About this site

Firstport is the first port of call for thousands of kiwi's seeking information and advice on disability in Aotearoa.

Wherever you are in your journey Firstport is here to point you in the right direction. You may be fresh from a doctor's appointment or concerned on how to support a family member. You might be connecting with people going through the same experiences or finding other options for disability funding.

We put in the mahi (work) to share information and advice from experts, covering every aspect of disability support in New Zealand.

Balanced and informed disability information and advice

There is so much information and advice out there, we strive to provide you an unbiased view of support from sectors and groups across the motu (country). Firstport is a web platform for our disability community, by our disability community and their loved ones.

The rules we stick to at Firstport

These might sound pretty familiar to you, but when we're considering information or advice to add, we look at the 'three P's to guide us.

Partnership

• Using our platform to connect and partner authentically with our community.

• Supporting and growing the engagement with support organisations and groups.

• Working with commercial businesses to leverage opportunities to inform and advise our community.

Participation

• With us not for us

• Firstport will trial new ways to support participation from our community and wider New Zealand.

• We will say “and how” not “yes but” to NFP, individuals and those driven to inform and advise our community authentically.

Protection

• All information and advice will be neutral and balanced, we will be a trusted and reliable source

• We will support our community as a highly-desirable group for organisations to connect with, protect and empower.

Who are we?

Firstport is powered by the team at Enable New Zealand and funded by Disability Support Services.

Firstport is part of the only Disability Information and Advice Service contract which covers the whole of Aotearoa. There are another 170 + disability information and advice services in different areas of New Zealand.

You can see some of those contract holders in our 'Get Support' section under 'Local information and Advice Centres'.

LINK: Search for your local information centre

We're proud to work together to support our community into vital information and relevant advice that can change lives. Being kaitiaki (guardians) of information and advice is a role we take seriously. We're focused on finding new ways to equip and empower our community.

Our history and where next?

Back in the early 2000’s when the internet was just beginning, we recognised the need for an online platform.

This was in addition to the physical national information and advice service Enable New Zealand provides. We created a website which would be a single place to go for disability information across the sector - What Everyone Keeps Asking (WEKA).

The internet changed and in 2017 we rebranded to Firstport. 2022 brought a brand refresh and 2023 delivered an incredible New Zealand photoshoot with 'the faces of Firstport'.

LINK: Read our article on the Faces of Firstport

With a small but mighty team, Firstport is able to improve and grow thanks our community. There is an ongoing flow of information, feedback and support that helps our community discover new ways to live a good life. We're always exploring new ways to open doors for increasing diversity and empowering input. Check out our feedback page to play your part.

Go to our feedback page

Find out more

Visit the Enable New Zealand website

Visit the Disability Support Services website

About the site itself

Our web experts follow accessibility best practice. We are proud to rank in the top percentage for accessibility for any website on the internet! We're proud to share our knowledge on how we made this happen with New Zealand organisations and not-for-profits.

We aim for all our information and advice to meet plain language standards. Feel free to let us know where we've missed the boat anywhere on our website.

Content disclaimer

Enable New Zealand has made every reasonable effort to ensure information on this website is as accurate as possible. However, Enable New Zealand does not guarantee that:

• website users will have uninterrupted or error-free access to, and use of, the website

• the website or any files available for downloading will be error-free or free from viruses, faults or defects

• the content of the website is accurate, complete or suitable fora particular purpose.

Website users must rely on their own judgement.

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