Careers support for disabled people, Ngā tautoko aramahi mō te hunga hauā

New Zealand is a signatory to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Their definition of disability is:

Article 27 of the Convention relates to work and employment. It states that disabled individuals have the right to access programmes, services and training that supports their participation in employment or training.

The New Zealand Disability Strategy shows these commitments by saying, “…people will have the supports and information they need to transition from education and training into work.”

This is important for career development practice and to the intent of the National Careers System Strategy, which is to make sure New Zealanders have accessible careers information and support.

Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities | OHCHR

New Zealand Disability Strategy 2026-2030 | Whaikaha - Ministry of Disabled People

Career advisers should recognise that a person may experience disability-related barriers regardless of whether their disability is visible, disclosed or formally diagnosed.

Visible disabilities are those readily apparent to others, like:

• wheelchair users
• amputees
• some sensory disabilities.

Invisible disabilities are not immediately obvious and may include:

• neurodivergence
• chronic pain
• learning disabilities
• mental health conditions
• long-term health conditions.

The visibility of a disability doesn’t decide how much a person may experience barriers to participation in education, employment or training. It also doesn’t decide the level of support or reasonable accommodations they may need.

New Zealand has adopted the social model of disability. The social model recognises that it’s the barriers created by society, whether physical, attitudinal or organisational, rather than an individual’s impairment, that restrict participation and opportunity.

As career advisers, it’s important to adopt a universal design approach to make sure career support is accessible and inclusive for all people.

Things you should know: Definitions, concepts and approaches - Whaikaha - Ministry of Disabled People

Reasonable accommodations is a term that refers to a change, adjustment, or support that enables a disabled person to access, participate, learn, work, or contribute on an equal basis with others.

People may need accommodations to how things are usually done to minimise barriers and support equitable participation.

Relevant changes, adjustments or support that career advisers can make include:

• ensuring meeting locations are accessible to meet individual needs
• providing information in Word documents instead of PDFs, allowing greater compatibility with assistive technology
• breaking a standard session into several shorter, more manageable sessions
• providing written and visual (Easy Read) materials to support different learning styles.

Relevant workplace accommodations, including for school or tertiary work experience placements, could include:

• having accessible meeting and workspace environments
• having low-stimulation spaces for neurodivergent employees, eg, quiet areas with low-light options
• allowing the use of noise-cancelling headphones
• allowing the use of assistive technologies like:
  • spell-checking applications
  • text-to-speech technology
  • AI-supported software tools.

OneinSix can support your conversations with employers to create more inclusive experiences for disabled young people.

Start thinking about reasonable accommodations - OneinSix

The Human Rights Commission also publishes reasonable accommodation guidelines.

Reasonable Accommodation Guidelines

There are resources and further information that may be helpful in building your careers practice in this area.

Data and Insights – Whaikaha

Data and Insights infographic – Whaikaha

NZ Disability Strategy monitoring and reporting dashboard – Whaikaha

NZ Stats Disability – Stats NZ

Resources to help support your learners  – Tertiary Education Commission

CDANZ runs a special interest group for career advisers to build their skills and knowledge: Disability, Seen and Unseen.
For further details email pd@cdanz.org.nz

CDANZ

Inclusive Education – Inclusive

Tāhūrangi - New Zealand Curriculum – Inclusive education guides

Kōrero for change – Access Matters Aotearoa

IHC employment resources and links – Disability connect

The Guide – Future Ready

Well-able transition booklet (What’s outside the box) – Well Able