Strong Voices

KiwiSaver rules now guarantee that people with four life-shortening congenital conditions can withdraw their savings early.

The four conditions are Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, Huntington’s disease and fetal alcohol spectrum disorder. An alternative withdrawal process is available for those with other congenital life-shortening conditions.

Announcing the move at IHC National Office in February, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister David Clark praised Tim Fairhall and his mother Joan for their advocacy, which led to the law change in 2019.

Bus fares will be free for disabled people in the Bay of Plenty by July.

The Bay of Plenty Regional Council decision follows a move by the Waikato Regional Council, which made fares free for people with disabilities in 2019. The service was extended to carers at the end of 2020.

In the Bay of Plenty, people with permanent mobility impairments will be eligible for free fares on all regional-council-contracted urban and inter-regional bus services.

Call IHC Community Connect – 0800 442 311 to connect directly to our Community Liaison, Volunteering, Library and Advocacy teams. The freephone number is answered Monday to Friday, 9–6pm. Our aim is for people to have to tell their stories only once and be connected to the right places.

The New Zealand Disability Support Network (NZDSN) says money laundering legislation and the phasing out of cheques by banks require new approaches and practices from everyone involved.

In April NZDSN invited a small group of disability service providers to a Banking Issues Forum to brainstorm what needs to happen.

NZDSN has been approached by these providers about the requirement of some banks to have guardianship orders in place for people to be supported to have their own bank accounts.