Recommendations from the independent review, which have now been implemented.
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Recommendation 1 | Budgets for NASCs, EGL sites and EMS providers
This recommendation:
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reinstated indicative budgets for Needs Assessment and Service Coordination organisations (NASCs)
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introduced fixed budgets for Enabling Good Lives (EGL) sites
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reinstated monitoring and reporting requirements for NASCs, Equipment and Modification Service (EMS) providers and EGL sites.
Ensuring NASCs and EGL sites allocate support within a budget helps ensure support to disabled New Zealanders is delivered within the budget set by Parliament.
NASCs and EGL sites are expected to manage allocation of support and services within the budgets they are given. They are supported to do this by the Ministries.
NASCs use their budget to allocate and prioritise support to those who need it most.
NASCs will continue to review support packages. Where people need additional support, or if their needs change, NASCs will manage this within their budget.
What this means for NASCs, EGL sites and EMS providers
NASCs, EGL sites and EMS providers need to prioritise how they allocate support for disabled people and their carers so the support allocated fits within their overall budget.
NASCs are provided with monthly reporting on their spend. EMS providers can track their own spending.
NASCs follow DSS Operation Policy and Guidelines to ensure a nationally consistent approach, keep spending within indicative budgets (NASCs) and fixed budgets (EGL sites).
These guidelines also set the circumstances when decisions on support packages must be referred to a Review Panel.
Recommendation 2 | Freeze funding for residential care
This recommendation maintained existing levels of funding for residential facility-based care for 2024/25 pending commissioning and completion of a detailed and urgent review of the contract and pricing models.
While the number of people in residential care had been relatively constant for several years, the cost of delivering the service had increased by 29% between 2015/16 and 2022/23.
For the 2024/5 financial year, current levels of funding were frozen.
This meant the rates providers were paid for people in their care were the rates they continued to be paid for the remainder of the 2024/25 financial year (until 30 June 2025). The current bands and rates for residential care pricing remained the same.
Review panel re-established
A review panel was re-established to consider requests for individualised rates.
This panel’s agreement is required for:
- any individualised rates for residential care
- high-cost community support allocations.
Recommendation 7 | Strengthen how we work with other agencies
Strengthened the departmental agency arrangement with Ministry of Social Development and the shared service agreements with MSD, Ministry of Health, and Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora.
Whaikaha was previously a departmental agency of the Ministry of Social Development (MSD), and received shared services from MSD, the Ministry of Health (MoH) and Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora (Health NZ).
In response to this recommendation, Cabinet agreed that the Ministry of Disabled People would be established as a standalone policy and monitoring agency, and that its disability support delivery functions would be moved into the Ministry of Social Development.
The DSS operations function transferred to MSD in mid-September 2024 with the remaining supporting functions of DSS transferred by the end of that year. Part of the transition work was to consider the ongoing shared services agreements between all agencies.