The formation of Kāinga Ora – Homes and Communities in October 2019 marked the beginning of a step change in housing and urban development in New Zealand.

They also work closely with the Ministry of Social Development, which is responsible for working with people who need housing, income and employment support and helping people access and sustain long-term accommodation, and help meet the cost of short-term, emergency accommodation.

Accessibility at Kāinga Ora

Kāinga Ora has a responsibility to ensure that they are getting housing right for all their customers, including those with accessibility needs. They have had an Accessibility Policy in place since 2020, which sets out their commitment for the public housing properties.

In their homes

Kāinga Ora have committed to building at least 15% of new state homes to their full universal design standards. They are also focused on providing modifications to their older homes where needed.

Universal design delivers public housing that is more liveable for the entire population, including (but not limited to) young and growing families, people of all ages who experience temporary injury or illness, those with mobility, visual or cognitive impairments, and the growing aging population.

Universal design covers the following broad areas:

• Access: wide paths from car-parking area and street, step-free where possible, or the ability to install a ramp in future.
• Usability: easy to use door and cabinetry handles, bathroom and bedroom on the same entry level as the main living area (or be adaptable to include these two features at a later stage.
• Safety: slip-resistant flooring in bathrooms and kitchens.
• Adaptability: bathroom size suitable for conversion to be fully accessible if needed in the future (so that if we need to we can retrofit) by the way retrofit is for entire programme.

For their customers

Kāinga Ora are improving the accessibility of their new and existing state homes for their customers. Kāinga Ora's goal is to provide safe homes which enable people to live with independence, be able to invite whānau and friends to visit, and be part of the community they live in without barriers.

• Partnership produces home for life
• From hospital bed to warm dry home
• New home is just right

As well as ensuring that they build at least 15% of their new homes to Universal Design Standards, Kāinga Ora has signed an Accessibility Charter.

In the charter, they commit to making sure their customers can interact with their services in a way that meets their individual needs and promotes their independence and dignity. This means Kāinga Ora ensures that they interact with people through a range of accessible formats including large print and captioned videos.

Kāinga Ora and the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development have complementary roles in housing and urban development. The Ministry is responsible for leadership in the housing and urban development system, policy, monitoring and advising the Government on strategic direction.