A system that punishes disability is a system that has failed
By Phoebe Eden-Mann, National Policy Analyst, CCS Disability Action
Published 11 February 2026
The facts at a glance
Report: Mana Āki: Dignity for All – Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) Welfare Report 2025
Key finding: Over 10,000 welfare-related enquiries to CAB between November 2023 and April 2025 reveal a system in crisis.
Impact on disabled people:
Barriers: Medical evidence often dismissed; accessible communication denied.
Poverty: Income supports like the Supported Living Payment are insufficient to cover basic costs (rent, food, medical).
Sanctions: The new "Traffic Light" system is causing significant anxiety among disabled beneficiaries.
CAB’s Spotlight Report
The Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) is often the canary in the coal mine for New Zealand’s social health. When their phone lines are jamming and their waiting rooms are full, we know that the systems meant to catch us when we fall are instead letting us crash.
Their latest report, Mana Āki: Dignity for All, confirms what CCS Disability Action has been hearing from our community for months: our welfare system is not just failing to support disabled people; it is actively harming them.
I want to acknowledge the mahi of the CAB volunteers who collated over 10,000 enquiries that form the backbone of this report. They are picking up the pieces of a fractured system, providing manaaki when government agencies provide bureaucracy.
The "Cost of Disability" is now a cost of survival
The report’s most damning finding is the sheer inadequacy of income. We know from our own research that households with disabled children are 1.4 to 1.6 times more likely to live below the poverty line than non-disabled households.
The CAB report puts human stories to these statistics. It highlights people on the Supported Living Payment (SLP) who, after paying rent and medical fees, have as little as $5 left for the week. This aligns with our "They Save, We Pay" analysis: the Government saves money by keeping benefits low, while disabled people pay the price with their health, their dignity, and their future.
When a disabled person cannot afford the dentist because Work and Income only covers "immediate and essential" extractions (and not dentures), that is not fiscal responsibility. That is state-sponsored neglect that leads to worse health outcomes and higher costs down the road.
The tyranny of the traffic light
The Government’s introduction of the "Traffic Light" sanction system was sold as a way to drive accountability. Instead, the CAB report reveals it is driving fear.
We are seeing a disturbing trend where disabled people are terrified of sanctions for "failures" that are actually symptoms of their impairment or the system’s inaccessibility. The report details cases of deaf clients being forced into phone appointments they cannot hear, and then being threatened with benefit cuts when they "fail to engage."
This is the tyranny of a one-size-fits-all approach. When you sanction someone for missing an appointment because they couldn't access the building or couldn't navigate a hostile IT system, you are not incentivising work. You are punishing disability.
Systemic disbelief
Perhaps most frustrating is the report’s evidence of medical professionals being ignored. We see case after case where GPs and specialists provide clear evidence that a person cannot work due to their condition, yet Work and Income case managers override this clinical expertise.
Disabled people are being forced to jump through impossible hoops – constantly proving their impairment exists, constantly re-litigating their right to survive. This administrative cruelty doesn't move people into work; it traps them in a cycle of stress that often worsens their condition.
Where do we go from here?
The CAB report calls for a system based on dignity. We echo that call.
We need a welfare system that:
Trusts medical evidence: Case managers should not be overruling doctors.
Guarantees a liveable income: Benefits must reflect the actual cost of living, including the additional costs of disability.
Removes sanctions: Punishing poverty does not solve poverty.
Prioritises accessibility: No one should be denied support because they cannot use a website or hear a phone call.
The standard we walk past is the standard we accept. By ignoring the findings of this report, the Government is accepting that poverty, isolation, and fear are acceptable outcomes for disabled New Zealanders. We do not accept that.
We thank the CAB for shining a light on these dark corners of our system. Now, it is up to all of us to demand the light stays on until things change.