Response to the UNCRPD Committee’s recommendations
This page explains how the Government has responded to the recommendations made by the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
Overview
New Zealand was last examined by the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in 2022.
The Committee made 63 concluding observations (recommendations) to New Zealand about how we can better meet our commitments under the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD).
UNCRPD Committee’s 2022 report to New Zealand external URL
How the Government responded in 2024
The Government is progressing work on 46 of these 63 recommendations. In December 2024, the Government agreed to progress work on 30 recommendations and to consider a further 17 through the New Zealand Disability Strategy refresh.
This work is led by a range of government agencies, including Whaikaha. We also coordinate how progress is monitored and reported.
Response to recommendations from second UNCRPD examination external URL
What has changed since the last response
In July 2025, the Government published the response on the Human Rights Monitor. This is New Zealand’s online tool for tracking progress on human rights commitments.
Human Rights Monitor - Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities external URL
In November 2025, the Government updated its response to the Committee’s recommendations and agreed to progress work on 16 of the 17 recommendations that had been considered through the New Zealand Disability Strategy refresh.
Read more about this decision in Appendix 3: Updated Government response to UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
The 63 UNCRPD recommendations and responses
These pages provide a summary of the government response to each of the recommendations.
A. General principles and obligations (articles 1-4)
C. Specific obligations (articles 31-33)
For each recommendation, you can see its current status and which agencies are responsible for actions. Links are provided to the Human Rights Monitor for more detail.
The Human Rights Monitor will be updated in 2026 to reflect the updated response to the UNCRPD recommendations.
Cabinet paper
The Minister for Disability Issues agreed to proactively release the Cabinet paper on progressing the Government response to the UNCRPD Concluding Observations.
- Cabinet paper – Progressing the Government response to the UNCRPD Concluding Observations (PDF 307KB)
- Appendix Two – Progressing the Government response to the UNCRPD Concluding Observations (PDF 249KB)
Alternate formats
Audio
Full Cabinet paper - Audio (MP3 9.1MB)
Summary of Cabinet paper - Audio (MP3 3.9MB)
Braille
Full Cabinet paper - Braille (BRF 22KB)
Summary of Cabinet paper - Braille (BRF 10KB)
Easy Read
Summary of cabinet paper - Easy Read (PDF 1.8MB)
Large print
Full Cabinet paper - Large print (DOCX 58KB)
Appendix Two - Large print (DOCX 56KB)
Summary of Cabinet paper - Large print (DOCX 58KB)