Why Disabled People Need to make a Submission on the Disability Support Services Bill and a template attached
Dr Huhana Hickey
The Disability Support Services (DSS) Bill may sound technical and administrative, but for disabled people, tāngata whaikaha and whānau hauā, it has the potential to shape everyday life in very real ways. This Bill is not just about systems. It is about whether disabled people can live with dignity, independence, and security in Aotearoa. The Government says the Bill is about creating consistency and sustainability. However, many disabled people are deeply concerned it instead creates a framework that allows support to be reduced, restricted, or controlled more tightly in the future and that is why submissions matter.
Parliament needs to hear directly from the people who will live with the consequences of this legislation. Too often disabled voices are missing from decision-making, despite disabled people being the ones most affected by policy changes. Governments may speak about consultation, but consultation is not the same as listening. A submission creates a formal public record. It means your concerns become part of the parliamentary process and cannot easily be ignored. You do not need to be a lawyer or policy expert to make a submission. Your lived experience matters.
If you are struggling to access support, if your whānau is exhausted, if you fear losing independence, if transport, housing, healthcare or funding cuts are already affecting you, then your voice is important. This Bill also cannot be viewed in isolation. Disabled people, tāngata whaikaha and whānau hauā are already facing reductions and tighter controls around disability funding, housing pressures and fewer accessible homes, transport inequities, welfare changes and sanctions, health system strain, rising living costs and growing uncertainty about future support. For many people, this Bill feels like another layer added onto an already difficult reality.
One of the greatest concerns is that the Bill appears to shift responsibility away from the State and more onto families and carers. Many carers are already exhausted physically, emotionally and financially. Māori and Pacific whānau, women, and low-income families are often carrying the heaviest load. Another concern is that the Bill gives significant power to future funding policies and Ministerial direction. Disabled people need stable rights and protections, not systems that can easily change depending on political priorities or budget decisions.
This matters because disability support is not a luxury, support allows people to get out of bed, shower, work, study, raise children, attend appointments, participate in community life, and live safely and independently. Without adequate support, human rights become meaningless words on paper. New Zealand has obligations under:
the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD),
the Human Rights Act,
the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act,
and Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
Disabled people, tāngata whaikaha and whānau hauā should not have to constantly fight to prove they deserve dignity and equal participation in society. Submissions are one way to push back. Even a short submission matters. A simple personal story about how changes affect your life can be powerful evidence for a Select Committee. The DSS Bill will affect real people in real homes and communities across Aotearoa. Parliament needs to hear that reality directly from us.
Simple Submission Template for the DSS Bill
People can copy, change, or add to this template in their own words.
Submission on the Disability Support Services Bill
To the Social Services and Community Select Committee,
Tēnā koutou katoa.
My name is __________________________.
I am:
disabled / tāngata whaikaha / whānau hauā / carer / family member / support worker / community member.
I do not support the Disability Support Services Bill in its current form. I am concerned this Bill could reduce supports, place more pressure onto families and carers, weaken disabled people’s rights, and create more uncertainty about future funding and services.
Disabled people already face major challenges including housing, transport, healthcare, welfare changes, cost of living pressures, and lack of accessible services. This Bill risks making those problems worse. I believe disability support should be based on dignity, human rights, independence, accessibility, and fairness. I am particularly concerned about:
(write your own experiences or concerns here)
I ask the Committee to reject the Bill in its current form, strengthen legal protections for disabled people, improve appeals and oversight processes, and properly involve disabled people, tāngata whaikaha and whānau hauā in decisions about disability support. Thank you for considering my submission. I ask to speak to the select committee on this Bill.
Name:
Date:
Helpful Tips for People Writing a Submission
Keep it simple.
Use your own words.
Personal stories matter.
You do not need legal language.
Even a short submission can make a difference.
Focus on how changes affect real life.
If possible, ask to speak to your submission in person or online.
The most important thing is that disabled people, tāngata whaikaha and whānau hauā are heard.
Thank you, Dr Huhana, for the advice and templates, and thank you also to Dr Bex for her article yesterday, which raised a similar theme. Between your work, and the work of other organisations creating submission advice, it is great to see the message getting out that anyone can submit if they wish to do so.
It is really valuable to have experienced submitters share examples and templates. They help those of us who are less experienced learn how submissions can be framed, refine our own wording, and see that it is possible to submit for the first time.
I’m still working on a unique submission myself, but your ideas are helping validate my own thinking. It seems many of us are identifying similar concerns about the most troubling parts of this Bill, as well as similar solutions or ‘asks’. That matters too, because submissions are not only about opposing what is wrong. They can also help put better alternatives on the table.
One point I may add is that, where submissions are analysed through triage, coding, sampling, thematic analysis, or other automated tools, template-style submissions may not always carry the same weight in the detailed analysis as more individualised submissions. That does not make them worthless. It simply means that, where we are able, it can be useful to add something personal or specific, even if we are using a template as a starting point.
I am also wary of politicians dismissing template submissions, shared wording, or mass public submissions as somehow less legitimate. We have seen similar arguments before, including from David Seymour in relation to submissions on the Treaty Principles Bill and the Regulatory Standards Bill.
In my opinion, that kind of argument is both dismissive and a deflection. It risks becoming part of a wider political tactic of closing down debate on controversial Bills by attacking the way people participate, rather than engaging seriously with what they are saying.
Templates, shared wording, and short submissions are still valid democratic tools. They allow people who are busy, exhausted, disabled, caring for others, overwhelmed by the process, or simply new to submissions to take part. They also place public opposition to a Bill on the public record and show the scale of community concern.
At the same time, as you suggest, including a personal story is one powerful way to strengthen a submission. Lived experience is incredibly valuable, and it can be much harder for MPs and Select Committees to push aside than abstract statistics or general policy claims.
But people do not need to have direct lived experience of disability issues to make a meaningful submission. Anyone who is concerned about the Disability Support Services Bill can submit.
So I would say: individualise your submission if you can. Use a template if that helps you. Submit something short if that is all you have capacity for. All of those approaches have democratic value, and all of them help place opposition to the Bill on the public record.
Nga mihi Huhana, your template and view into this Bill has a reach that helps me and I’m sure many other whanau to understand its potential and impact on tangata whaikaha and whanau haua, carergiver’s, whanau and peers lives that matter. My submission done.