New Zealand 2026 election: disability support, independence and choice

For someone with a mobility impairment who rents and wants to keep living independently, three policy questions are especially important when comparing parties:

• Funding: Will disability support, personal care, equipment, and accessible transport be adequately funded as costs and needs change?
• Eligibility: Who qualifies for support, how are needs assessed, and can you keep receiving assistance if your circumstances or support needs change?
• Individual choice: Can you decide who supports you, when they visit, how you organise your daily life, and where you live — including in a rental home?

It is worth separating announcements about new funding from changes to eligibility rules, and both from the practical question of whether services are actually available in your area.

I'll compare the parties on these issues using their documented policies and public records, distinguishing confirmed commitments from proposals that still need detail. Because the 2026 general election is upcoming, policies may change before election day.

1. How the parties compare

The following is a snapshot of policies and party responses available as of 26 October 2026. Disability-sector publication The D*List contacted seven parties about their disability policies and funding; a separate policy review by Disability Responsiveness New Zealand provides further context. Some parties have more detailed commitments than others. Party policies, simplified: Disability policyParty policies, simplified: Disability fundingDisability Policies of NZ Political Parties

Party	Funding and eligibility	Individual choice and control
National	Emphasises funding sustainability, consistent assessments and maintaining existing eligibility under the new disability support law.	Has eased some flexible-funding restrictions, but spending remains subject to budget rules and some approval requirements. Party policies, simplified: Disability policyDisability Policies of NZ Political Parties
Labour	Pledges to repeal and rewrite the Disability Support Services Act 2026 with disabled people, carers and representative organisations involved.	Supports a rights-based approach, Enabling Good Lives and greater choice and control. The details of replacement legislation remain to be developed. Party policies, simplified: Disability policyDisability Policies of NZ Political Parties
Green Party	Proposes higher income support, easier access to disability-related support and reform of benefit eligibility rules, including relationship-based means testing.	Supports individualised funding, fewer rigid assessments, stronger disability rights and enforceable accessibility standards. Disability Policies of NZ Political PartiesParty policies, simplified: Disability funding
ACT	Emphasises spending accountability and consistent eligibility criteria. Its fiscal plan proposes independent medical certification, reassessment of existing recipients and $653 million in disability funding reductions over 2028–2031.	Favours direct, individualised funding and less bureaucracy, alongside clearer spending rules and oversight. Party policies, simplified: Disability fundingDisability Policies of NZ Political Parties
Te Pāti Māori	Supports more accessible disability funding, whānau-centred services and broader benefit increases. It opposes the 2026 disability support law.	Emphasises self-determination, Enabling Good Lives and Māori-led, whānau-centred support. It also proposes reinstating the Lottery Individuals with Disabilities Committee. Party policies, simplified: Disability policyParty policies, simplified: Disability funding
New Zealand First	Voted for the Disability Support Services Act 2026. It has not provided detailed answers to the disability-sector survey on funding.	Its specific disability-service and individualised-funding commitments are not sufficiently detailed in the sources reviewed to establish a clear position. Party policies, simplified: Disability policyParty policies, simplified: Disability funding
The Opportunities Party (TOP)	Proposes a broader income-system redesign, including a Citizen's Income, with additional disability support retained. Detailed disability-service funding and eligibility changes are less clear.	Its wider approach focuses on structural changes to income and housing rather than a detailed standalone disability-support programme. Disability Policies of NZ Political PartiesParty policies, simplified: Disability funding

These are differences in policy direction, not an overall ranking. A party's stated commitment also does not guarantee a particular funding level or service outcome.

2. What the differences mean for your independence

Funding: will support cover your actual needs?

Your day-to-day independence can depend on personal care, household assistance, mobility equipment, home modifications and respite or backup support.

• National: The Government allocated $1.1 billion over five years for disability support services in Budget 2024, followed by another $240 million over four years for residential care in Budget 2025. Those are historical budget allocations, not a promise of a particular increase in your personal support budget. Disability Policies of NZ Political Parties
• ACT: Its proposed $653 million reduction in disability funding across 2028–2031 is relevant if you are concerned about the total resources available to the system. ACT argues for clearer assessment and spending accountability; the practical effects on individual services would depend on implementation. Party policies, simplified: Disability funding
• Greens and Te Pāti Māori: Both support changes to improve access to funding. Te Pāti Māori has explicitly supported restoring the specialist Lottery disability funding committee, as have the Greens. Party policies, simplified: Disability funding
• Labour: Its commitment is primarily about changing the legal framework and designing a replacement with disabled people. The sources reviewed do not establish a specific new overall funding amount.

A useful question for every party: Will funding rise with the cost of employing support workers, and what happens if your needs increase or you need emergency cover?

Eligibility: could you lose support or face new assessments?

The Disability Support Services Act 2026 is a particularly important point of difference.

National says the law does not change current eligibility, entitlements or support, nor introduce income or asset testing where these were not already used. It argues that the legislation improves consistency, transparency and sustainability. ACT supported the legislation, while Labour, the Greens and Te Pāti Māori opposed it. Labour promises to repeal and rewrite it; the Greens and Te Pāti Māori have raised rights-based concerns. Party policies, simplified: Disability policy

For your circumstances, investigate these specific questions:

• Will eligibility depend on functional needs, medical certification, income or assets?
• Can your support be reassessed if your mobility impairment worsens?
• Will a change in household circumstances or relationship status affect your assistance?
• Will decisions have clear reasons, accessible review processes and independent appeal rights?

