Response to: “Equity requires visibility: intellectual disability and Aotearoa New Zealand’s mental health roadmap”

The recent editorial by Barron et al.¹ raises important questions about the visibility of intellectual disability within mental health strategies and policy in Aotearoa New Zealand.

At the core of our work, as a kaitiaki of mental health and wellbeing, is contributing to better and equitable mental health and wellbeing outcomes for all people in Aotearoa New Zealand. The Roadmap to mental health, addiction, and wellbeing² referred to is underpinned by a suite of monitoring reports and active engagement by Te Hiringa Mahara—Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission in the 5 years since being established in 2021.

Our most recent system performance monitoring report,³ released in June 2026, assessed progress of six shifts we want to see in the mental health and addiction system. Within these shifts, we specifically call out inequities for population groups, including disabled people, and the changes we want to see to improve outcomes. Noting disparities, we have called for mental health to be reflected in all policies and cross-government action on drivers of mental distress.

The assessment of system performance and our other monitoring work provides comprehensive data highlighting poorer mental wellbeing for disabled people, increasing psychological distress and hazardous drinking patterns. The data paint a picture of a system that is not responding well to the needs and experiences of disabled people.

These systemic failures are sadly not new, and through our regular engagement with disabled people and whānau we have heard about persistent barriers to accessing services and systemic barriers to wellbeing. We have heard—and reported on—the challenges disabled people encounter every day, such as practitioners attributing mental distress to disability, services not being able (or willing) to provide support, services not being accessible, and limited options.

These insights ground our advocacy for a system where everyone gets support for what they need, when they need it, in ways that work best for them. We are committed to drawing attention to the experiences of, and impacts on, all 12 priority populations we are charged with paying regard to, including people with intellectual or physical disabilities. We bring insights from these populations into our work.

It was against this backdrop that we developed the Roadmap. It is intended to have a relatively short lifespan of less than a year and seeks to drive momentum through practical actions that can be progressed now. The Roadmap’s commitments—earlier access, effective crisis response, cultural responsiveness, a system that reaches those with the highest needs—apply equally to all people, particularly those who experience disadvantage.

We know there is more to do, including addressing the wider determinants of wellbeing, but we also know that visible progress matters. Creating momentum helps build confidence in the system and provides a foundation for broader and more sustained change.

The critique of the Roadmap has given us pause for thought. When priority populations are not named, they can be invisible, which leads to poor policy design and inadequate service delivery. Drawing on the resources and tools available to us, we are striving to keep these issues visible. We welcome the challenge to articulate how we are doing this, and where we could potentially do more.

There is significant work to do across Aotearoa New Zealand’s policy settings, systems and services to ensure that all population groups, including those with intellectual and physical disabilities, are fairly represented and that their needs and interests are meaningfully reflected in policy and practice at all levels. That is an ongoing challenge, so we will continue to advocate strongly for equity for disabled people.