The Waitangi Tribunal

On Thursday 3 September 2026, the Waitangi Tribunal released Hauwhaikaha: The Disability System Report in pre-publication format for stage two phase one (disability phase) of the Health Services and Outcomes Kaupapa Inquiry (Wai 2575). This report is the outcome of the Waitangi Tribunal inquiry into the Aotearoa New Zealand disability system, taking into account countless hours of lived experience, research, personal stories, evidence gathering and detailed analysis. In total, 48 claimants and 13 interested parties participated in the inquiry with 11 hearing weeks held between 2022 and 2024.

Ensuring the participation of taangata whaikaha Maaori claimants, the proceedings in the inquiry were governed by a set of guidelines, developed collaboratively with the relevant parties. These included, for example, having New Zealand Sign Language interpreters available during all the hearings and using double vowels instead of macrons in written material.

In accordance with the accessibility protocol, plain-language summaries of the report were produced in five alternate formats: audio, Braille, Easy Read, large print, and New Zealand Sign Language. This makes the report more accessible to those most affected by it.

Maaori have a significantly higher prevalence of disability than non-Maaori. Additionally, throughout this inquiry, the Tribunal heard evidence regarding inequitable health outcomes for taangata whaikaha Maaori. The claimants alleged that the overrepresentation of Maaori within the disability population stems from inequitable health outcomes that Maaori experience generally, including inequitable access to health services and poorer health outcomes. The report explores whether the persistent inequitable health outcomes suffered by taangata whaikaha Maaori are indicators of Tiriti/Treaty breach. In doing so, the Tribunal canvassed various structural aspects of the disability system, from the collection of disability data to decision-making design, and then assessed those structural aspects for Tiriti/Treaty compliance.

The Crown agreed that there was a higher proportion of unmet need among taangata whaikaha Maaori and that taangata whaikaha Maaori are frequently marginalised within the health and disability system. Notwithstanding the apparent over-representation of Maaori within the disability population, the evidence suggests that there is inequitable access in the uptake of disability support services by taangata whaikaha Maaori due to systemic access barriers. The claimants alleged that the Crown has failed to address the barriers in the disability system and reduce adverse health disparities. Some claimants shared their lived experience of a daily struggle to attain health and wellbeing outcomes in the current disability system. Taangata whaikaha Maaori consistently said that the disability system is fragmented, complex and difficult to navigate.

Essentially, the claimants are asking to be heard and seen within the disability system with the call: ‘nothing about us, without us’. Taangata whaikaha Maaori expressed the need for the Crown to genuinely partner with them in the design, delivery and monitoring of the disability system. The claimants contended that they have consistently called for increased representation of taangata whaikaha Maaori in the disability system and have requested formal partnership mechanisms with the Crown. They advocated strongly for adequate representation of taangata whaikaha Maaori across all levels of the disability system.

The Tribunal found that the Crown has prejudiced taangata whaikaha Maaori in several ways.

The Crown has historically failed to partner with taangata whaikaha Maaori in the design of the disability system, including the services that are available to them, and the formulation of disability-related policy, strategies and action plans. The Tribunal found that the Crown has not managed the disability system in a way that adequately supports and resources taangata whaikaha Maaori to formally participate in the design of the system, as well as at the decision-making level.

The Tribunal also found that, despite the Crown being aware of longstanding inequity, it has failed to sufficiently inform itself of how the disability system is performing in order to adequately address disparities. Moreover, the Tribunal observed that the Crown has not implemented nationally consistent data standards for Crown agencies, which means that taangata whaikaha Maaori health outcomes are not systematically and separately measured and reported on. Maaori and taangata whaikaha Maaori are at present unable to independently and formally scrutinise the performance of the Crown’s policy settings for the disability system or its compliance with te Tiriti/the Treaty.

Kaupapa Maaori providers are intrinsic to delivering culturally appropriate services to taangata whaikaha Maaori and sustaining hauroa Maaori. They are themselves expressions of tino rangatiratanga. The Tribunal found that kaupapa Maaori providers do not receive sufficient funding or support to deliver culturally appropriate services that meet the needs of taangata whaikaha Maaori. The Tribunal further found that taangata whaikaha Maaori and their whaanau face many funding-related barriers, affecting their ability to receive timely, quality and sustainable services of their choosing.

The Tribunal was repeatedly told that taangata whaikaha Maaori and their whaanau are disadvantaged by the gap in available disability services, as well as by experiences of racism and discrimination. Such access barriers are exacerbated for Maaori who live in rural areas, where scarcity of services often leads to further barriers, such as long travel distances and higher associated costs. Moreover, Maaori and taangata whaikaha Maaori are under-represented in the health and disability workforce, which affects the care received by taangata whaikaha Maaori and the cultural competency of services. The Tribunal found that the Crown’s delivery of training and professional development does not ensure disability staff are culturally competent and has resulted in too many cases of taangata whaikaha Maaori receiving culturally unsafe care.

The Tribunal found several breaches concerning claims relating to three specific roopuu: Kaapoo Maaori (Maaori who are blind, deafblind or vision-impaired or who have low vision), Taangata Turi (Maaori who are deaf or hard of hearing) and taangata whaikaha (Maaori with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder).

