Increasing access for disabled people

Nearly 25% of Aotearoa New Zealand’s population is made up of disabled people. Enabling people with disabilities to access legal services or work in the legal profession should be a key part of any diversity and inclusion framework. We provide practical guidance on how lawyers can be inclusive of disabled people as clients and colleagues.

LawTalk on disability

In July 2021 the Law Society’s magazine LawTalk spoke to leading advocates for a more accessible legal profession and society. Their insights will support any lawyer to better enable a disabled client or colleague.

Read LawTalk issue 946.

Resources for increasing accessibility for clients

Accessible information: Content about how to provide accessible formats for information: MSD’s “leading the way in accessible information” document.
New Zealand Relay: Provides services to assist people who are deaf, hard of hearing, speech-impaired and deafblind to communicate with others over the phone.
Advice and guidance for supporting blind and low-vision clients to access your services
Information about supported decision-making
Specialised communication assistance in justice contexts: Speech-language therapists from Taking Trouble Aotearoa New Zealand have carried out court-appointed ‘Communication Assistance’ roles for both witnesses and defendants.
Let people know if you have skills in New Zealand Sign Language: You can let others know that you can use NZSL by updating your profile in Registry. This will mean that people can search for you on our Get Legal Help tool through the language selection.

Resources for increasing accessibility for employees

Advice and guidance from Employment New Zealand: 5 steps developed by the Employers Disability Network to help you to become a disability confident organisation.
Free services and assistance available when hiring disabled people
Employment advice from the Office for Disability Issues