Search

Published: 30 September, 2024

New Zealand is a step closer to getting accurate information about the level of mental health need in the community. Matt Doocey, Minister for Mental Health, announced on 26 September that the Government will fund the first Child and Youth Mental Health and Addiction Prevalence survey. This is in

Published: March 2024

through the Access and Choice programme. The decrease in service use in parts of the system is unexpected given the public reports on increasing levels of distress. We presented the data behind these findings and related measures, along with the changes we want to see happen. We also talked about future

Published: 24 September, 2021

used. The right workforce and staffing levels are also key to ensuring that inpatient facilities can optimise the number of acute beds available at any given time.  “Inpatient facilities are only part of the equation. As a nation, we need to keep having the wider

Published: 8 December, 2021

within our mental health and addiction system, our wider health and social system, and at every level of society. “The wellbeing of each of us should be the concern of all of us. We live together in the same country – if some communities are marginalised, it affects us all,” he says. Through Te Rau

Published: 24 November, 2022

people. Between 2011 and 2021 the proportion of 15- to 24-year-olds reporting high levels of psychological distress grew from 5% to 19%. The report also found that our school bullying rates are the highest in the OECD. “This year, communities of young people have told us they are most concerned about

Published: January 2026

, income adequacy, experience of discrimination, educational achievement, access to services and levels of psychological distress. We did this assessment to feed into policy and system responses to promote mental health and wellbeing for young people and rangatahi Māori in Aotearoa. The aim is to promote

Published: 27 June, 2023

More investment in kaupapa Māori mental health and addiction services is needed to ensure the support available meets the level of mental distress experienced by Māori. Despite funding increases over the past five years more needs to be done to achieve equitable funding. This is a

Published: 27 October, 2022

services. “As the Commission notes, the arrival of the Omicron variant has exposed long-standing, fundamental weaknesses in our health system. There is little capacity in the mental health system to cope with shocks, there are entrenched inequities in access to services and better outcomes experienced by

Published: April 2026

what we offer. Any feedback and suggestions are very welcome – please get in touch by email  kiaora@mhwc.govt.nz .  In time, we will monitor other mental health and addiction supports and services, and we will continue to make more detailed investigations into system-level change.  Last updated: 16 April 2026.

Published: November 2025

, 10-year plan lays out a broad range of short, medium, and long-term actions. These sit under six key system enablers: Leadership, Policy, Investment, Information, Technology, and Workforce. Recognising the importance of system-level leadership, this report focuses on the short-term leadership