The 2026 Policy Address, delivered on 16 September, runs to nine chapters, and its neurodiversity measures are only a small part of it. Most of it is about the first Five-Year Plan, the Northern Metropolis and Hong Kong’s role as an international hub.
If you’re neurodivergent, care for someone who is, or manage a team in Hong Kong, the parts that matter to you are spread across a handful of paragraphs. We read all of it so you don’t have to. Here’s what’s in it, who it’s for, and what it leaves out.
For families: a dedicated ADHD project in schools
This is the headline for us. The Government will launch an “Enhanced Support for Students with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder” Project in the 2026/27 school year, then pilot it for three years from 2027/28 (para 381). It will provide small-group training and other support for students with ADHD in public-sector ordinary primary and secondary schools.
A project named specifically for ADHD is a welcome signal. In Hong Kong, most of the public conversation about neurodiversity has centred on autism, and ADHD is often treated as a behaviour problem rather than a difference in how attention works.
Two caveats. First, it’s a pilot, and the details (which schools, how many students, what “other support” means) haven’t been published yet. Second, it covers public-sector ordinary schools. If your child is at an international or private school, it doesn’t reach them.
For young children: skipping the queue
Kindergarten children with special needs will no longer have to go through the Central Waiting List. Instead, their kindergarten and a multi-disciplinary team will design support for them directly. The Government is also adding pre-school rehabilitation places, aiming for “zero-waiting time” for on-site support (para 380).
Anyone who has waited months for an assessment slot knows how much those months matter at age three or four. If this works as described, it’s the most practically useful change in the whole Address.
For carers: a 10% rise, and recognition
- The Living Allowance for Low-income Carers of Persons with Disabilities rises 10% to HK$3,300 a month (para 376). If you’re not sure whether you qualify, our HK disability allowance guide is a good place to start.
- Carers of children with special needs are now named as a priority group for the Commission on Targeted Poverty Alleviation (para 374).
- District Support Centres for persons with disabilities get more staff, to identify high-risk carers earlier (para 376).
- About 460 extra places in day, residential and pre-school rehabilitation services (para 377).
- A new “Community Dining Hall” will offer affordable meals to persons with disabilities, carers, and children with special needs and their families (para 375).
None of this is big on its own. But naming carers of children with special needs as a priority group matters. It’s the kind of line that shapes where funding goes for years.
The 2026 Policy Address on neurodiversity at work: two lines for employers
Nothing in the Address covers neurodiversity at work directly. But two measures point the same way.
The Government wants more organisations to join the Mental Health Workplace Charter and to “optimise their staff training content” (para 313). Neurodivergence isn’t a mental health condition, but the practical changes overlap: clearer communication, predictable processes, flexibility over working environments. A team that’s learned to manage one is well on the way to managing the other.
The Government will also work with HKEX to explore further ESG reporting guidance that encourages listed companies to engage in community and charitable activities (para 375). If you sit on the “S” side of your company’s ESG report, inclusion work that can be measured is about to become more valuable.
What the 2026 Policy Address misses on neurodiversity: adults
Read the 2026 Policy Address end to end and you’ll notice a pattern in its neurodiversity measures. Support goes to children, to students, to carers and to rehabilitation places. There is nothing for neurodivergent adults in employment.
In effect, the policy stops at the school gate. A student who gets ADHD support through the pilot in 2028 will be in the workforce within a decade. When they get there, their protection is the same as it is today: the Disability Discrimination Ordinance, which requires employers to make reasonable accommodations unless doing so would cause “unjustifiable hardship”. (We’ve explained how that works in Reasonable Accommodation in Hong Kong.)
This isn’t a criticism of what the Address does. Early support is where the evidence is strongest. But it means the workplace is still left to employers to sort out themselves. The good news is that they don’t have to wait for policy.
What to do now
- Parents: once the ADHD pilot details are published during 2026/27, ask your child’s school whether it’s taking part.
- Carers: check whether you’re eligible for the higher living allowance.
- Employers: if you’re signing the Mental Health Workplace Charter, don’t stop at mental health. Read The Inclusion Gap No One Talks About for a start on what neurodivergent adults need.
This is a summary, not legal or financial advice. Figures and paragraph references are from the full text of the 2026 Policy Address, published 16 September 2026.
The 2026 Policy Address leaves neurodiversity at work to employers. Book a Neurodiversity 101 session for your team, or get in touch to talk through what your organisation needs.