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Published: 5 July, 2022

  Board Chair Hayden Wano said the new name embraced the Commission’s role as the kaitiaki of mental health and wellbeing and was an expression of the commitment to being an organisation grounded in Te Tiriti o Waitangi. 

Published: 25 February, 2026

Data reported on includes the number of people accessing services, wait times, and workforce. This is released as part of our regular monitoring role. Te Hiringa Mahara – Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission is legislated to monitor mental health and addiction services.

Published: 3 April, 2025

The impact of reaching people early is a huge net positive for Aotearoa; not just for those who need it, but for our health system, our workforce, and for New Zealand as a whole,” Ms Orsborn said. The programme has improved access to primary mental health care.

Published: 10 July, 2023

This is the opposite of what is needed to facilitate recovery,” Mr Wano said.  The number of people subjected to a Compulsory Community Treatment Order under the Mental Health Act increased by 8% between 2017 and 2021.

Published: 14 November, 2019

  Chair of the Initial Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission presents at the Ministry of Health's forum on 'Enabling Wellbeing'. Check out the full presentation on the  Ministry's YouTube channel .

Published: 14 May, 2026

Read and download the 2025 wellbeing assessment Downloads Assessment of wellbeing for people who interact with services - May 2026 pdf, 2 MB Download Wellbeing for people who interact with services methodology report 2026 docx, 3.2 MB Download

Published: 29 October, 2024

Last week we welcomed the passing by Parliament of the Pae Ora (Healthy Futures) (Improving Mental Health Outcomes) Amendment Bill. This amendment requires that the Minister for Mental Health produce a mental health and wellbeing strategy for Aotearoa New Zealand within 12 months.

Published: 14 June, 2021

Throughout 2020, she also led the early set-up phase as Head of Secretariat for the Initial Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission (Initial Commission). “It’s with great pleasure I announce the appointment of Karen Orsborn as Chief Executive of the Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission.

Published: March 2024

In this webinar, we shared the evidence that points to the need to further grow our peer support workforce. We also shared the changes we want to see happen to realise the potential of the peer support workforce, including those across different levels of our health system.

Published: 6 July, 2026

The final reading of the Mental Health Bill on Saturday 4 July marks a significant step forward to embedding a modern, human rights framework in our mental health and addiction system.