DIPC 2026

DIPC 2026
The missing advantage: The perforamce case for human-centred organisations.

Most leaders know inclusion matters. Fewer have a clear picture of where disability and accessibility barriers actually sit, or what removing them is worth.

Join leaders navigating productivity, AI, and uncertainty to rethink how work gets done – and who it works for.

4 - 5 August
Pullman Hotel, Auckland
plus...
Public Sector Working Session - 6 August

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About the Conference

The New Zealand Disability Employers’ Network (NZDEN)(opens in a new tab), Disability Inclusive Pathways Conference is New Zealand's premier event for organisational leaders building high-performing workplaces that work for everyone.

DIPC 2026 puts the productivity case for disability inclusion front and centre. It examines what organisations stand to gain when they close the gap, and sets that conversation in the context of what employers are actually navigating right now, including the ongoing effects of global uncertainty and the growing influence of artificial intelligence on how work gets done and who it works for.

You'll hear from organisation leaders, HR and diversity professionals, and sector influencers from across the public, private, and for-purpose sectors, including a strong line-up of international speakers. Sessions are practical and evidence-based, built around a single organising question: what is the missing advantage in your organisation, and how do you find it?

More about the DIPC 2026

A Comprehensive Experience

Over two dynamic days, main conference participants will engage with:

  • Thought-provoking keynotes, expert panels, and interactive sessions featuring industry leaders, disability advocates, and authentic lived experience perspectives.
  • Interactive workshop sessions offering intensive, practical learning.
  • Strategic networking opportunities with decision-makers and inclusion pioneers.

Attendees will leave with actionable insights and strategies to advance both disability inclusion in the workplace and consumer markets, and broader organisational objectives simultaneously.

Beyond Social Responsibility

This event provides invaluable insights and actionable frameworks for creating disability inclusive workplaces that move beyond social responsibility and compliance, to create sustainable competitive advantage. Together, we will examine how disability inclusion directly strengthens:

  • Social Impact: Building truly representative workforces and leadership teams.
  • Governance Excellence: Embedding accessibility and disabled people in organisational structures to maximise productivity and performance.
  • Environmental Alignment: Creating accessible sustainability initiatives that leave no one behind.
A round table of DIPC 2025 delegates engaged in a workshop discussion. Five attendees sit around notes and water bottles on the table, listening as one gestures while speaking. The busy conference room continues behind them.
Delegates engaged in a workshop discussion at DIPC 2025
The exhibitors room busy with with people engaged in discussion at DIPC 2025.
The exhibitors room at DIPC 2025.
A panel of 5 people seated on stage at DIPC 2025. In front of them, people seated at tables, listen attentively.
Customer Service Panel on stage at DIPC 2025
A panel of four people sitting on red sofas on stage at the Disability Inclusive Pathways Conference. They are Sandra Budd, panel convenor, Neve Fern-Billing, Meg Lyster and Sean Prenter from the National Disabled Students Association. Sean is speaking into a microphone.
National Disabled Students Panel discussion on Transitioning to Employment at the 2024 conference
People in the room at the Disability Inclusive Pathways Conference, seated at round white tables, with their attention directed toward the stage.
Attendees with their attention directed toward the stage at the Disability Inclusive Pathways Conference.

Introducing our Speakers

Neil Jarvis smiles broadly at the camera. He has short white hair and wears a pale sage green button-up shirt.
Conference MC

Neil Jarvis

Dino Zuppa in a navy suit, white shirt and striped tie, smiling at the camera against a dark background.
International Speaker

Dino Zuppa

Chief Executive
Accessibility Standards Canada

Dr Nasser Siabi smiling, wearing glasses and a navy suit with red tie, arms crossed in front of a Microlink branded backdrop.
International Speaker

Dr Nasser Siabi OBE

Chief Executive
Microlink PC (UK) Limited

Amy Whalley smiling, wearing glasses and a black floral-patterned top, against a plain grey background.
International Speaker
Panel Convenor

Amy Whalley

Chief Executive
Australian Disability Network

Chris Pycroft smiling, wearing a navy polo shirt, against a light brick-effect background.
International Speaker

Chris Pycroft

People & Culture Manager
Intopia

Honourable Louise Upston smiling outdoors, wearing a dark blazer over a patterned top, with a coastal harbour and hillside in the background.
Ministerial Address

Hon. Louise Upston

Minister for Disability Issues

Head and shoulders portrait of Paula, wearing a black top, standing in front of a textured light-coloured background.
Keynote Speaker

Paula Tesoriero MNZM

Chief Executive
Whaikaha - Ministry of Disabled People

Associate Professor Byron Rangiwai smiling at the camera, wearing dark-framed glasses and a navy shirt, with greenery in the background.
Keynote Speaker

