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Disability Support Services

Growing Voice and Safety

Our Growing Voice and Safety services have two main aims.

These are to: 

  • increase the focus on the voice, good lives and human rights of disabled people and tāngata whaikaha Māori
  • reduce the risk of neglect and abuse in the disability support services we fund.

From April to July 2023 Whaikaha engaged with disabled people, tāngata whaikaha Māori, whānau networks and providers on the design of two new quality improvement services.  

  • Growing Voice and Safety - People for Us  
  • Growing Voice and Safety - Assisting Change  

In September 2024 the responsibility for commissioning disability support services transitioned to MSD. We are committed to progressing the implementation of these new services: 

On this page

Growing Voice and Safety - People for Us

The Growing Voice and Safety - People for Us service will provide another way for us to  understand what concerns, issues and trends need to be addressed in disability support services. 

People for Us will be staffed by disabled people, tāngata whaikaha Māori and whānau. They will work with disabled adults who live in residential services and assist those with concerns to follow the relevant pathway to resolve them. Concerns could be related to safety or issues affecting their happiness. 

Over time People for Us will extend from disabled adults who live in residential services to include others. 

Growing Voice and Safety - Assisting Change

A contract for Assisting Change has been signed with Te Pou Waiora external.

Assisting Change is a new advisory service for DSS contracted disability support providers. Te Pou Waiora is a new organisation established by a group of Associates including disabled people, tāngata whaikaha Māori, Pacific people, family and allied sector leadership. Key members of the team include:

  • Desrae Turvey
  • Jane Bawden
  • Gordon Boxall
  • Kim Carter
  • Grant Cleland
  • Latoa Halatau-Talagi
  • Lorna Sullivan
  • Jonathan Tautari
  • John Taylor.

Te Pou Waiora have been contracted to provide a brokerage service that engages specialist advisors with a diverse range of skill sets and extensive experience. Advisors will be matched to a provider and assist them to work on specific quality issues. Culturally appropriate matches will be available for kaupapa Māori and Pacific providers. Referral to Assisting Change will be through the Quality and Performance Team at DSS.

Further updates will be added as soon as available.

The seven key outcomes

Feedback and learnings from the engagement process led to the development of seven key outcomes from these two new services: 

  1. Disabled people, tāngata whaikaha Māori, whānau and families will experience safer lives and increased wellbeing in Whaikaha funded services. 
  2. The access, experience and outcomes achieved are equitable across a range of dimensions, particularly for tāngata whaikaha Māori and their whānau. 
  3. Disabled people, tāngata whaikaha Māori, and family and whānau members have what they need to be effective People for Us workers. 
  4. The organisation(s) delivering People for Us is led by disabled people, tāngata whaikaha Māori and includes whānau and family perspectives, is independent, well-connected, effective and achieves equitable outcomes. 
  5. The organisation(s) delivering Assisting Change is led by disabled people, tāngata whaikaha Māori and includes whānau and family perspectives, is independent, credible, well-connected, and effective. 
  6. Disability support providers are supported to deliver safer services that are aligned with the Enabling Good Lives (EGL) vision and principles. 
  7. DSS has more evidence that the services it commissions are safe and are of high quality. 

Alternate formats

Please note these were commissioned before Disability Support Services transferred to MSD. 

Updated on
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