Changes to assessments, allocations, and flexible funding, that come into effect from next year, will benefit disabled people, family, whānau and carers.
Family, whānau and carers often play a critically important role in the support of disabled people.
The needs of family, whānau and carers’ will be considered as part of the assessment process, where relevant to the needs of the disabled person.
Care needs to be sustainable. Including families and carers in assessments and providing identifiable funding to support them will help to improve their wellbeing. It will also provide other benefits – for example, it will support planning for situations where the family or carers can no longer provide care.
There will also be more flexibility for people to use their Carer Support funding, to sustain them in them in their role. For example, to access respite options that are right for them.
These changes respond to the feedback we received during our community consultation, including that:
- the needs of families, whānau, and carers should also be recognised as part of the disabled person's needs assessment. This reflects the connection between them and the disabled person.
- current assessments do not sufficiently recognise, acknowledge, or factor in the impact that looking after a disabled person, has on families, whānau, and carers.
- better supporting families and whānau in their caring role, where appropriate, would improve the disabled person's wellbeing and quality of life.
For people who are currently receiving Carer Support, the purchasing rules remain in place until 1 April 2026.
- More information on how these changes will affect disabled people and carers is available on the factsheet.
- A summary of feedback from the Community Consultation is available here.
- Detail on the changes