News and Events

The People First Annual General Meeting will take place on November 6 2023.

The Annual General Meeting is when a lot of people from People First get together to talk about everything People First has done this year.


The Annual General Meeting is also called the AGM.

You can be part of the AGM in Wellington or by Zoom.

 by 23rd October if you want to go to the AGM.

There is more information about the AGM in the document below.

Notice Of AGM - Easy Read

Notice of Annual General Meeting 2023

We have 41 local groups throughout New Zealand.

We have 41 groups in 6 regions throughout New Zealand with about 800 members – you can find a local group near you in the list below.



To be a People First NZ member you need to be a person with a learning (intellectual) disability and be over 18 years old.

There’s a membership form to complete that asks for your:

contact information like your email and phone number


If you have any questions, get in touch with the regional coordinator for your region.



Find the contact details for your regional coordinator.


You can print the membership form and fill it out and give it to the Local Assistant at your first meeting. Please also read the privacy information about how we will look after information about you.

Membership form for People First NZ

Privacy information for members

Each member belongs to a local group. The local groups meet once a month and are the foundation of all the work we do at People First NZ.

The meetings are run by members, who interview and decide on their local group assistant, and decide what they want to do at the meetings, and attend local events in the community to promote People First NZ and their local group.

At the meetings, members learn about their rights and how to speak up for themselves. People from community groups are invited to meetings to find out more about what they do. Whatever is planned, the groups are a fun way to meet people and to make new friends.

Local groups

Check out our life skills courses and online app specifically designed for people with learning disability

The Speaking Up course is designed for people with learning disability to learn about:

where in their local community they can get support and advice.

In this 6-session course participants have a chance to meet with people from their community and hear about what they do. Each session is about 2.5 hours.



This 4-session course has been developed by People First NZ together with Massey University Fin-Ed Centre.


On the course people with learning disability learn about:

This is a 10-session course about bullying, abuse and neglect that was formed after a 3-year pilot project in Auckland.


It teaches adults with learning disability:

Our Life Skills app is an online space designed as either a companion to our Learn with Us courses or to be used on its own. 

Currently there are four life skill topics – speaking up, friendship, your rights and consent – with more topics planned.

A team of members formed a working group advising on the website at all steps of the process - from design to testing - and took lead roles in the videos.


If you would like more information about having a course in your area, contact:



Patrick Doherty
Learn with Us Co-ordinator
patrickdoherty@peoplefirst.org.nz

At People First NZ we run courses for people with learning disability. Our fundamental courses are about rights and speaking up - self advocacy. We are also developing courses about everyday life skills.

The courses are designed by and for people with learning disability and are available face-to-face and online. We have facilitators that are experienced in delivering training to people with learning disability. Each course has a People First NZ member as an assistant facilitator.

Learn with Us Ako i Tō Mātou Taha

Our Easy Read translation service is available for organisations who are committed to providing accessible information.

If you are looking for Easy Read information from a government department, local council or a disability sector organisation, you can often find it under accessible information or “alternate formats” on their website.

An alternate format is information that is accessible for disabled people. The other alternate formats are Braille, audio, large print, and New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL).

You can also follow us on Facebook and Twitter, or check out our website's news feed to find out when new Easy Read information is available:


Having information in Easy Read is a good way to show your commitment to an inclusive and accessible New Zealand.

Our Make it Easy team provides an Easy Read translation service and can advise you about the next steps. The Make it Easy service is used by places such as:



You can find out more about our translation and advice process for Easy Read:


or email: makeiteasy@peoplefirst.org.nz



Easy Read uses clear language with images so that people with learning disability can understand it, make decisions about their lives, and be a valued and included part of their community.

At People First NZ, we use and promote Easy Read widely in our local groups, our Learn with Us courses and our Speaking Up education work. We also have an Easy Read translation service called Make it Easy Kia Māmā Mai.

Easy Read Pānui Māmā

At People First NZ our mission is to empower and assist people with learning disability to be strong and valued individuals in New Zealand.

As a disabled people's organisation (DPO), all our work is about making sure that the rights for people with learning disability are a reality and that our communities are inclusive.

Speaking up about our rights

News and Events

Notice of Annual General Meeting 2023

Local groups

Learn with Us Ako i Tō Mātou Taha

Easy Read Pānui Māmā