Taranaki Disabilities Information Centre

29/04/2026

So great to see the Taranaki Top Shop Accessibility Award sponsored by the Taranaki Disability Strategy Coalition up for grabs again for 2026!

Make sure to get your votes in at www.taranakitopshop.co.nz Nominations close midday Monday 4 May.

Nominations for the Taranaki Top Shop Awards 2026 are NOW OPEN!

✅ Nominate your favourite store or service person today. Head to: https://www.taranakichamber.co.nz/events-training/taranaki-top-shop/nominations/

⏰ Nominations close midday Monday 4 May

Thanks to our Principal Sponsor TSB New Zealand and our category sponsors Centre City, New Plymouth, Mitre 10 MEGA New Plymouth, WITT Taranaki, Razz Print & Design, Moore VBW, Taranaki Disability Strategy Coalition and event partners New Zealand Media & Entertainment and Taranaki Daily News.

21/04/2026

Thanks People First North Taranaki Group for having me at your meeting yesterday! Lots of great discussion around keeping safe in an Emergency!

14/04/2026

It was a pleasure to host Disability Rights Commissioner Prudence Walker at TDICT yesterday for a community discussion about Emergency Management, Te Tiriti o Waitangi and disabled people.

Thanks to everyone who came along to share and contribute to this important conversation.

01/04/2026

CHANGES TO FLEXIBLE FUNDING
· From 1 April, disabled people who get flexible funding will have more choice and control over how they use their funding.
· The purchasing rules for flexible funding – including the March 2024 changes – no longer apply.
· Flexible funding must still be used in line with people’s funding plans, budgets and disability support needs – but people will have more flexibility to choose supports that work for them, including respite options for carers.
· A small number of items will remain prohibited or require pre-approval before spending.
· People’s allocated budgets for flexible funding will stay the same – they will not change on 1 April.
· There will be guidance for people to plan and manage their flexible funding. People with hosted flexible funding can expect to hear from their host about this.
· These changes reflect feedback from the disability community.
· They build on work to improve the way people’s needs are assessed, bring more consistency to funding decisions and stabilise the disability support system – making it possible to remove the purchasing rules and maintain people’s current funding.
There is more information on the DSS website: www.disabilitysupport.govt.nz/flexible-funding
***The image shows a light green background with a darker green pattern in the top right corner. Words Include Disability Support Services and one sentence bullet points about the changes that are described in more detail above. The Ministry of Social Development name and logo are at the bottom of the image.

CHANGES TO FLEXIBLE FUNDING

· From 1 April, disabled people who get flexible funding will have more choice and control over how they use their funding.

· The purchasing rules for flexible funding – including the March 2024 changes – no longer apply.

· Flexible funding must still be used in line with people’s funding plans, budgets and disability support needs – but people will have more flexibility to choose supports that work for them, including respite options for carers.

· A small number of items will remain prohibited or require pre-approval before spending.

· People’s allocated budgets for flexible funding will stay the same – they will not change on 1 April.

· There will be guidance for people to plan and manage their flexible funding. People with hosted flexible funding can expect to hear from their host about this.

· These changes reflect feedback from the disability community.

· They build on work to improve the way people’s needs are assessed, bring more consistency to funding decisions and stabilise the disability support system – making it possible to remove the purchasing rules and maintain people’s current funding.

There is more information on the DSS website: www.disabilitysupport.govt.nz/flexible-funding

***The image shows a light green background with two people in the bottom corner. Words Include "More choice and control for people with flexible funding." There are some short sentences about the changes which are described above in this post.

31/03/2026

We are thrilled to be hosting Disability Rights Commissioner Prudence Walker in April at TDICT to discuss 'Inclusive Emergency Management and Disabled People'. We would love to see you here - Monday 13th April 2026, 10 - 11.30am.