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Leaders in the disability community developed the Enabling Good Lives (EGL) approach with the intent of shifting power and authority from government to disabled people and their families. EGL is a social movement that responds to the long‑standing exclusion, marginalisation, and systemic disregard experienced by disabled people, and to disability systems that have historically been designed without disabled people at the centre.
An important element of EGL is a progressive societal shift in thinking about the disability community from thinking of a person as disabled (the medical model), to seeing that what's holding them back is a society which is not prepared to enable them (the social model).
The medical model has been the accepted way of thinking about disability since the Industrial Revolution or earlier. It assumes that disabling impairment is a problem for the disabled person and they need to adapt or be ‘fixed’ to fit their environment and their society.
The social model of disability has been gaining traction since the disability rights movement in the 1970s and 1980s first proposed it. It holds that rather than impairment disabling a person, the barriers created by an inaccessible society are the disability.
Click here to find out more about EGL in Aotearoa.
“In the future, disabled people and their families will have greater choice and control over their lives and supports, and make more use of natural and universally available supports.”
Both this vision and principles below are based on respecting and trusting people with disabilities and their families and whānau to be the decision-makers about their own lives.
Underpinning the EGL vision are eight core principles as follows:
Disabled people are in control of their lives.
Invest early in families and whānau to support them; to be aspirational for their disabled child; to build community and natural supports; and to support disabled children to become independent, rather than waiting for a crisis before support is available.
Disabled people have supports that are tailored to their individual needs and goals, and that take a whole life approach rather than being split across programmes.
Disabled people are supported to live an everyday life in everyday places; and are regarded as citizens with opportunities for learning, employment, having a home and family, and social participation – like others at similar stages of life.
Disabled people are supported to access mainstream services before specialist disability services.
The abilities and contributions of disabled people and their families are recognised and respected.
Disabled people have supports that are simple to use and flexible.
Supports build and strengthen relationships between disabled people, their whānau and community. To find out more about the history of EGL, the approach and principles click here.
Yes. FASD meets the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) definition of disability. FASD is a lifelong brain‑ and body‑based disability that, in interaction with environmental and societal barriers, can materially affect a person’s ability to participate equally and equitably in society.
People with FASD bring strengths, perspectives, and contributions that are often overlooked when systems are not designed to recognise neurodiversity. Like other disabled people, they experience disability not because of who they are, but because everyday environments, expectations, and systems are frequently not designed to enable them to thrive.
In Aotearoa New Zealand, Disability Support Services (DSS) funding is available to people who meet specific eligibility criteria. To be eligible, a person must generally be under the age of 65 and have a disability that is expected to last at least six months, and results in a reduction of independent functioning such that ongoing support is required.
Under current policy, DSS recognises the following disability categories as eligible:
FASD is acknowledged by the Ministry of Health and Whaikaha as a disability. However, unlike many other disabilities, people with FASD and their families are generally not eligible for DSS funding unless they also meet the criteria for an intellectual disability (specifically an IQ below 70) or have another qualifying disability.
This means that many people with FASD — despite having lifelong, brain‑based differences that affect executive functioning, adaptive skills, memory, sensory regulation, and daily living — are excluded from disability supports. Fewer than 20% of people with FASD have an intellectual disability, yet many experience significant support needs across education, employment, and community participation.
Sensory processing differences are also a common symptom of FASD. However, sensory processing differences on their own are not currently recognised as an eligible disability category for DSS. Sensory needs may only be taken into account when they occur as part of an eligible disability (such as autism, intellectual disability, or a recognised physical or sensory impairment).
As a result, many people with FASD and their families and whānau find themselves in a gap between recognition and resourcing — acknowledged as disabled, but unable to access the disability supports that would enable them to live ordinary lives. The current DSS eligibility framework helps explain why many people with FASD experience significant unmet support needs, despite being recognised as disabled.
FASD‑CAN has long advocated, and continues to advocate, for all people with FASD to be eligible for Disability Support Services. This advocacy is grounded in a strengths‑based understanding that, with the right supports in place, people with FASD can pursue ordinary life outcomes, contribute meaningfully to their communities, and exercise choice and control over their lives, consistent with the Enabling Good Lives vision.
Aotearoa New Zealand has been criticised for its slow roll-out of the Enabling Good Lives approach by the 2022 UNCRDP Review Committee, who recommended that EGL be expedited to all people with disabilities. The Review Committee specifically identified that EGL should include people with FASD.
The Committee also recommended the New Zealand government ensure that people with FASD, along with others with chronic conditions, 'have access to the disability support system and are included in disabilities policies and programs'.
Implementation of an EGL approach in Aotearoa New Zealand’s education system was also considered as part of the recent Highest Needs Review undertaken by the Ministry of Education (MoE). Cabinet has asked MoE and Whaikaha to work together to consider how EGL can be applied in the education system.
As of late August 2023, the New Zealand Government accepted the UNCRPD Review Committee’s recommendations with modifications. Whaikaha – the Ministry of Disabled People – is the lead agency responsible for coordinating the government response and reporting to Cabinet through agreed processes.
To date, there has been no public clarification of what “with modifications” means in practice for the rollout of Enabling Good Lives or for the inclusion of people with FASD in disability support systems. The Government’s plans for any further national rollout of EGL across the country/motu have also not been publicly confirmed. This means at present, Enabling Good Lives is only available through three established EGL sites — EGL Waikato (Hamilton), EGL Christchurch (Canterbury), and Mana Whaikaha (MidCentral). While EGL principles inform broader system change, access to EGL‑specific supports remains limited to these locations, and no further rollout has been publicly confirmed.
EGL webinar recording
NZ group 'VIPS in Education' founder Frian Wadia recorded this kōreo with Rebekah Corlett in February 2024 about EGL in education.
