Half of disabled adults experienced a legal issue in 2023

01 June 2025

In October 2024, the Ministry of Justice published findings from the Legal Needs Survey.

The survey provides information about legal issues experienced by New Zealand adults aged 18 years and over.

Access to justice: 2023 Legal Needs Survey external URL

The survey asked participants about issues which are considered legal, meaning that they could have had a legal resolution. However, many participants may not have seen their issues as having a legal component, nor pursued a legal resolution to them.

Data was collected between September and December 2023.

We have summarised some of the key findings for disabled adults.

Disabled adults experience more legal issues than the general population

Participants in the 2024 Legal Needs Survey were asked whether they had experienced issues or disputes across various areas, including housing and land, welfare benefits, and employment.

A full list of the issues can be found in About the data.

The data show that disabled adults, when compared with the general population, were more likely to have experienced these issues. For example:

54% of disabled adults experienced at least 1 issue, compared with only 33% of the general population
28% of disabled adults experienced at least 4 issues, compared with only 10% of the general population.

When compared with the general population, disabled adults were more likely to experience 11 of the 13 types of issues asked about in the survey. This includes:

an issue purchasing a product or service online or offline (29% compared with 18%)
a money or debt issue (15% compared with 7%)
a housing and land issue (13% compared with 5%).

Disabled adults more likely to experience severe legal issues

Disabled adults were more likely than the general population to say the issues they experienced were severe, had multiple negative impacts, and were long lasting. For instance, when compared with the general population, disabled adults were more likely to:

report an issue as having a “high” or “severe” impact (51% compared with 36%)
experience at least 3 negative impacts from the issues they are facing (39% compared with 25%)
say they were treated worse than others for at least 1 issue in the past year, because of their gender, race, religion, or some other reason (27% compared with 16%)
report an issue lasting longer than 6 months (42% compared with 33%).

A list of negative impacts included in the survey can be found in About the data.

Disabled adults found legal help providers less helpful

Help providers, such as government bodies and professional legal services, can play an important role in increasing the capability of an individual to handle a legal issue.

The survey found that when compared with the general population, disabled adults were:

less likely to agree that the provider helped them understand their options better (63% compared with 75%)
more likely to feel confused as a result of receiving help (30% compared with 19%).

Disabled adults less digitally connected than the general population

The survey asked about the level of internet access participants had, as well as their experience level in using the internet for specific tasks. These questions were asked because the ability to use the internet is a key factor in an individual's ability to find relevant information and effectively respond to legal issues. The survey found that when compared with the general population, disabled adults were:

less likely to be able to easily access the internet most of the time (87% compared with 96%)
more likely to not have two step verification and feel they could not set this up easily (22% compared with 10%).

Adults aged 75 years and over were also less likely than the general population to be able to easily access the internet most of the time (82%) and more likely to not have two step verification and feel they could not set this up easily (37%).

Given the relationship between aging and disability, it is likely that the internet access differences between disabled and non-disabled people are magnified by the older age profile of the disabled population.

About the data

Data used in this summary was from the 2024 Ministry of Justice Legal Needs Survey, using data collected in 2023. The Ministry surveyed over 5,000 adults aged 18 and over by telephone interview.

Disability was defined by asking participants the following question: “Do you have a disability, long-term condition, or mental health condition that limits your ability to carry out everyday activities?”

Results presented in this summary compare responses from disabled participants with responses from the general population (this includes disabled and non-disabled people).

Due to the nature of the data collection method, randomised digit dialling telephone interviews, the survey would not have been able to reach participants without access to a phone, such as those who do not own one, or those who live in institutional settings, like prisons or long-term care facilities. The survey may also have undercounted adults in the disabled community who may be unable or unwilling to participate in a survey of this nature.

The Legal Needs Survey 2024 does not include age adjusted statistics. Due to the close relationship between age and disability, some of the differences observed between disabled adults and the general population may change if adjusted for age.

Issues asked about

Respondents were asked if they had personally experienced a range of issues and disputes within the past year. There were 13 broad categories of issues. Some of these issues may have started some time ago but continued into the reference year, which covered the 12 months prior to interview.

Issues that were included in the surveys:

product or service purchased online
money or debt
housing and land
employment
injury or ACC (Accident Compensation Corporation)
financial provider
environmental
welfare benefits
product or service not purchased online
family or whānau and relationship
government official, public service, or help from central or local government
caring or end-of-life.

Impacts of issues

Respondents were asked a series of detailed questions about the impacts arising from issues. These impacts could be positive or negative.

Impacts included in the survey:

poor mental health
financial loss
poor physical health
damage to a family relationship
increased use of alcohol, cigarettes or drugs
being harassed, threatened or assaulted
having to move home
loss of employment
damage to your property
negative impacts on your education
an increase in knowledge
an increase in confidence
improved wellbeing
financial gain.