The New Zealand Health Ministry has a problem with court cases appealing for payments to be made to family care givers looking after their children that have a Disability.
The ministry is in the Court of Appeal this week defending its policy, which both the Human Rights Review Tribunal and the High Court have said discriminates on the basis of family status.
The ministry has appealed against the decision as the latest step of a legal challenge that has already cost the ministry $1.1 million.
Five judges at the Court of Appeal were told yesterday that it had been estimated it could cost between $17m and more than $500m if families were paid for the time they spent looking after their disabled relatives.
The ministry provides services to about 30,000 disabled people.
The families in the case now before the court have received welfare benefits, such as the domestic purposes benefit, while caring for disabled adult children, with the ministry funding outside help if it was needed.
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