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What we do

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Supporting disabled people and their whānau to live everyday lives in their communities

Enable New Zealand provides disability services in New Zealand. We are a division of MidCentral District Health Board. The Ministry of Health and ACC contract us to provide:

  • Disability information services
  • Disability equipment
  • Housing modification and vehicle modification services.

New Zealand’s largest provider of disability equipment and modifications

We manage over $150 million of revenue and government funds and have a team of over 100 staff. Our organisation has been serving the disability community since 1974.

In 2021, we provided disability equipment and services to 100,000 New Zealanders. These services included:

  • 102,000 items of equipment
  • 23,000 subsidies for children’s spectacles
  • 24,000 hearing aid payments
  • 2,900 housing modifications
  • 107 wheelchair and seating outreach clinic consultations
  • 79 vehicle modifications

These services help people remain with their families and connect with their communities.

Long-established relationships in health and disability sector

Our well-established relationships with the health, disability and rehabilitation sector include:

  • New Zealand Federation of Disability Information Centres
  • New Zealand Needs Assessment Service Coordination Association (NZNASCA)
  • Life Unlimited.

We're also an associate partner of the European Assistive Technology Information Network (EASTIN).

Providing disability support services since 1974

Here is a brief history of Enable New Zealand and some milestones in our development.

1974

We started out as 'New Zealand Aids and Appliances' at Palmerston North Hospital. Our technicians designed and made equipment to help patients gain more independence.

1980s

We became 'New Zealand Disabilities Resource Centre (NZDRC)'. This reflected our nation-wide coverage and our community's need for more than just equipment.

1990s

  • We established a national disability information bureau and library
  • We won a Ministry of Health contract for equipment and modification services covering three health authorities

2000 to 2009

  • New Zealand Disabilities Resource Centre changed its name to Enable New Zealand (2000)
  • Enable New Zealand merged with SupportLinks, a NASC for older persons (2002 to 2011)
  • Enable New Zealand becomes an operating division of MidCentral District Health Board (2002)
  • WEKA disability information website launched at Parliament (2005).

2010 to 2019

2020 to present