ChatGPT · No location
I have a long-term health condition that limits my ability to work. I rely on income support and need regular medical appointments. I am considering my vote in the 2026 New Zealand general election. What do parties say about disability rights and fair treatment when dealing with government services?
2026 New Zealand general election: Disability rights and fair treatment
Your circumstances raise some important questions for evaluating political parties: not just whether they support disabled people in principle, but whether their policies would make everyday life more secure, affordable and fair.
Given that you rely on income support, have a long-term health condition and need regular medical appointments, I would focus on six areas:
- Income support: Whether benefits provide an adequate standard of living and keep pace with the cost of living.
- Disability recognition: Whether people with long-term health conditions are treated fairly, including conditions that are not immediately visible.
- Work obligations: Whether people with limited work capacity are protected from inappropriate work requirements, sanctions and unfair assessments.
- Healthcare access: Whether GP visits, prescriptions, specialist appointments and ongoing treatment are affordable and accessible.
- Government treatment: Whether Work and Income and other agencies treat people with dignity, respect, consistency and procedural fairness.
- Disability rights: Whether parties support disabled people's participation, independence, accessibility and protection from discrimination.
An important distinction is between promises to help people into employment and policies that protect people who cannot work, or can only work limited hours, because of their health.
What the main parties are proposing
The following comparison draws on the parties' published policies and disability-sector analysis available as at 31 October 2026. The election is scheduled for 7 November 2026.
1. Labour
Focus: rights-based reform and healthcare
Labour's proposals include:
- Repealing and rewriting the Disability Support Services Act, with disabled people, carers and representative organisations involved in designing the replacement.
- Ending annual benefit renewals for people with verified permanent disabilities.
- Amending the Human Rights Act to define reasonable accommodation and recognise refusal to provide it as discrimination.
- Progressing legal recognition of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
- Providing three free GP visits annually through a proposed Medicare-style card.
- Making prescriptions free from July 2027.
- Introducing a $20 weekly public transport fare cap in Christchurch, Auckland and Wellington.
Why this matters: Ending annual reassessments for people with permanent disabilities could reduce the stress and administrative burden of repeatedly proving an established condition. The healthcare proposals could also help with regular appointments and prescription costs.
Election 2026: Political Parties Policy AnalysisLabour's 2026 Election Policies
2. Green Party
Focus: disability rights and adequate income
The Greens have proposed:
- A dedicated disability rights law based on Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
- Enforceable accessibility standards for public buildings, transport, services and digital information.
- Increasing main benefit levels to provide a liveable income.
- Making disability-related income support accessible and timely, covering additional living and medical costs regardless of relationship status.
- Removing AI from welfare decisions, including benefit suspensions and sanctions.
- Reintroducing a 75% government subsidy for the Total Mobility taxi scheme.
- Removing barriers to healthcare, transport and disability services.
- Using the Enabling Good Lives approach to give disabled people greater choice and control.
Why this matters: The Greens have particularly broad proposals addressing financial security, disability rights and the way government agencies make decisions. Their position on relationship-based benefit assessments is also relevant to people receiving Supported Living Payment.
How do the different parties fare on disability issues this election?Election 2026: Political Parties Policy AnalysisParty policies, simplified: Disability policy
3. Te Pāti Māori
Focus: income adequacy and removing financial penalties
Its proposals include:
- Doubling baseline benefit levels.
- Removing benefit sanctions, financial penalties and work-test obligations.
- Making benefits individual rather than dependent on relationship status.
- Increasing income thresholds before benefits are reduced when someone earns additional income.
- Cancelling income-support-related debt owed to the Crown.
- Ensuring disability services are integrated with health and mental health services.
- Creating a Māori-led disability authority.
- Giving disabled Māori and their whānau a central role in disability-service decisions.
- Upholding the UN disability rights convention and Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
Why this matters: Te Pāti Māori has particularly strong proposals around reducing financial hardship and removing punitive welfare requirements. Its approach to individualised benefits could be significant for people whose relationships affect their eligibility or payments.
