“Why couldn’t you have been ready a year ago?”

It’s the question we’re asked most often by people who helped co-design Skillet and by those who’ve since created their free accounts.

Skillet is rolling out a New Zealand-wide marketplace of accessible services, activities and events. Currently concentrated in Auckland, our community is made up of Kiwis with disabilities, older New Zealanders and businesses that are committed to accessibility, inclusion and dignity for all.

One of Skillet’s strengths is that the businesses who join our marketplace come from a broad range of sectors and provide a broad range of perspectives. Some have delivered decades of service for clients in the disability sector while others have brought expertise from beyond. Each professional who joins our platform undergoes vetting, a background check and has expressed a commitment to accessibility and inclusion, whether in the home of a client or in a commercial setting.

Honouring and Meeting the Needs of All Kiwis

Together, we believe in a New Zealand that honours and meets the needs of all Kiwis. We’re proud to support the Access Alliance and the mahi for a more inclusive Aotearoa. One in which we can participate fully in our communities, connect with the diverse people in it, and build on a shared sense of belonging.

Accessibility legislation will be a powerful means toward this goal. Given news of New Zealand’s Disability Systems Transformation, there is no better time to support legislative change than now. With strong structures around accountability, adequate resourcing, and robust channels for communication and reporting, we stand to create a world-class system of accessibility and inclusion.

Inclusive Community-Driven Change

So what does effective accessibility legislation mean for start-ups like Skillet? In a sentence, it’s a key factor in our mahi to amplify the voices, choices and visibility of Kiwis with disabilities, older New Zealanders and the members of our community who are currently under-served. We launched Skillet in 2020 to meet the needs of family members with diverse disabilities and access needs. These family members have experienced many of the gaps and disabling experiences that could be addressed by effective accessibility legislation and infrastructure. In the months since Skillet’s launch, we’ve been privileged to work with groups who share the Access Alliance’s vision of inclusion and community-driven change.

We must act now. We’re almost two years into this pandemic. Digital tools like Skillet can help move the conversation forward. But we’re one piece in a puzzle. More powerful than any one group are the alliances, conversations and collaboration of which we can all be part. To learn more about our piece in the jigsaw, visit Skillet’s website or get in touch at [email protected]. We’re keen to continue the kōrero.

Skillet is one of the Access Alliance's newest 'Business Champions for Accessibility'.  Please support these champions as they support our call for comprehensive and enforceable accessibility legislation in Aotearoa New Zealand.