To give effect to Tiriti/Treaty principles, the Tribunal recommended that:

• the Crown establish viable partnership models in a process co-designed with taangata whaikaha Maaori;
• the Crown honour the Tiriti/Treaty principles of partnership and tino rangatiratanga by including taangata whaikaha Maaori in the design and delivery of the disability system; and
• the Crown ensure appropriate replacements for the monitoring role that Te Aka Whai Ora had under the Pae Ora (Healthy Futures) Act 2022 for the health and disability system (including the health services provided through prisons) to improve Maaori health outcomes, including for taangata whaikaha Maaori.

The Tribunal also made several recommendations regarding data, funding and accountability, as well as further specific recommendations in relation to Kaapoo Maaori, Taangata Turi and taangata whaikaha Maaori.

On 31 July 2026, the Waitangi Tribunal released a pre-publication copy of Te Tinihanga o ngā Mātāpono: The Urgent Report on the Treaty Principles Reform, a report on the Crown’s proposals to reduce or remove Treaty of Waitangi / te Tiriti o Waitangi provisions from 18 pieces of legislation.

On 23 February 2026, Cabinet had agreed to several amendments to Treaty/Tiriti provisions, including to repeal multiple provisions and to lower the Treaty/Tiriti weighting in provisions included in the relevant statutes to no higher than ‘take into account’. On 21  April, the Tribunal received a claim from the claimants for Wai 682, the Ngāti Hine Lands, Forests, and Resources Claim, contending that, in deciding to make these legislative changes, the Crown had breached the principles of the Treaty/te Tiriti as, if enacted, the reforms would lead to the marginalisation of Māori interests in the operation of law and policy. The claim was registered as Wai 3565, and 56 parties were granted interested party status. The claimants also filed an application for urgency, and the Tribunal received 31 submissions supporting it, though the Crown opposed it. After consideration, Chief Judge Dr Caren Fox granted urgency on 6 May. The panel appointed to hear the claim comprised Chief Judge Dr Fox (presiding), Derek Fox, and Dr Paul Hamer, and the hearing was held at the James Cook Hotel in Wellington on 2 and 3 June 2026.

The report focused on the rationale behind the reforms, the adequacy of the policy process followed by the Crown in progressing them, and the impacts the reforms would have on Māori if enacted. In producing this analysis, the report canvassed the wider context surrounding Treaty/Tiriti provisions in legislation, including their utility and the role that they play within the Māori–Crown relationship. 

• approving legislative proposals to substantively repeal several provisions (subject to ministerial approval) and to amend Treaty/Tiriti weightings in the affected provisions to no higher than ‘take into account’ on the basis of a flawed rationale and in an absence of supporting evidence;
• approving legislative proposals to amend or repeal the provisions in question without adequately informing itself of the effects of the changes on Māori or Māori interests;
• prioritising coalition agreement commitments over the need to make informed policy decisions; and
• making substantive policy decisions to approve the legislative proposals in the absence of meaningful engagement with Māori on the proposals in question. The Tribunal also considered this omission to be inconsistent with upholding the honour of the Crown.

The Tribunal further found that, if the proposed reforms were enacted without meaningful co-design engagement with Māori, the Crown would breach the principles of good government and active protection. Additionally, in doing so, the Crown would fail to adequately recognise Māori tino rangatiratanga and, as such, be in breach of the principle of partnership. Finally, if the proposed reforms were enacted, the Crown would breach the principles of active protection, equity, and redress. 

The Tribunal considered that Māori would be significantly prejudiced by the Crown’s proposed reforms which, if enacted, could result in poorer environmental and health outcomes for Māori and would negatively impact Māori kaitiakitanga and rangatiratanga. The reform process has seriously damaged the Māori–Crown relationship and caused distress and uncertainty among Māori as to the future legislative protection of their interests. Further, the Tribunal considered that the Crown had sent a strong signal across the public sector that the Treaty/te Tiriti may be downgraded in decision making. In order to mitigate the prejudice already caused and to prevent future prejudice to Māori as a result of the proposals, the Tribunal recommended that: 

• the Crown immediately pause its reforms and not progress them until meaningful co-design with Māori had occurred;
• no Treaty/Tiriti provisions should be repealed or downgraded;
• upon the identification of a coherent rationale on the part of the Crown for change, the Crown should conduct thorough engagement with all Māori stakeholders associated with each affected statute;
• if the Crown did not halt its process and it introduced a Bill which was then referred to select committee, there should be a more meaningful and in-depth process than a standard select committee inquiry; and
• the Crown should meaningfully consult with post-settlement governance entities about the potential impact of the proposed changes on their Treaty settlements.

Finally, the Tribunal reserved its jurisdiction to consider the proposed reforms further should they be enacted or if Cabinet’s broader decision that the ‘take into account’ Treaty/Tiriti weighting be the default preference in other legislation, resulting in further weakening of Treaty/Tiriti provisions beyond the statutes specifically in scope of its February 2026 decision.