Disability advocacy — supporting disabled people to exercise their rights, navigate systems, and challenge discrimination — is essential infrastructure for an inclusive society. New Zealand has a strong disability rights movement with active DPOs (Disabled People's Organisations). This guide covers the key funding sources.
Whaikaha funds disability advocacy and services:
- DPO funding: Disabled People's Organisations investment
- Enabling Good Lives: Tino rangatiratanga for disabled people
- Systemic advocacy: Policy and systems change for disability
- Community participation: Supporting disabled people in community
Key DPOs funded in NZ:
- Disabled Persons Assembly NZ (DPA): Disabled people's rights advocacy
- Blind Low Vision NZ: Blind and low vision rights
- Deaf Aotearoa: Deaf rights and community
- CCS Disability Action: Physical disability rights and support
- Autism NZ: Autism rights and advocacy
- People First NZ: Intellectual disability rights
Independent advocacy for disabled people:
- Nationwide Health and Disability Advocacy Service (HDAS): Free advocacy for health and disability complaints
- Disability Allowance advocacy: MSD appeals and disability entitlements
- Supported Decision Making: Decision-making support for people with intellectual disability
Gaming trusts fund disability advocacy:
- Four Winds Foundation: Disability community and advocacy
- Grassroots Trust: Disability inclusion and community
- Pub Charity: Disability community programmes
- Lion Foundation: Disability community development
Gaming trust disability advocacy applications:
- Advocacy training for disabled people
- Self-advocacy workshops
- Accessibility audits and improvements
- DPO operational support
- Disability awareness campaigns
Lottery Community Wellbeing: Disability community organisations and advocacy.
Physical and systemic accessibility:
- Councils: Accessible public infrastructure
- NZSL (New Zealand Sign Language): Access for Deaf community
- Easy Read: Information access for people with intellectual disability
- Web accessibility: WCAG-compliant digital access
NZ's UNCRPD obligations:
- Whaikaha: UNCRPD implementation
- Disabled people: Rights to participate in all areas of society
- Non-discrimination: Anti-discrimination in employment, education, health
Strong applications demonstrate:
- Disabled people in leadership: DPOs led by disabled people
- Rights-based approach: Disability as rights issue, not charity
- Systemic change: Addressing policies and systems that exclude disabled people
- Lived experience: Disabled people's expertise driving advocacy
- UNCRPD: Human rights framework for advocacy
- Accessibility: Physical, digital, and communication access
- Equity: Māori disabled people, Pacific disabled people
- Individual advocacy: People supported to navigate systems
Tahua's grants management platform helps disability advocacy organisations manage grant applications across Whaikaha, gaming trusts, Lottery, and community foundations, tracking rights-based advocacy, systemic change, and disability inclusion outcomes.