NZDSN's annual disability-support sector conference, themed Tuia te here Tangata / Unlocking the Power of Community, runs 23-24 November 2026 at Takina in Wellington with a full keynote-and-panel programme.
The New Zealand Disability Support Network (NZDSN) holds its 2026 conference over one and a half days on Monday 23 and Tuesday 24 November 2026 at Takina Wellington Convention & Exhibition Centre, carrying the theme Tuia te here Tangata, subtitled Unlocking the Power of Community (NZDSN conference programme page). The published programme opens with registration from 8.00am on the Monday, a mihi whakatau and opening at 9.00am, and closes with poroporoaki at 1.15pm on the Tuesday, with a conference dinner on the Monday evening.
The timing is deliberate: NZDSN has framed the event as a sector gathering in the period immediately after the 2026 General Election, with a political keynote billed as an election debrief and a closing focus on shared priorities for the future of disability support in Aotearoa.
The conference is run by the New Zealand Disability Support Network, the national umbrella body for disability support providers, led by Chief Executive Debbie Hughes and Board Chair Samantha Lee, both of whom appear on the 2026 programme. NZDSN runs this as its annual flagship event; the 2025 edition, themed Navigating Uncertainty, is documented on the same site, establishing a consistent recurring series. The theme name for 2026 was developed with NZDSN's Tui Tuia Ropu, reflecting a Kaupapa Māori lens through the programme.
NZDSN describes an audience drawn from across the disability sector: disability support providers, disabled people, whānau, hapū, iwi, community leaders, government partners and sector stakeholders, with community funders, public agencies and businesses invited to sponsor. The programme reflects this mix, with keynotes from provider and housing leaders (Paul McGregor on curiosity and leadership; Ray Finch of Laura Ferguson Auckland on accessible community housing; Kiringaua Cassidy on culturally grounded approaches; Anne Shaw of Disability Support Services), lived-experience panels, and concurrent sessions presented by organisations including CCS Disability Action, TalkLink Trust, IHC New Zealand, SkillWise and Explore.
Takina sits at 50 Cable Street in Te Aro, in Wellington's central cultural precinct. Per Takina's own visitor information, it is about a 15-minute trip from Wellington Airport, which carries domestic flights and a short direct service from Australia's east coast. The venue reports it is within easy walking distance of key transport links, and is roughly two minutes from the waterfront and Te Papa, about five minutes from Courtenay Place, five to ten minutes from Cuba Street, and 15 to 20 minutes from Lambton Quay and Parliament. That central-city position places a broad base of Wellington accommodation within walking distance of the sessions.
This is an established annual association conference booked into New Zealand's newest purpose-built convention centre, in the capital, and deliberately scheduled around a national election cycle. For the New Zealand MICE sector it is a clear example of a national membership body using Takina to anchor a multi-day programme of keynotes, panels, concurrent streams and a gala dinner, with a delegate base spanning providers, government and community that draws people into Wellington's city-centre hospitality and accommodation precinct.
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