Former Mount Aspiring College (MAC) student Joshua Perry has successfully campaigned for changes to improve the process for housing modifications for people with disabilities. 

As a result of his petition to the government, the Ministry of Health is introducing monitoring for applications for housing modifications that have not been completed within six months of a service request being submitted.

Joshua, who has cerebral palsy, waited over two years for modifications to his Dunedin home to make the bathroom suitable for his needs. 

He required a new door, and a wheelchair-accessible shower, toilet and basin for the safety of himself and his carers, and called the modification process “convoluted and slow”.

A health select committee report released earlier this month in response to Joshua’s petition thanked him for “bringing this important issue to our attention”.

The Ministry of Health provides funding for housing modifications to eligible people with physical, sensory, intellectual, or age-related disabilities who meet certain criteria but in Josh’s case, even after enlisting the support of Dunedin MP Michael Woodhouse, the process took more than 24 months, 13 steps and at least five forms.

“We agree the housing modification process needs to be more streamlined, with a focus on ensuring the system is faster and easier for people with disabilities to use and navigate,” the committee said.

As well as introducing monitoring for applications, the Ministry of Health will now also work with housing assessors and equipment and modification service providers to ensure disabled people are kept up to date with progress on their housing modifications. 

The committee agreed and endorsed Josh’s view that the changes should go further: asking that the six-month timeframe is calculated from the service user’s rather than assessor’s point of view. It also encouraged the ministry to keep in contact with Josh and other affected parties.

Josh said that after he began his petition, others contacted him about how they had been affected by the inefficient housing modification process, and emphasised that this was a nationwide issue.

Josh is an advocate for people with disabilities: He hopes to be an MP one day, and he is the CEO of Enabling Love, an inclusive dating service that caters for people with disabilities.

PHOTO: Supplied