Submissions

IHC supports the Mental Health Act Bill’s shift to include supported decision making and the concept of capacity, with a clear presumption that individuals have the capacity to make decisions about mental health care unless they demonstrably cannot, however we must ensure that disability is not used as a basis to assume a lack of capacity to make mental health decisions.

IHC recommends that the Government ensure that the proposed sentence reduction cap in the Sentencing (Reform) Amendment Bill does not disproportionately disadvantage intellectually disabled New Zealanders.

IHC has concerns about the existing framework for GPs and their role in conducting decision making capacity assessments.

IHC believes that the Bill when enacted has the potential to reduce many of the barriers currently experienced by disabled students.

IHC and IDEA Services say New Zealand must hasten its path to embedding effective and appropriate supported decision-making and ending historic substitute decision-making frameworks.

IHC provides a number of recommendations to strengthen the current Accessibility Bill.

IHC says disabled students’ families, and the professionals who support them, are increasingly concerned about a lack of adequate support for disabled students to be at school, and for schools to do their best by them.

IHC says this Bill does not improve the lives of children and young people, and says it should instead focus on human rights based approach to protecting and caring for our most vulnerable citizens.

IHC provides a number of recommendations to ensure the survey is robust and includes all people with an intellectual disability.

IHC says disabled students should not be disadvantaged and treated less favourably than their non-disabled peers in respect of their right to attend school.