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Published: February 2026

Download Mental Health Bill submission pdf, 284 KB Since our formation Te Hiringa Mahara - Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission has contributed to policy development to ensure Aotearoa New Zealand has mental health law based on human rights and eliminates coercive practices or reduces them to the

Published: 23 October, 2024

deserve in our Acute options for mental health care insights paper . While services are diverse, there are some key elements that contribute to their success. It is well known that the type of care someone experiences while in distress has a big impact on their recovery. People respond in very

Published: December 2025

;  In June 2023 we surveyed a group of key stakeholders inclusive of Māori, tāngata whaiora (people seeking wellness), whānau, family, supporters, and priority populations, to get feedback on how effectively we engage, and how we can improve.  Te Hiringa Mahara annual engagement survey summary report 2023 [PDF, 290 KB] Te Hiringa Mahara annual engagement survey summary report 2023 [DOCX, 340 KB]  

Published: 30 November, 2022

Hiringa Mahara – Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission, which has been released today. The  Access and Choice Programme: Report on the first three years   and its accompanying Improving access and choice for youth   report look at the first three years of the rollout since funds were

Published: 14 February, 2023

The COVID-19 pandemic has added additional stress to the rural community, which itself faces different wellbeing challenges to those of urban Aotearoa. This is according to today’s Te Hiringa Mahara – the Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission report,  The impact of COVID-19 on the wellbeing

Published: 4 July, 2024

The announcement of targets to address wait times and workforce pressures across the mental health and addiction system has been welcomed by Te Hiringa Mahara – Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission. “Access to appropriate services when and where they are needed is very important to people seeking

Published: 4 November, 2025

Crisis responses are a critical part of an effective mental health system, and we are calling for a nationally cohesive approach to crisis responses to be developed by June 2027. In Aotearoa New Zealand, we have a collection of services with components that are working well. Elements of a good

Published: 2 February, 2022

The Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission has presented at an oral hearing on its recent submission on the Pae Ora (Healthy Futures) Bill. Speaking after the hearing, the Chair of the Commission Hayden Wano welcomed the opportunity to present on changes currently proposed by the Bill, and

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. The Bill was

Published: 25 February, 2026

wellbeing outcomes. “It's vitally important that we close this gap, and it is becoming more urgent. At a population level young people are reporting increasing levels of psychological distress. In our summary of NZ Health Survey 2024/2025 data, the trend of increasing high levels of psychological distress