2026 New Zealand election: supported employment and flexible work

For someone living with a long-term health condition, two important questions are:

1. Can I work in a way that accommodates my health? For example, part-time hours, flexible scheduling, working from home, reduced hours during periods of illness, or time off for medical appointments.
2. Can I keep financial security if I cannot work, or can only work a limited number of hours?

These are related but separate policy issues. A party might support disability employment without proposing changes to benefit rules, or support higher income assistance without setting out a plan for flexible workplaces.

I have compared the policies available as at 30 October 2026, focusing on the main parliamentary parties and the implications for disabled people and people with long-term health conditions.

One particularly useful source is the disability organisation CCS Disability Action's election policy analysis, published on 30 October 2026. It examines parties' published proposals rather than relying solely on campaign statements. Election 2026: Political Parties Policy Analysis

1. What the parties are proposing

Labour

Labour has several proposals directly concerning disability rights and participation in employment.

• Reasonable workplace accommodation: Amend the Human Rights Act to define reasonable accommodation and recognise that refusing it is discrimination.
• Open employment: Work towards systemic changes that help disabled people move into ordinary, open employment.
• Income security: End annual benefit renewals for people with permanent, verified disabilities.
• Disability services: Replace the Disability Support Services Act with a rights-based framework developed with disabled people, carers and disability organisations.
• Care-sector pay: Reinstate pay equity legislation, including a proposed $4 hourly increase for care and support workers.

For someone with a long-term condition, the proposed reasonable accommodation protections are particularly relevant. However, Labour's published proposals do not specifically promise flexible scheduling, remote work or paid time off for recurring medical appointments.

Election 2026: Political Parties Policy AnalysisElection 2026: Political Parties Policy Analysis

Green Party

The Greens have proposals focused on income security and disability-related costs, alongside broader employment and worker protections.

• Provide accessible and timely financial assistance for disability-related living and medical costs, regardless of relationship status or the cause of disability.
• Increase main benefit rates to a liveable income.
• Establish a legal right to a guaranteed minimum income.
• Remove artificial intelligence from welfare decisions, including decisions to suspend payments or impose sanctions.
• Support better career progression, training and pay arrangements in the public sector.
• Strengthen worker bargaining power and support pay equity.

The medical-cost proposal is particularly relevant if your condition involves regular appointments, medication, treatment or transport expenses.

However, the published policies do not specifically establish a supported-employment programme for people with fluctuating health conditions or guarantee flexible working arrangements.

Election 2026: Political Parties Policy AnalysisElection 2026: Political Parties Policy Analysis

Te Pāti Māori

Te Pāti Māori has a number of proposals explicitly connecting disability support, employment and income security.

• Support meaningful employment pathways where disabled people want to work.
• Align disability support with income and employment policies so disabled people are not forced into poverty.
• Increase benefit abatement thresholds, allowing people to earn more before their benefits are reduced.
• Remove financial penalties, sanctions and work-test obligations.
• Individualise benefits so that support is not dependent on relationship status.
• Double baseline benefit levels.
• Establish a Māori-led disability authority, with disabled Māori and their whānau involved in decision-making.
• Ensure disability services work together with health, mental health and social services.

The increased abatement thresholds are worth examining if you are considering working a few hours per week while retaining income support.

The proposals on meaningful employment pathways are also relevant, although the published policy does not set out detailed arrangements for workplace flexibility, remote work or medical appointments.

Election 2026: Political Parties Policy AnalysisElection 2026: Political Parties Policy Analysis

The Opportunities Party (TOP)

TOP's principal relevant proposal is its Citizen's Income.

• Almost all adults would receive up to $370 per week.
• This would replace most existing benefits, including Jobseeker Support and Supported Living Payment.
• Additional top-up support would be available for disabled people, parents and superannuitants.
• The policy would be funded through a Land Value Tax.

This could be relevant if you want a more predictable income floor that is less dependent on your employment circumstances.

However, the precise disability top-up arrangements and how the policy would work for someone with limited work capacity need careful examination.

TOP's published employment proposals do not set out a specific supported-employment service or flexible-work entitlement.

Election 2026: Political Parties Policy Analysis

National

National's main employment proposal is focused on helping people considered work-ready into employment.

• Provide intensive, work-focused support for more than 30,000 jobseekers who have been receiving benefits for over a year.
• Increase funding for employment programmes, particularly for young people.
• Introduce benefit reductions for certain people who have received Jobseeker Support for two of the previous three years.
• Introduce random drug testing for Jobseeker Support recipients, with sanctions for continued failures.
• Double the stand-down period for repeated voluntary unemployment.

The important distinction is that National's employment-support proposal is directed at work-ready jobseekers. The published policy does not specifically describe a supported-employment programme tailored to people with chronic illnesses or fluctuating capacity.

The proposed benefit reductions and testing arrangements also deserve scrutiny if you rely on income support. CCS Disability Action notes uncertainty about whether the drug-testing proposal includes people with medical exemptions.

