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Published: 29 June, 2023

to draw on this workforce’s unique first-hand understanding of distress, addiction and recovery, and to substantially grow and better support this crucial workforce.  “There is a strong case for the peer workforce to play a greater role in supporting people experiencing mental distress or

Published: February 2026

unacknowledged and under-valued however it has been shown to improve hope, psychosocial outcomes and quality of life for tāngata whaiora. In recent years there has been a marginal increase in the size of the peer support workforce (an increase of 64 FTE or 18% between 2018 and 2022) but it still makes up only 3.4% of the wider mental health and addictions workforce. 

Published: 2 September, 2025

forms part of the ongoing Te Hiringa Mahara – Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission programme of work examining effective crisis response systems, which will inform our upcoming monitoring report scheduled for publication in November 2025, and we expect to inform future service design and

Published: 15 April, 2026

A once‑in‑a‑decade Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy has been released for public consultation, and Te Hiringa Mahara is calling on New Zealanders to help shape the final document. The strategy will set the direction for mental health and wellbeing across Aotearoa for more than a decade, making

Published: March 2024

When we initially started our work, we had been gifted a framework for measuring wellbeing by the Initial Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission . The He Ara Oranga Wellbeing Outcomes framework was developed with lived experience communities and focusses on describing what wellbeing looks like from

Published: January 2026

of mental health service access was taken from Kua Tìmata Te Haerenga | The Journey Has Begun . The 204 mental health and addiction service monitoring report drew on data from Health NZ, Te Aka Whai Ora, Ministry of Health, Whakarongorau Aotearoa and other agencies.  Te Hiringa Mahara prepared

Published: 29 August, 2023

Mā Te Rongo Ake / Through Listening and Hearing The Initial Commission was responsible for monitoring and providing advice on progress of the Government’s system transformation response to He Ara Oranga. This included monitoring progress on the implementation of kaupapa Māori approaches. Mā Te

Published: 1 October, 2020

, including tāngata whaiora, whānau, and Kaupapa Māori supports and services. This feedback has been supportive of He Ara Āwhina and helpfully identified concepts that could be strengthened or included across both perspectives. What people told us, and the changes made in response, are summarised in&nbsp

Published: 13 December, 2023

participants said they agree or strongly agree that we are being courageous and speaking up about important mental health, addiction, and wellbeing issues. This is heartening and we plan to build on this.   Our advocacy role has spanned a range of areas. This has included writing submissions

Published: January 2026

Executive of Te Hiringa Mahara. During 2020, Karen led the establishment of Te Hiringa Mahara as Head of Secretariat for the Initial Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission. Karen has held a variety of health management and leadership roles that focus on improving outcomes for people through working