The Election Access Fund Te Tomokanga — Pūtea Whakatapoko Pōtitanga supports disabled people to stand as candidates in parliamentary general elections and by-elections.
The purpose of the Fund is to reduce cost barriers faced by disabled people by covering disability-related costs which non-disabled candidates do not face. The Fund covers both seeking selection to be a candidate, and campaigning as a candidate.
The Fund will enable the Commission to pay for additional costs that candidates incur as a result of their disability when organising and preparing to stand for Parliamentary elections.
The Fund does not cover local body elections.
The Electoral Commission's role
The Election Access Fund Act 2020 tasks the Electoral Commission with setting up and running the Fund.
The Commission has designed how the Fund will work in consultation with disabled people, disabled people’s organisations, political parties, and other interested people and organisations. We received feedback on who should be able to apply to the Fund, the types of things it could cover and how it could work. This feedback helped to inform the design and these guidelines.
There will be $1m in the Fund for people to apply to use.
Learn more about Electoral Commission
Applying to the Election Access Fund
You can apply to the Election Access Fund when there is an election or a by-election.
For the 2026 general election applications will be open for party selection activities from February 2025. The Fund will also be open for any by-elections.
If you are interested in applying to the Election Access Fund or want to know more, you can visit the following pages, or get in touch.
Email electionaccessfund@elections.govt.nz or call 0800 36 76 56.
Visit this link to find out more about who can apply to the Fund, and when
Visit this link to access applicant guidelines in alternate formats
Get updates about the Election Access Fund
If you'd like to receive updates about the Election Access Fund, please email us at electionaccessfund@elections.govt.nz and we'll add you to our mailing list.