks to celebrate!

This years theme is

Loneliness is a human rights issue.

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities says people have the right to be connected, included, and to belong.

Standing up for these rights makes us stand together against loneliness:
• living in the community
• having relationships and being part of a family
• going to a school where everyone is included
• having a job where you feel included
• taking part in culture, sport, and fun activities.

World Down Syndrome Day New Zealand Down Syndrome Association

05/03/2026

This is a meeting of influential thinkers from various backgrounds to share ideas about how to ensure our democracy is preserved and enhanced.

05/03/2026

The Ministry of Disabled People – Whaikaha, in partnership with Creative HQ, is seeking applications from across New Zealand for the Access Activator pilot programme. 

05/03/2026

Blind Low Vision NZ has issued its ‘Shining a Light on Blindness’ report: An Analysis of Outcomes for Working Age New Zealanders who are Blind and Visually Impaired. The link to the report is https://blindlowvision.org.nz/shining-a-light-on-blindness/

05/03/2026

04/03/2026

Confused or concerned about the funding changes coming in April? Join us online on Wednesday 11 March at 10.00 am for a practical hui with Disability Support Services (DSS).

We are pleased to be joined by Alastair Hill, General Manager from DSS Transformation. who will talk through what the changes mean in real life, what is staying the same, and answer common questions.

✅ What the changes mean in practice
✅ What is changing and what is not
✅ Clearing up common misunderstandings
✅ How people with disabilities, whānau and carers can access supports

There will also be time for Q&A.

👉 Register now - Phone: 0800 227 363, send us a DM or email: information@drct.co.nz

24/02/2026

The breadth of evidence reported today by the People’s Select Committee on Pay Equity reaffirms that recent changes to our pay equity laws unquestionably undermined human rights in Aotearoa New Zealand.

The 2025 amendments to the Equal Pay Act limit the scope of pay equity claims that aim to balance often longstanding inequities between men and women doing work of equal value. The changes meant 33 active claims -representing thousands of workers – were stopped in their tracks.

“The Government’s changes make it harder to correct pay inequities for potentially hundreds of thousands of people working in women-dominated professions, undermining their fundamental human right to equal pay for work of equal value,” says Equal Employment Opportunities Commissioner, Professor Gail Pacheco.

The right to pay equity is protected under New Zealand law and international conventions we are party to. The amendments not only undermine our human rights obligations, but are a step backwards, which is inconsistent with human rights best practice.

“It must not go unnoticed that as a country we are committed and obligated to not only advance pay equity but also to protect the hard-fought gains we have made.”

Click here for more: https://tikatangata.org.nz/news/peoples-select-committee-on-pay-equity-report-confirms-law-changes-undermine-human-rights

24/02/2026