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New guide on reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities
Under the Disability Convention disabled people have the right to reasonable accommodation. New Zealand’s Independent Monitoring Mechanism (IMM) has just released an updated guide - Removing barriers: A guide for reasonable accommodation of Disabled people in Aotearoa.
The term ‘reasonable accommodation’ often causes confusion, but it’s the United Nations’ preferred descriptor for the changes needed to support disabled people to live their lives on an equal basis with others. Reasonable accommodation is broad and encompasses many different changes that enable disabled people to participate fully in their community, education, public, and working life.
Examples of providing reasonable accommodation within the Deaf Community:
- a Deaf person is attending a presentation, so the organisers book a New Zealand Sign Language interpreter to attend the session
- a Deaf person wants to participate in a public engagement process which is asking for views via an online survey. The Deaf person asks for the survey to be provided in New Zealand Sign Language.
- a Deaf student requests that pre-recorded lectures to be viewed online are captioned so they can understand what the lecturer is saying.
Employers, business owners and public organisations should view this positively. Changes needed often cost little or nothing at all. Accommodating disabled people means businesses and organisations are better placed to serve their customers and communities. This includes the Ombudsman, who has a role to play to ensure the Office is reasonably accommodating staff and people accessing thier services.
To learn more, please see their NZSL quick guide of ‘Removing barriers: A guide for reasonable accommodation of Disabled people in Aotearoa’
Source: National Ombudsman, New Zealand