Election 2026: Political Parties Policy AnalysisElection 2026: Political Parties Policy Analysis

ACT

ACT's most directly relevant proposal concerns medical certification and eligibility for health and disability benefits.

• Require independent medical certification against specified criteria.
• Use doctors approved by the Ministry of Social Development rather than necessarily relying on a person's own GP or specialist.
• Gradually reassess existing recipients, beginning with people with mental health-related conditions.
• Aim to save $653 million through the changes.

ACT's published employment policies do not set out a dedicated supported-employment programme or specific flexible-work protections for people with long-term health conditions.

The proposed medical reassessment arrangements are particularly relevant to people who depend on disability-related income support.

Election 2026: Political Parties Policy AnalysisElection 2026: Political Parties Policy Analysis

New Zealand First

New Zealand First's published proposals include:

• Increasing the minimum wage by at least the rate of inflation.
• Increasing Working for Families assistance.
• Maintaining its position against raising the superannuation age.
• Other employment and immigration changes.

There is no detailed published proposal in the CCS Disability Action analysis for supported employment, disability-specific workplace accommodations or flexible working arrangements.

Election 2026: Political Parties Policy AnalysisElection 2026: Political Parties Policy Analysis

2. Side-by-side comparison

The following table distinguishes explicit proposals from areas where the published policies do not provide a specific commitment.

Party	Supported employment	Income security for disabled people	Flexible work
Labour	Explicit commitment to pathways into open employment	End annual reviews for permanent disabilities	Reasonable accommodation legislation proposed
Greens	Broader employment and career support	Higher benefits and disability-cost assistance	No specific flexible-work commitment identified
Te Pāti Māori	Meaningful employment pathways where desired	Higher benefits and increased earning thresholds	No specific flexible-work commitment identified
TOP	No specific programme identified	Citizen's Income plus disability top-ups	No specific commitment identified
National	Work-focused support for work-ready jobseekers	Existing benefit rules plus proposed restrictions	No specific commitment identified
ACT	No specific programme identified	Independent medical certification and reassessment	No specific commitment identified
NZ First	No specific programme identified	No detailed disability-income proposal identified	No specific commitment identified

Election 2026: Political Parties Policy AnalysisElection 2026: Political Parties Policy Analysis

3. What matters particularly for your circumstances

Given that you rely on income support and need regular medical appointments, I would pay particular attention to five policy questions.

Issue	What to look for
Part-time employment	Can you work limited hours without losing too much financial support?
Fluctuating health	Can you reduce hours or temporarily stop working when your condition worsens?
Medical appointments	Can you attend recurring appointments without risking your job or income?
Workplace adjustments	Will employers have clear obligations to accommodate disability-related needs?
Benefit security	Can you retain reliable financial support if you cannot work consistently?

There are some important distinctions between the proposals:

• Workplace flexibility: Labour's proposed reasonable accommodation legislation is relevant, but does not spell out specific flexible-hours entitlements.
• Supported employment: Labour and Te Pāti Māori explicitly discuss pathways into employment for disabled people. The detail of the services and funding remains important.
• Income security: The Greens and Te Pāti Māori have proposals addressing benefit adequacy and disability-related financial pressures. TOP proposes a different income-support structure.
• Ongoing eligibility: Labour's proposal to end annual reviews for people with permanent verified disabilities is relevant. ACT's proposed reassessment arrangements take a different approach.

One important caution: a policy supporting employment does not automatically mean someone with a chronic condition will receive an appropriate job coach, workplace adjustments, flexible hours or ongoing employment support.

4. Questions worth asking parties before voting

I would encourage you to look beyond general promises about getting disabled people into work.

These are specific questions that could reveal how a policy would affect your everyday life:

1. If I can work 10–15 hours per week because of my health, how much of my benefit would I retain?
2. Would I be able to temporarily reduce my hours when my condition deteriorates without facing a benefit penalty?
3. Would employers be required to accommodate regular medical appointments and treatment schedules?
4. Would the Government fund supported-employment services, including job coaches and ongoing workplace assistance?
5. Would people with permanent conditions be protected from repeated medical reassessments?
6. Would I be able to work remotely or have flexible hours as a reasonable workplace accommodation?

5. Sources to help you investigate further

The following is a particularly useful starting point:

• CCS Disability Action – Election 2026: Political Parties Policy Analysis. Published 30 October 2026. Covers disability, employment, income support, healthcare and accessibility.
• New Zealand Electoral Commission – official election information.
• Whaikaha – Ministry of Disabled People – disability policy and services.

My overall observation: The biggest policy differences to investigate are not simply which parties promise to create jobs. They concern whether you can participate in employment without sacrificing your health, financial stability or access to medical care.

You deserve to be able to consider employment on the basis of what your health permits, rather than being forced into an all-or-nothing choice between working and receiving support.

The published policies may also change in the final days before the election, so it is worth checking the parties' latest announcements before voting.