Employment, choice focus of disability meeting

Disability Issues Minister Nicky Wagner says her meeting with Australian counterpart Senator the Hon Mitch Fifield in Melbourne was an opportunity to discuss issues of common interest, including enabling disabled people to get into work and providing choice over disability support.

Senator Fifield is Assistant Minister for Social Services, with responsibility for disability and ageing.

“Both countries have a significant focus on improving employment outcomes for disabled people and providing disabled people with greater choice and control over the supports they receive,” Ms Wagner says.

“I was particularly interested to hear about the trial of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) in Australia, which enables disabled people to choose where they get support from.

“There are parallels with New Zealand’s trial of Enabling Good Lives in Christchurch and Waikato. Enabling Good Lives gives participants personal budgets which they can use to choose where and how they get support.

“I also enjoyed visiting Disability Employment Australia and several open employment providers to exchange ideas about enabling disabled people into work,” Ms Wagner says.