Every question, every answer, every source

For your situation, I would focus on three questions when comparing parties ahead of New Zealand’s 2026 general election:

• Can your child get assessed promptly? This includes access to learning, developmental, speech-language, autism, ADHD and other relevant assessments, without long waits or prohibitive costs.
• Will an assessment lead to support at school? A diagnosis should not be the only way to qualify for appropriate learning support. The availability of specialists, teacher aides, learning support coordinators and other interventions matters just as much.
• Will your family get help outside school? Access to child development services, occupational therapy, speech-language therapy, mental health care and financial support for parents who reduce paid work can all affect your family's wellbeing.

One important distinction: education support, health assessments and financial assistance are different policy areas. A party might promise more learning support in schools without addressing diagnostic waiting lists, or improve health services without guaranteeing that schools have the staff to act on an assessment.

What the parties are emphasising in 2026

The clearest comparison is between the current government's focus on expanding existing services, Labour's emphasis on reducing everyday healthcare costs, the Greens' inclusive and rights-based approach, and Opportunity's more explicit proposals for coordinating education, health and disability support.

These are policy commitments and announced initiatives, not guarantees that every child will receive an assessment or service within a particular timeframe.

1. School learning support and access to specialists

National

The government's approach is to expand existing services and increase capacity. It has funded Learning Support Coordinator access across primary and intermediate schools over three years, and announced additional early-intervention capacity for young children with high and complex developmental needs. The latter expansion provides for up to 1,000 placements nationwide at any one time from September 2026. 101,000 students to start benefitting from Learning Support CoordinatorsGovernment delivers more support for children with complex educational needs

What to check: Whether this translates into more support hours, specialist access and shorter waits for a child already at school.

Labour

Labour's published 2026 headline policies include free GP visits and prescriptions, but the material reviewed here does not establish a specific new nationwide guarantee for faster developmental assessments or a particular level of school-based learning support. Labour's 2026 Election PoliciesLabour's 2026 Election Policies

What to check: Its detailed education commitments on specialist staffing, learning support funding, and access to assessments for school-age children.

Green Party

The Greens' 2026 manifesto commits to inclusive education and a disability system that supports disabled people and whānau with dignity and autonomy. The party has also opposed disability-support law changes it says were developed without adequate involvement of disabled people and carers. Manifesto 2026Greens oppose rushed disability support law changes

What to check: The precise funding and staffing commitments behind its inclusive-education promises, including how they would reduce waiting times.

Opportunity Party

Opportunity's October 2026 disability statement explicitly identifies learning support coordinators, Resource Teachers: Learning and Behaviour (RTLBs), speech-language therapists, psychologists and mental health services as important forms of educational support for neurodivergent learners. Opportunity Disability Position Statement - October 2026

What to check: How many additional specialists it would fund, what eligibility rules would apply, and how soon children would receive help.

For ACT, its published education position emphasises clear achievement standards, school accountability, greater school choice and charter schools. Those priorities may matter if you are considering a different school environment, but they do not by themselves establish a commitment to faster specialist assessments. ACT New Zealand

2. Access to assessments and children's health services

This is where the differences matter most if your child needs a developmental or behavioural assessment before the right help can be arranged.

Party	Relevant direction in 2026	What it could mean for your family
National	Expanding early-intervention services and implementing more consistent assessments for disability support funding. Government delivers more support for children with complex educational needsDisability support improvements begin	More service capacity is promising, but disability-support assessments are not the same as a clinical diagnosis or a school learning assessment.
Labour	Three free GP visits per year for everyone, plus removal of the $5 prescription charge from July 2027. Labour's 2026 Election PoliciesLabour's 2026 Election Policies	Could reduce routine healthcare costs, but a free GP visit does not automatically provide a funded specialist assessment for ADHD, autism or other developmental needs.
Greens	A broader commitment to disability rights, accessible services and inclusive systems, with opposition to the government's approach to disability-support law changes. Manifesto 2026Greens oppose rushed disability support law changes	Relevant if you prioritise accessible public services and the involvement of disabled people and families in decisions. Check the specific assessment and treatment funding commitments.
ACT	Emphasises timely healthcare, measurable health targets, greater use of private providers to reduce waiting lists, and expanding the role of pharmacies. ACT New Zealand	The key question is whether its proposed changes would cover the particular child-development specialists your child needs, rather than mainly general healthcare.
Opportunity	Proposes a more connected health, education and disability system, including a chosen navigator and a “Tell Us Once” approach to reduce repeated assessments and paperwork. Opportunity Disability Position Statement - October 2026	Particularly relevant if you are repeatedly explaining your child's needs to different agencies or struggling to coordinate services.

This is a comparison of the clearest relevant commitments I could verify, rather than an exhaustive account of every party's manifesto. I could not verify a specific nationwide promise from each party to fund ADHD or autism assessments for all children, so I would not assume that any party has made that guarantee.

3. Support if you have to reduce paid work

Because caring affects your income, I would compare each party's policies on carers and disability-related financial support as well as education and health.

• Opportunity: Its October 2026 disability statement proposes a Citizens’ Income and Disability Allowance, more flexibility for unpaid carers who also work, and improved respite care. These are proposals; the eligibility criteria and actual financial value would be important to examine. Opportunity Disability Position Statement - October 2026
• National: The government has introduced a consistent assessment approach for Disability Support Services funding, including consideration of carers' needs. This may help eligible families, but it is not a universal payment for every parent who reduces their hours. Disability support improvements beginImproving assessment and allocation
• Labour: Its published headline commitments include measures to reduce healthcare costs and changes to care-worker pay equity. Those are relevant to the wider care system, but they should not be confused with a direct payment to a parent providing unpaid care. Labour's 2026 Election PoliciesLabour's 2026 Election Policies
• Greens: Their disability policy places emphasis on disabled people's rights, family wellbeing and involving disabled people and carers in decisions. Check their detailed proposals for income support and respite care before assuming a particular benefit is available. Manifesto 2026Greens oppose rushed disability support law changes

4. The questions I would use to decide

Given that your main concern is getting appropriate help at school, I would rank the policies using these five tests:

Tick the priorities that matter most to you.

More learning support staff and specialist services in schools

Faster, publicly funded developmental and behavioural assessments

Access to speech-language therapy, occupational therapy and child mental health services

Support at school based on a child's needs, not solely on having a diagnosis

Financial assistance, respite and flexibility for parents who reduce paid work

Compare parties against my priorities

One particularly important question to ask every party is: Will my child receive timely, appropriate support at school while we wait for any formal diagnosis? That is a more useful test than a general promise to improve services.

For a broader, current comparison, the independent election guide Policy.nz — Education, Health and Community and inclusion lets you explore the parties' published policies. You can also check each party's own manifesto for the precise funding, eligibility and implementation details.

My overall advice is to give the greatest weight to specific, funded commitments that shorten assessment waits and provide actual specialist support in schools, followed by policies that make caring financially sustainable. A promise to improve healthcare generally is less directly relevant to your situation than a clear commitment to the particular assessment or learning support your child needs.