Assoc Prof Byron Rangawai

Associate Professor of Māori & Indigenous Research
Ngā Wai a Te Tūī, Unitec

Jackie Brasfield smiling, wearing large round, black-framed glasses and a black top, outside with garden greenery in the background.
Keynote Speaker

Jackie Brasfield

Senior Content Designer
Westpac New Zealand

Head and shoulders portrait of Michael, wearing a blue suit jacket and patterned shirt, smiling at the camera.
Keynote Speaker

Michael Bealing

Principal Economist
NZIER

Ed Collett smiling, wearing a navy blazer and open-collared white shirt, outdoors with greenery blurred in the background.
Fireside Chat

Ed Collett

Senior Programme Manager,
Lead - Enable Network
Air New Zealand

Elin Forslund smiling, wearing a black top with a gold initial necklace, with medium-length auburn hair, against a plain grey background.
Panellist

Elin Forslund

Organisational Development Lead for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (DEIB)
AIA New Zealand

Emily Norton smiling, with long wavy blonde hair, wearing a black top, against a grey textured wall background.
Panellist

Emily Norton

Employment Programme Lead
Project Employ

Stew Sexton smiling and seated in a wheelchair inside a parliamentary chamber, wearing a blue patterned shirt, with wooden benches and green leather chairs visible in the background.
Panellist

Stew Sexton

Senior Accessibility Advisor
New Zealand Parlimentary Services

Christine Hurring in a pinstripe blazer over a white top, resting her chin on her hand, against a plain light background.
Panellist

Christine Hurring

Director of People and Culture
Hind Management / Sudima Hotels

Sonia Hawea smiling, wearing tortoiseshell glasses and a black blazer over a grey top, with blurred greenery in the background.
Panellist

Sonia Hawea

Chief Executive
Kaikaranga

Red Nicholson smiles at the camera, wearing a light blue linen shirt over a white t-shirt, and a pounamu pendant. He is in a wheelchair, and there is green foliage behind him in the background.
Panel Convenor

Red Nicholson

Executive Director
The D*List

Adrian Gordon smiling broadly, wearing a blue and white striped t-shirt, against a plain light grey background.
Panellist

Adrian Gordon

Access All Areas

Nikita Van Dijk who has shoulder length dark coloured hair, wearing tinted glasses and a grey jacket, photographed outdoors, with coloured marquee tents visible in the background.
Panellist

Nikita Van Dijk

Co-President
National Disabled Students' Association

Meet the DIPC 2026 Speakers

Introducing our Conference MC - Neil Jarvis

Neil Jarvis is a freelance consultant based in Wellington, working with organisations across the public, private and not-for-profit sectors to embed digital accessibility so that digital systems work for everyone. He supports organisations to become more accessibility-confident by assessing their maturity and preparing a roadmap for improvement, turning good intentions into coherent policy.

Meet Neil  
Neil Jarvis smiles broadly at the camera. He has short white hair and wears a pale sage green button-up shirt.
A smiling pākeha man with glasses
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Tickets now on sale!

Tickets are now available through the Humanitix booking system.
For ticket details, inclusions, and pricing, visit our ticket information page.

Ticket information  

What people say about the Disability Inclusive Pathways Conference

  • "The NZDEN Conference was very valuable to us as a team. There were fantastic networking opportunities and a room full of knowledge and expertise to soak up. We will definitely be attending again."
  • "My first time at the conference and found it phenomenal - rich thought leadership and an impressive line-up of speakers. A must for senior leaders and HR professionals on the imperative to be disability confident in Aotearoa."
  • “This was one of the best conferences I have attended, and I have attended quite a few. The keynote speakers and panellists were very informative and the topics thoughtfully planned. It also attracted such an interesting group of people that networking with the attendees was as valuable as the content of the conference. I would love to be back next year."
  • “The conference was incredibly eye-opening. I learned things I had never even thought about before.”
Read more testimonials

