New Zealand: Parents of disabled child win important court battle

Parents of disabled children have won a battle after a court found they were being discriminated against by the Health Ministry.

Extract from New Zealand’s Dominion Post’s website dated 14/5/2012:

The Court of Appeal today dismissed the Ministry of Health’s appeal against a finding that its current policy of not allowing parents of disabled children to be paid carers is discriminatory.

The court hearing in February was told only rough estimates had been done of what it would cost if the ministry paid parents to care for disabled children.

The estimates varied from a low of $17 million to a high of $593m.

The ministry says it does not know how many parents would want take up the option to be a paid carer.

It is understood the ministry could continue the fight to the Supreme Court.

The case, which began in 1999, has already cost the ministry and Crown Law more than $1m.

The ministry says it formulated the policy because of concerns including how much it would cost, the ability to monitor the quality of family members as caregivers, the consequences of a family being reliant on the disabled person for income.

Go to the full article here.