Court of Appeal decision on employment of family carers

The Court of Appeal has released a decision about the employment status of two family carers, who brought court proceedings against the Crown. Whaikaha - Ministry of Disabled People is carefully considering the findings.

Read the Court of Appeal decision external URL  

This was a complex case with many aspects for the Court of Appeal to consider. 

The Court has found that Whaikaha is not the employer of these family carers. This means that Whaikaha does not employ any family carers.   

Whaikaha recognises the important role that supportive family, whānau, aiga and communities have in a disabled person’s life. We acknowledge the impact that these prolonged legal proceedings will have had on the individual whānau involved in these cases.  

We recognise that due to recent changes to the Purchasing Rules, some people may be interested in any impact the Court decision may have on their funding arrangements. We would like to reassure people that this decision is unrelated to the recent funding announcements and won’t affect your funding arrangements.

Additional information about the background to this court case is available in alternate formats:

• NZSL - Court of Appeal background and response external URL
• Braille - Court of Appeal background and response (BRF 2KB)
• Audio - Court of Appeal background and response (MP3 1.1MB)
• Large Print - Court of Appeal background and response (DOCX 107KB)
• Large Print - Court of Appeal background and response (PDF 147KB)
• Easy Read - Court of Appeal background and response (DOCX 2MB)
• Easy Read - Court of Appeal background and response (PDF 1.3MB)