Photo highlights from our previous conferences

Delegates at a round table during a workshop session. In the background a delegate in a wheelchair chats with the person beside her, while others join the conversation. The room continues busy behind them.
Table of delegates in discussions during a workshop session at DIPC 2025
A large conference room filled with people seated around tables at the Disability Inclusive Pathways Conference.
The Hidden Disabilities panel answering questions from attendees around their lived experiences with hidden disabilities and employment.
Two people seated on stage, during a panel discussion. They are Joanie Sims and Kirsten Paterson.
Insights on Senior Leadership: Joanie Sims and Kirsten Paterson engage in a thought-provoking panel discussion. Their expertise shines as they unravel strategies for fostering Senior Leadership support for Disability Inclusion in organisations.
A round table of delegates deep in discussion during a workshop session. Five people lean in around notes, water bottles and fidget items on the table. The busy conference room continues behind them.
A round table of DIPC 2025 delegates deep in discussion during a workshop session.
Looking from the back of a conference room filled with people toward the stage at the front of the room where two people are seated in red sofas. They are Ruth Muller and Andrew Clerk. In the foreground is a laptop which is displaying a close up of the people on the stage. The screen behind the stage displays a slide introducing keynote speaker Ruth Muller, delivering on the topic of Neurodivergent Leadership in Action.
Ruth Muller, (Chief R&D Officer Frucor Suntory) sharing her insights on Neurodiversity Leadership in Action. Viewed on our live streaming.
A person (Paula Tesoriero) stands on stage presenting to an audience. Behind her are purple seats and a video screen that reads: Themes & Progress in Disability, Paula Tesoriero MNZM.
Paula Tesoriero MNZM from Whaikaha - Ministry of Disabled People, presenting to an engaged audience of attendees on 'Themes and Progress in Disability'
A wide view of the 2025 conference room, with Nerida Weller on stage, presenting alongside an NZ Sign Language interpreter who is interpreting the presentation. Delegates are seated at round tables in the foreground, listening.
Nerida Weller, international keynote on stage at DIPC 2025
A group of nine people consisting of the NZDEN conference team pose in front of a purple backdrop with the NZDEN logo and Disability Inclusive Pathways Conference printed on it.
The 2024 NZDEN conference team take the opportunity for a team photo.
A man (Johnathan Darby) in a wheelchair on stage, speaking to an engaged audience.
Johnathan Darby on stage, offers his valuable personal perspectives on his employment journey as a disabled person.
Delegates gather at exhibition stands during a break at DIPC 2025. A man in a dark jumper is speaking to two other people. Behind, is the New Zealand Disability Employers' Network stand and the Special Gifts stand.
Attendees networking in the exhibitor room at DIPC 2025
Two woman, Shannon and Amy sitting side-by-side on chairs, watching toward the stage. Shannon wears a microphone headset and is interpreting a presentation being given in NZ Sign Language.
Shannon McKenzie and Amy Nash from Wordsworth Interpreting during a presentation at the Disability Inclusive Pathways Conference 2023.
A man (Ed) and a woman (Rachel) on stage at the Disability Inclusive Pathways Conference. They are wearing black t-shirts with a purple Air NZ logo on them. Rachel is speaking into a hand-held microphone. On the screen behind them is a presentation that show photos of the Air NZ Enable Network Committee members. The stage is backlit with purple lights.
Ed Collett and Rachel Moon from Air NZ sharing insights on their experiences of Running a High Performing Employee Network.
A blurred foreground shows delegates practising NZ Sign Language signs during a taster session at DIPC 2025, hands raised with fingers apart. Other delegates practice signing in the background.
People participating in an NZSL taster session at DIPC 2025
A DIPC 2025 attendee holds a microphone and asks a question during a session. Other attendees at the tables around them listen attentively.
Delegate asking a question during a Q&A session at DIPC 2025
Young people seated on stage. They are the Young Neurodiversity Champions Panel at the Disability Inclusive Pathways Conference. One person with long dark hair (Jas McIntosh) speaking into a hand-held microphone.
Empowering Voices: The Young Neurodiversity Champions Panel takes centre stage at the 2023 Disability Inclusive Pathways Conference, sharing their raw and honest perspectives on transitioning into the workforce as neurodiverse university graduates.
In the background is a wall with many brightly coloured pieces of paper with post-it-notes attached to them. In the foreground, attendees of the Disability Inclusive Pathways Conference with their attention toward the front of the room.
A myriad of post-it-notes line the walls of the Disability Inclusive Pathways Conference room. The notes containing outcomes from an interactive workshop session.
Mike Potter on stage at DIPC 2025 with an NZ Sign Language interpreter beside him, at the podium. Delegates at round tables listen.
Mike Potter, CE of Disability Connect, presenting at DIPC 2025
Four people seated on stage at the Disability Inclusive Pathways Conference. Left to right they are, Julie Woods who is wearing a bright pink wig, Loren Savage and Geoff Trappett (holding a microphone) and Angela Desmarais. Geoff is speaking into the microphone, and Loren is laughing warmly in response.
Capturing the vibrant spirit of the people at the Disability Inclusive Pathways Conference, Disabled Peoples Panel. Left to right: Julie Woods, Loren Savage, Geoff Trappett, Angela Desmarais.
Disability Inclusive Pathways Conference 2026 is proudly hosted by
the NZ Disability Employers' Network in partnership with
Conference Partners Bannerbanner
NZ Disability Employers Network logo

About the New Zealand Disability Employers' Network

The New Zealand Disability Employers' Network (NZDEN) is a collective of NZ employers committed to improving disability inclusion and accessibility practices in their own organisations and across Aotearoa. Members work towards the shared vision –

'New Zealand organisations realise the true potential of disabled and neurodivergent people, to the benefit of everyone.'

NZDEN Members list

Our committed members include (note: all the below links open in a new tab):