Election 2026: Political Parties Policy AnalysisParty policies, simplified: Disability policy
4. National
Focus: service funding and system stability
National's approach has emphasised:
- Maintaining and funding disability support services.
- Continuing the New Zealand Disability Strategy 2026–2030.
- Providing more consistent disability support funding.
- Giving disabled people greater choice and control over some support funding following controversy over earlier restrictions.
- Establishing a five-year funding commitment of $1.1 billion for disability support services, announced in 2024.
National does not have a comparable set of specific new disability policies for this election in the analysis published by CCS Disability Action.
Why this matters: National's emphasis is more on the organisation and financial sustainability of disability services than on introducing new enforceable disability rights or substantially changing benefit entitlements.
One important issue to examine is how the Disability Support Services Act 2026 affects your ability to access support and how much control you have over decisions affecting you.
How do the different parties fare on disability issues this election?Election 2026: Political Parties Policy AnalysisParty policies, simplified: Disability policy
5. ACT New Zealand
Focus: eligibility rules and individual assessment
ACT's proposals include:
- Independent medical certification against defined criteria for health and disability benefits.
- Reassessing existing benefit recipients in phases.
- Having assessments conducted by doctors approved by the Ministry of Social Development rather than necessarily by a person's own GP or specialist.
- Targeting support according to individual need.
- Introducing electronic payment cards for Jobseeker Support recipients classified as work-ready who remain on a benefit for more than four months.
Why this matters: The independent medical assessment proposal deserves particular attention if you depend on ongoing income support. You would want to understand how assessors would recognise complex, fluctuating or long-term conditions, and what happens if you disagree with an assessment.
ACT's proposals are more focused on eligibility, assessment and welfare administration than on creating new disability rights protections.
Election 2026: Political Parties Policy AnalysisParty policies, simplified: Disability policy
6. New Zealand First
New Zealand First's published disability-specific proposals are less extensive than those of Labour, the Greens and Te Pāti Māori.
- It supported the Disability Support Services Act 2026.
- It has not set out a similarly detailed programme of new disability rights, benefit reforms or accessibility legislation in the disability policy comparisons available.
- Its broader policies include transport and regional infrastructure.
Why this matters: There is less specific policy information to assess concerning benefit security, medical costs, disability-related assessments and protections when dealing with Work and Income.
Election 2026: Political Parties Policy AnalysisParty policies, simplified: Disability policy
7. The Opportunities Party (TOP)
Focus: simplified income support and joined-up services
TOP has proposed:
- A Citizen's Income of up to $370 per week for almost all adults, replacing most existing benefits, including Jobseeker Support and Supported Living Payment.
- Additional top-up assistance for disabled people and other groups.
- A 'Tell Us Once' system, so people with long-term support needs do not repeatedly have to provide the same information or undergo unnecessary assessments.
- Accessible government information and services.
- Working with disability organisations to design policies.
- Supporting disabled people's independence and decision-making rights.
- Free public transport for everyone.
Why this matters: The Tell Us Once proposal is particularly relevant to people who regularly have to explain their health circumstances to different government agencies. However, the important question is how the proposed Citizen's Income and disability top-ups would compare with your existing total support.
TOP did not respond to some disability-sector policy questionnaires, so some of its positions require further clarification.
Election 2026: Political Parties Policy AnalysisParty policies, simplified: Disability policy
Comparing the parties on the issues most relevant to you
This is perhaps the most useful way to look at the differences.
| Your concern | Parties with particularly relevant proposals |
|---|---|
| Protecting benefit income | Greens, Te Pāti Māori |
| Reducing repeated medical reassessments | Labour |
| Protecting against unfair welfare decisions | Greens, Labour |
| Removing relationship-based benefit penalties | Greens, Te Pāti Māori |
| Affordable GP visits and prescriptions | Labour, Greens, Te Pāti Māori |
| Independent disability rights protections | Greens, Labour |
| Less repetitive government paperwork | TOP |
| Individual medical assessment and eligibility rules | ACT |
| Maintaining existing disability service funding | National |
This is a comparison of policy emphasis, not a ranking of parties or a guarantee that any proposal will be implemented.
