Only 26% of blind New Zealanders are in paid work: what Blind Low Vision’s report reveals
Published 18 August 2026
Only 26% of working-age New Zealanders with severe visual impairment were in paid work in 2023. For people with no visual impairment, the figure was 75%. That gap is one of the clearest findings in ‘Shining a Light on Blindness’, a report Blind Low Vision NZ launched earlier this year.
The report was produced with Nicholson Consulting and led by Blind Low Vision NZ Policy Analyst Cain Richardson. It uses population-level disability data from Stats NZ's Integrated Data Infrastructure, rather than survey responses alone. That is a first. Blind Low Vision NZ says no one has used this data before to build a national picture of blindness, deafblindness, and low vision in Aotearoa.
CCS Disability Action was invited to the Auckland launch. We want to thank Blind Low Vision NZ for the mahi behind this work, and for making room for other disability organisations in the conversation.
What the report found
The report links health, disability, benefit, ACC, education, and Census records. It then compares life outcomes for working-age people aged 15 to 64 with the rest of the population. The terms "severe visual impairment" and "other visual impairment" are the report's own categories.
In 2023 the report identified more than 4,600 working-age people with severe visual impairment, and more than 57,800 with other visual impairment. Almost 2.2% of the whole population has some form of visual impairment.
The outcome gaps are wide. According to ‘Shining a Light on Blindness’, people with severe visual impairment:
had a life expectancy nine years lower than people with no visual impairment
were half as likely to own their own home, at 19% compared with 38%
were seven times more likely to live in social housing, and at least three times more likely to live in emergency housing
were four times more likely to have no qualifications
used secondary mental health services at 2.5 times the rate of people with no visual impairment
were over four times more likely to have two or more hospital events in a year
Income follows the same pattern. The report found 86% of people with severe visual impairment earned $60,000 a year or less. For people with no visual impairment, that figure was 49%. Over half also live in the most socio-economically deprived areas, compared with 29% of people with no visual impairment.
While not unexpected necessarily, we found these results sobering.
Sharleen Tongalea is a Support Coordinator at CCS Disability Action and has low vision and attended the launch. "Having this data is so important as it brings the issues our community faces to the forefront, and to the attention of the leaders of our country," she says.
Why employment sits underneath everything else
Employment is the finding that Blind Low Vision NZ has pushed hardest, and for good reason. Work brings income, but it also brings skills, contacts, and choice. When the employment rate sits at 26%, the effects show up everywhere else.
Cain Richardson told RNZ's Nine to Noon on launch day that he was deeply surprised and shocked by how low the employment figures were. In the foreword, Blind Low Vision NZ Chief Executive Andrea Midgen wrote that the aim was "data that tells human stories, data that drives change".
This is the part of the report that should hold the attention of employers, ministries, and anyone designing disability support. Low employment is not a fact about blind and low vision people. It is a fact about the barriers they meet.
Where the data stops: ethnicity
The report gives prevalence rates by ethnicity. Māori and Pacific Peoples have a rate of severe visual impairment 1.7 times higher than Pākehā. What the report does not do is break the outcome data down by ethnicity.
Sharleen feels that more granular analysis would paint a more nuanced picture.
"My feeling is that the numbers for Māori and Pasifika people who have low vision, blindness, or deafblindness would be even more alarming than the published statistics.”
Ethnicity analysis inside the Integrated Data Infrastructure is genuinely hard. Small group sizes create real limits on what can be published safely, but Shaleen hopes that future data requests can be built to further extend the outcomes for a range of ethnicities.
"If it's too hard, we need to keep asking why"
Kylie Elsbury-Dawson, Disability Leadership Coordinator for CCS Disability Action's Northern region, who also attended the launch, says the same limit shows up across disability statistics generally.
"This report really paves the way to make sure we have accurate data collection and analysis of our community," Kylie says.
Stats NZ published its own overview of disability data on 22 April 2026, drawing together findings from eight surveys and the 2023 Census. Kylie sees that as a step forward, with a condition attached.
"It is encouraging to know our wider disability community is part of the data. We want to make sure all demographics of our community are part of it. If it's too hard or too challenging, we need to keep asking why. What's missing? Who aren't we talking to? We need to fill those gaps so that we're all included."
What this means for policy and advocacy
Data like this changes what a submission can say. Instead of arguing that disabled people face worse housing outcomes, an advocate can now point to a home ownership rate of 19%. Instead of describing employment barriers, they can name a 49 point gap.
CCS Disability Action uses evidence this way in our own national advocacy, including in conversations with decision-makers and in our submissions. Blind Low Vision NZ has said the report is already leading to follow-up meetings with government and other stakeholders.
Sharleen is clear on who needs to be at the centre of these conversations.
"Information like this should help us as society identify those people who would otherwise easily fall through the gaps of services across all sectors, if they are not adequately supported. I’m hopeful that collectively, we can start to plug some of those gaps,” she explains.
How to read the report
Shining a Light on Blindness is available on the Blind Low Vision NZ website in Word, PDF, Braille, and audio editions. Blind Low Vision NZ also published a summary version.
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Frequently asked questions
What is Shining a Light on Blindness?
It is a report by Blind Low Vision NZ, produced with Nicholson Consulting and launched on 27 February 2026. It compares life outcomes for working-age New Zealanders who are blind, deafblind, or have low vision with the rest of the population.
What data does the report use?
It uses Stats NZ's Integrated Data Infrastructure, which links anonymised health, disability, benefit, ACC, education, and Census records. The results are not official statistics.
What is the headline finding?
In 2023, 26% of working-age people with severe visual impairment were employed. The rate for people with other visual impairment was 63%, and for people with no visual impairment it was 75%.
Does the report break results down by ethnicity?
It reports prevalence by ethnicity, and shows Māori and Pacific Peoples have a rate of severe visual impairment 1.7 times higher than Pākehā. It does not break the outcome data down by ethnicity.
Where can I read it?
The full report, summary, and accessible formats are on the Blind Low Vision NZ website.
About CCS Disability Action
CCS Disability Action is the largest pan-disability support and advocacy organisation in Aotearoa New Zealand.
We support people with all types of impairments and have been working alongside disabled people since 1935.
We are at the forefront of service provision, advocacy and information sharing in the disability sector. We partner with disabled people, their families and whānau to enable them to have choice and control in their lives. Our vision is to see every disabled person and whānau hauā interwoven into the lives of their whānau and community.