New Zealand Government Backs Down on Disbability Payment Restrictions

Last year, limits were imposed on what disabled people could purchase with their funding, which was widely criticised as effectively being a cut.

Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston arrives prior to a caucus meeting at Parliament in Wellington, New Zealand, on May 22, 2020. Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images

It has taken over a year, but the New Zealand government has lifted controversial restrictions on what disabled people can purchase with their allocated funding.

Under an approach known as Enabling Good Lives, disabled people had increasingly been given more choice and control over how they spend their disability support funding.