ACT's proposed medical certification and reassessments deserve particular scrutiny if continuity of long-term support is important to you. The Greens' and Te Pāti Māori's proposed approaches to benefit eligibility may be relevant if you also rely on income support. Disability-service funding and welfare benefits are different systems, so don't assume a change to one automatically changes the other. Party policies, simplified: Disability fundingDisability Policies of NZ Political Parties

Individual choice: can you organise support around your life?

Individualised funding can allow a disabled person to organise assistance around their own priorities rather than fit their life around a standard service. But the term alone doesn't tell you how much control you will actually have.

• ACT emphasises direct funding, reduced bureaucracy and clearer rules.
• The Greens emphasise full choice and control, individualised funding and moving away from rigid, deficit-based assessments.
• Labour commits to a rights-based framework developed in partnership with disabled people.
• Te Pāti Māori emphasises self-determination and whānau-centred support.
• National emphasises nationally consistent assessments and some flexibility within allocated budgets.

These are different approaches to the same practical issue: who makes decisions about your support, and how much discretion you have over the funding? Disability Policies of NZ Political PartiesParty policies, simplified: Disability policy

For a renter living independently, I would look beyond whether a party uses the phrase choice and control. Ask whether you could use your funding to arrange support at the times you need it, choose your support workers, change providers, and manage short-notice cancellations without losing essential assistance.

3. Accessible transport and rental housing

These are crucial because a support package is less useful if you cannot get to appointments, shops or community activities, or find a home you can safely enter and use.

Accessible transport

• Greens: Propose enforceable accessibility standards and timelines covering transport, buildings and digital access.
• Te Pāti Māori: Supports embedding accessibility in transport, housing and public spaces.
• National, ACT and NZ First: The policy review found no specific transport-accessibility commitment in their current platforms.
• Labour: Supports a rights-based approach, but the reviewed material does not establish a comparable, detailed transport package for 2026. Disability Policies of NZ Political PartiesDisability Policies of NZ Political Parties

Accessible rental housing

• Greens: Support universal-design standards for new homes, more accessible public and community housing, and stronger renter protections.
• Te Pāti Māori: Supports accessible housing within wider community-led and Māori housing initiatives.
• TOP: Supports more accessible public housing and building-code reform.
• National, Labour and ACT: The reviewed material does not identify an equivalent commitment to mandatory universal accessibility across new housing. Labour has a public-housing building record, but accessible supply remains a recognised gap. Disability Policies of NZ Political PartiesDisability Policies of NZ Political Parties

For transport, look specifically for commitments on wheelchair-accessible buses, trains and stops, reliable Total Mobility services, accessible taxis, and funding for community transport. For renting, check whether policies cover modifications to an existing rental, landlord consent, the cost of adaptations, and whether you can stay in your home as your needs change.

The policies above concern general accessibility and housing supply; they should not be taken as confirmation that any party has promised a specific expansion of Total Mobility or a particular rental-modification subsidy.

4. Questions that will help distinguish the parties

You could use these questions when reading manifestos, attending a candidates' meeting or contacting a party directly.

Your election checklist

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Will you protect existing disability support entitlements and avoid reducing essential support through reassessments?

Will you publish the planned funding for personal care, household support, equipment and home modifications?

Will I be able to choose my support workers and arrange support at the times I need it?

Will you guarantee accessible review and appeal processes if my support is reduced?

What will you do to improve wheelchair-accessible public transport and the reliability of Total Mobility?

Will you require more accessible rental homes and make it easier for tenants to obtain disability-related modifications?

How will you measure whether disabled people can live independently in their own homes?

Copy checklist

5. Where to verify the policies before voting

These independent disability-sector comparisons are particularly useful because they distinguish party responses from broader policy interpretation.

• The D*List — Disability policy comparison — party positions on the Disability Support Services Act 2026.
• The D*List — Disability funding comparison — funding, welfare and the Lottery disability funding committee.
• Deafblind Association NZ — Disability policies of NZ political parties — a broader party-by-party review of housing, accessibility, rights and support services.

Check the parties' own 2026 manifestos as well, especially for any new funding commitments announced after these comparisons were published.

Bottom line

For your situation, the key distinctions are:

• If continuity of funding is your priority: examine the proposed funding totals, assessment rules and protections against losing existing support.
• If personal control is your priority: examine what individualised funding actually allows you to decide, including worker choice, timing and flexibility.
• If accessible transport and remaining in a rental are your priorities: look for concrete, enforceable commitments on transport access, universal design, home modifications and renter protections.
• If eligibility and disability rights are your priority: compare the parties' positions on the Disability Support Services Act 2026, independent appeals and enforceable accessibility rights.

No single funding announcement answers all four questions. Equally, a rights-based promise is different from a fully costed plan to deliver services.

Your vote is your decision; the most useful comparison is the one that tests each party against the specific supports you need to remain independent, rather than relying on party labels alone.