What does fair treatment by government agencies actually mean?
I think this deserves particular attention in your situation.
When dealing with Work and Income (MSD), Health New Zealand and other government agencies, consider whether a party supports:
- Recognition of permanent conditions: Not having to repeatedly demonstrate that an established, permanent health condition still exists.
- Reasonable accommodation: Being allowed extra time, accessible communication, support people or alternative appointment arrangements when necessary.
- Transparent decisions: Being told why a benefit or disability support application has been declined or reduced.
- Independent appeals: Having a meaningful way to challenge decisions without being disadvantaged.
- Protection from inappropriate sanctions: Not being penalised for failing to meet employment requirements that your health makes unreasonable.
- Privacy and dignity: Not having to repeatedly disclose sensitive medical information to different government departments.
- Human involvement: Not having important decisions about your financial security made solely by automated systems.
The Greens' proposal to remove AI from welfare payment decisions, Labour's proposed reasonable-accommodation protections, and TOP's Tell Us Once proposal are especially relevant to these concerns. Election 2026: Political Parties Policy AnalysisElection 2026: Political Parties Policy Analysis
An important resource: the 2026 Disability Election Scorecard
Independent disability-sector comparison
The Disabled Persons Assembly, CCS Disability Action and Your Way | Kia Roha have published a scorecard asking seven political parties the same ten questions.
It covers:
- Legal disability rights.
- The Disability Support Services Act.
- Disabled people's involvement in government decisions.
- Relationship-related financial penalties.
- Disability Allowance increases.
- Accessibility legislation.
- Education and support funding.
- Abuse in care recommendations.
The scorecard reports parties' own Yes, No or Undecided responses. It does not endorse a party.
Read CCS Disability Action's 2026 party policy analysis
Find the official Disability Election Scorecard
My suggested questions before deciding your vote
I would pay particular attention to these five questions when reading party manifestos or questioning local candidates:
- Will you protect my income if my health condition means I cannot work?
- Will you prevent unnecessary medical reassessments for people with permanent disabilities?
- Will you ensure Work and Income cannot unfairly penalise people because of their disability or health limitations?
- Will you help meet the additional costs of medical appointments, prescriptions, transport and disability-related living expenses?
- Will you give disabled people enforceable rights when government agencies make decisions affecting their lives?
One further consideration: a party's voting record on the Disability Support Services Act 2026 is worth examining alongside its promises. The Greens and Labour opposed or criticised the legislation, while National, ACT and New Zealand First supported it. How do the different parties fare on disability issues this election?Party policies, simplified: Disability policy
My overall assessment
Based on the published policies, three parties stand out for different reasons:
- The Green Party: Particularly comprehensive proposals on disability rights, adequate income, accessibility and protections in welfare administration.
- Labour: Particularly relevant proposals on permanent disability benefit reviews, reasonable accommodation, disability legislation and affordable healthcare.
- Te Pāti Māori: Particularly strong proposals on benefit adequacy, removing sanctions and relationship-related financial penalties, and Māori-led disability services.
TOP is also worth examining for its proposed simplified income support and government-service arrangements.
That does not automatically make any one party the right choice. The details of implementation, funding and eligibility matter enormously.
One final point: You should not have to choose between having a health condition and having financial security, dignity and independence. Those are important standards against which to judge every party.
I can also prepare a more detailed comparison specifically examining which parties are most likely to protect someone receiving Supported Living Payment, Disability Allowance and ongoing medical support, including the potential risks of each party's proposals.
ChatGPT can make mistakes. Check important info.
Captured 31 October 2026 · shown as ChatGPT gave it, not a verified account