Every question, every answer, every source

For your situation, the key question in New Zealand’s 2026 general election is how each party would balance financial security, access to healthcare, and work-related obligations for people whose illness or long-term health condition limits their ability to work.

There are several distinct policy issues worth comparing:

• Income support: the level of benefit payments, eligibility rules, and whether payments keep pace with living costs.
• Work obligations: whether people with health conditions must look for work, attend employment programmes, or meet other requirements to keep receiving support.
• Medical evidence and exemptions: how work capacity is assessed, how often medical certificates must be renewed, and whether people with long-term conditions can avoid repeated assessments.
• Healthcare costs: support for prescriptions, GP visits, specialist appointments, travel to treatment, and other disability-related expenses.
• Sanctions and reviews: what happens if illness prevents someone from meeting an obligation or attending an appointment.

One important distinction is that being unable to work because of illness is not the same as being unemployed and available for work. Parties may take different approaches to that distinction, including how they assess partial or fluctuating work capacity.

How the main parties compare

The following comparison uses election information available as of 16 October 2026. A key caveat: not every party has published a detailed policy specifically for people who cannot work because of illness. The comparison distinguishes explicit commitments from broader policy direction. Disability PoliciesPolicies for Party vote - NZ Election 2026

Party	Income support and work obligations
National Party	No specific disability-income reform has been identified in its 2026 platform. Its broader approach emphasises welfare obligations and workforce participation. There is no identified commitment to a major increase in disability-related benefits. Disability PoliciesThe main parties vying to form New Zealand's next government
Labour Party	Has previously raised main benefit levels and takes a more rights-based approach to disability. However, a comprehensive overhaul of disability income support has not been delivered, and there is no clearly documented commitment in the sources reviewed to remove all work obligations for people with long-term illness. Disability Policies
ACT New Zealand	Emphasises tighter benefit obligations, reducing long-term benefit dependence and encouraging employment. It has not proposed large general benefit increases in the disability-policy review. The practical question is how its obligations would apply to people with medically limited work capacity. Disability Policies
Green Party	Explicitly supports significant benefit increases, moving towards a Guaranteed Minimum Income, reforming or removing partner-income testing, and ending punitive sanctions. Its wider approach focuses on removing barriers to employment rather than treating employment compliance as the main objective. Disability Policies
New Zealand First	Has not published a specific disability-income reform programme in the review. Its income-support emphasis is more evident in superannuation and support for older people, leaving less clarity about working-age people unable to work because of illness. Disability Policies
Te Pāti Māori	Supports broader income-guarantee-style approaches and reducing punitive welfare settings. It emphasises poverty as a structural issue and meaningful participation rather than compliance-based work expectations, with a particular focus on Māori disabled people and whānau. Disability Policies
The Opportunities Party (TOP)	Proposes a means-tested citizen’s income to replace the current welfare system, including disability-related income support. The important unanswered detail is how the proposed income floor would account for additional disability costs and individual medical needs. Disability Policies

These are differences in policy direction, not guarantees of what a future government would enact. Coalition negotiations, budgets, eligibility rules and legislation would all affect the outcome.

What could change for you in practice?

1. Whether you would have to look for work

Under the current Work and Income framework, Jobseeker Support can cover people who cannot work right now because of a health condition, injury or disability. Work obligations depend on assessed capacity. Generally, people unable to work, or able to work fewer than 15 hours a week, may have work-preparation obligations rather than ordinary job-search obligations. People assessed as capable of part-time work can have part-time job-search obligations. Jobseeker SupportJobs and your benefit

For your vote, ask parties whether they would:

• Exempt people who are medically unable to work from work-preparation and job-search requirements.
• Make exemptions easier to obtain and maintain for long-term or fluctuating conditions.
• Prevent benefit sanctions when illness or medical treatment makes compliance impossible.
• Allow people to try a small amount of work without risking their essential income support.

Important: these are questions to put to the parties, not claims that every party has announced a policy to change these rules.

2. Whether your income would be sufficient

Look beyond general promises to help low-income households. Check whether each party has a specific plan for:

• Increasing Jobseeker Support or Supported Living Payment.
• Adjusting benefits to reflect inflation and essential living costs.
• Changing the way a partner's income affects eligibility.
• Improving supplementary assistance for disability-related costs.

The Greens have explicit proposals for substantial benefit increases and changes to partner-income testing. TOP proposes a different overall system through a citizen's income. The other parties have less clearly specified working-age disability-income reforms in the sources reviewed. Disability Policies

3. Whether medical appointments would become easier to afford

A higher benefit does not necessarily mean lower healthcare costs. Because you rely on regular appointments, compare health policies separately, including GP charges, prescription costs, access to specialists and assistance with travel.

The 2026 election policy guide provides separate comparisons for health policies and income and employment policies. Policies for Party vote - NZ Election 2026Policies for Party vote - NZ Election 2026

A useful development to check before voting

The Disabled Persons Assembly New Zealand, together with CCS Disability Action and Your Way Kia Roha, has asked seven major parties about disability policy commitments. Its election scorecard is intended to show whether parties answer “yes”, “no” or “undecided” to key questions. At the time of the latest information available, the results were still forthcoming. You can check the Disabled Persons Assembly election scorecard. Disability Scorecard for 2026 General Election » Disabled Persons Assembly NZ

Questions worth asking candidates directly

For someone in your circumstances, I would focus on these four questions:

1. If my condition means I cannot work, will I be required to prepare for work or meet employment obligations to keep receiving my benefit?
2. Will my income support increase, and will I still qualify if my partner earns an income?
3. Will I be protected from benefit reductions if my illness prevents me from meeting a requirement?
4. What will you do to reduce the cost of regular medical appointments and treatment?

Ask for specific policy details, including eligibility criteria, implementation dates and funding, rather than relying on general assurances.

One final distinction: Jobseeker Support and Supported Living Payment have different eligibility criteria. If you receive Supported Living Payment because of a long-term condition, the rules that matter most to you may differ from those applying to someone receiving Jobseeker Support with a health condition.

You can check your current entitlement and obligations on Work and Income's official website.