Toitū te Waiora are excited to announce the development of new Disability Support qualifications and supporting skill standards at Levels 3 and 4, set to begin in early 2025. This initiative comes as a direct result of our extensive consultation with the Disability Support sector during the Health and Wellbeing Qualifications Review, as well as the outcomes of the New Zealand Disability Support Network (NZDSN). NZDSN Voices From the Community Report highlighted the critical need for qualifications that prioritise disability support services.
In collaboration with the sector, disabled individuals, and their whānau, Toitū te Waiora is committed to creating qualifications and skill standards that accurately reflect and support the unique needs of the disability support workforce and disabled people.
We are eager to connect and engage with disabled people, their whānau and supporters, disabled people’s associations, subject matter experts, service providers, and disability organisations. We are particularly interested in hearing from people working within, or from, the Māori, Pacific, intellectual disability, and neurodiversity spaces to ensure that disabled people remain central to our mahi.
Toitū te Waiora are committed to providing everyone with the opportunity to contribute. Our consultation will be inclusive of both regional and national perspectives and take a co-design approach. To achieve this, we will be hosting a series of online surveys, webinars, one-on-one kōrero and workshops in collaboration with local disability support networks. Additionally, we will be forming a Disability Reference Group and engaging with our established Disability National Industry Advisory Group (NIAG) to guide this mahi.
January–March 2025: Strategic regional and national consultation
March–May 2025: Qualification and skill standard development, alongside ongoing consultation
May 2025: Public consultation of draft qualifications and skill standards
June 2025: Submission of qualifications and skill standards to NZQA
For further information or questions please contact us at [email protected].
New developments in disability support – Large Print DOCX
We are working on providing additional alternate formats in 2025.
Toitū te Waiora Website – health and wellbeing qualifications review
NZDSN voices from the community report
