NZ Federation of Disability Information Centres Standards

NZFDIC STANDARDS

Principal Members of the NZ Federation of Disability Information Centres uphold and operate by the:

NZFDIC NEW ZEALAND STANDARDS FOR INFORMATION AND REFERRAL SERVICES

The New Zealand Federation of Disability Information Centres has developed these Standards as a reference guideline and toolkit to assist services to provide information to people with disabilities, older people, their families/whanau and carers.

They provide a framework for the professional delivery of information services to consumers.

When providing information to disabled people, it is important to consider a range of access needs, including:

Physical or sensory impairments
Learning disabilities
Developmental disabilities
Communication impairments
Mental health support needs
Long-term and/or progressive illness
People experiencing frailty and conditions associated with aging.

THE FIVE PRINCIPLES

1 Ensure that disabled people are involved from the start.
2 Provide information through a range of channels and formats.
3 Ensure your information meets the users' needs.
4 Clearly signpost other services.
5 Always define responsibility for information provision.

INVOLVE

Identify individuals, organisations, networks and stakeholders who can be involved in an ongoing basis.

Involve disabled people in deciding which channels and formats are most effective.

Test information with disabled people and incorporate their feedback.

Find out about disabled people's user journeys and signpost services around them.

Reduce the number of portals disabled people have to go through to get access to services.

Make sure that each Centre has an identified champion for information services and resources for disabled people in the development of your services.

INFORM

Find out what information disabled people want and how they want it to be provided.

Make sure disabled people are aware that information is available, where it is available and in what formats.

Test new materials with different groups of disabled people. Actively seek feedback and act on it.

Make sure that users have all the information they need about other services.

Make sure you have enough time and resources to produce materials in a range of formats and channels. Check out its accessibility with the intended users.

EMBED

Make user involvement part of service design, development and delivery. Build up good working relationships with local organisations of disabled people.

Regularly audit and review how your organisation provides information.

Routinely test the information you provide with the people who use it and act on their feedback.
Build and sustain relationships with other organisations across the voluntary, statutory and private sectors and work together to provide information for service users.

Make sure there is organisational commitment, resources and accountability to improve information for disabled people.

To view each Standard click the links below..

STANDARD 1
INFORMATION ACCESS AND REFERRAL

STANDARD 2
INFORMATION MANAGEMENT

STANDARD 3
CONSUMER RIGHTS

STANDARD 4
COMMUNITY PROFILE

STANDARD 5
TREATY OF WAITANGI PARTNERSIP

STANDARD 6
QUALITY ASSURANCE

:: WHAT IS WEKA? ::

WEKA, or What Everybody Keeps Asking about disability information, is the gateway to online disability information.

A joint venture between the Ministry of Health, NZFDIC and Enable NZ, WEKA provides the means for people to seek and find the information they need via their own computer or by using one of the network of WEKA sites nationwide.

This is a free service and all WEKA sites are Member Centres of the NZFDIC and have trained staff available to assist.

To access WEKA simply click on the WEKA logo above.