Better mental health and wellbeing for our people

Te Hiringa Mahara - Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission is a kaitiaki of mental health and wellbeing.
We contribute to better and equitable mental health and wellbeing outcomes for all people in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Our work News and resources

Nau mai, haere mai | Welcome

Te Hiringa Mahara - Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission is a kaitiaki of mental health and wellbeing in Aotearoa New Zealand. We were established as a result of He Ara Oranga, the 2018 inquiry into mental health and addiction, as an independent Crown entity at arms-length from the government of the day.

Our objective is to contribute to better and equitable mental health and wellbeing outcomes for all people in Aotearoa New Zealand. We perform an enduring role in transforming Aotearoa New Zealand's approach to mental health and wellbeing. We have made a strong commitment to ground our work in Te Tiriti o Waitangi and improving mental health and wellbeing outcomes for Māori and whānau. This is front and centre of who we are and what we do. 

We are committed to prioritising the voices of people who experience mental distress, substance harm, gambling harm or addiction, and advocating for their needs and aspirations.

Learn more about us

Roadmap for mental health, addiction, and wellbeing - June 2026

Our new roadmap calls for faster, more focused action to improve mental health, addiction and wellbeing outcomes in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Drawing on five years of monitoring and advocacy, the roadmap highlights key priorities for action. Adopting this is an important step toward a system that better meets people’s needs.

Read the roadmap

View transcript

Tēnā koutou katoa.

The latest report from Te Hiringa Mahara, the Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission, serves as a report card to show how well the mental health and addiction system is meeting the needs of the people it's there to serve.

We've found that faster progress is needed to really improve the system and services for people.

We've seen some really positive signs of progress, so workforce numbers have increased, wait times have improved and overall access to services has also improved.

However, we are also really concerned about some groups.

Young people in particular are experiencing higher rates of psychological distress and are struggling to access the services that are age-appropriate when needed and early in the course of their journey.

For Māori, they are experiencing high rates of unmet need and also coercive practices.

What we're calling for is targeted action, strong leadership and real change to make a difference.

If you'd like to read more about our report, you'll find it on our website.

Mā te wā.

2026 system performance monitoring report card

Our 2026 system performance monitoring report shows progress has been made to improve mental health and wellbeing outcomes overall, however this needs to move much quickly for people who need it the most. Progress has been inconsistent across the six shifts we monitor. We are calling for better and equitable outcomes for Māori at all levels of the system, and more focus on supporting the mental health and wellbeing of young people.

Find out more

Improving wellbeing outcomes for people with experience of mental distress

Our wellbeing assessment reports have shown that, in the five years following the He Ara Oranga Inquiry, the wider conditions that support mental wellbeing have not improved. This is pushing people further into mental distress. To slow down levels of distress and keep people well, our analysis shows that there are critical areas of cross-government effort and focus– such as improving physical health, social connections, and material resources. Published May 2026.

Find out more

Effectiveness of early intervention and secondary prevention supports for young people – new papers

To provide evidence of effective enablers for people designing and funding early intervention and secondary prevention approaches for young people experiencing early signs of distress, Te Hiringa Mahara has published an Effectiveness review and Evidence brief. Released 30 April 2026.

Read the new reports

Updated dashboard and summary set - April 2026 copy

New monitoring data about the performance of mental health and addiction services is now available. This new data is for the most recent year, up until 30 June 2025. He Ara Āwhina | Pathways to Support framework covers a total of 76 measures. To provide an at-a-glance overview of service performance a short, visual summary has been published.

See our 2026 monitoring

Mental health and substance use data summary: key findings from the NZ Health Survey 2024/2025

This summary is a synthesis of relevant population level findings from the NZ Health Survey 2024/2025. The data summary reports on patterns of reported psychological distress, help seeking, and unmet need for professional care and substance use.

Published: 25 February 2026.

Find out more