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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: 21 March, 2024

The announcement today by the Minister for Mental Health Matt Doocey that a new mental health and addiction peer support service will be set up in hospital emergency departments is a positive move.   “People who are experiencing mental distress who arrive at an emergency department will

Published: 4 July, 2024

help and their whānau. These targets will help focus effort on making sure services are available,” says Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission Board chair Hayden Wano. “In our briefing to incoming Ministers we made a strong case for mental health and addiction targets to be developed, so it is

Published: 29 June, 2023

Our Peer support workforce paper 2023 shows the critical role of the peer workforce in enabling recovery, improving hope and in transforming the landscape of mental health and addiction services. The potential of this workforce is yet to be fully realised. Key findings in the paper include:&nbsp

Published: March 2026

A think tank convened by Te Hiringa Mahara created space for ‘blue sky’ thinking about the future role primary and community care can play in supporting people with mental health and substance use needs. To share the outcome of the think tank workshop held in August 2025, we have published a short

Published: February 2026

Mental health and addiction system performance monitoring report downloads | June 2025 Download the system performance monitoring report outlining six key shifts to transform our mental health and addiction system. Report As an independent monitor of the mental health and wellbeing system, we

Published: 5 March, 2025

Te Hiringa Mahara hosted a webinar with an expert panel discussion on the Police and Health NZ change programme to responding to mental health crisis events. This webinar was the first in a three-part series on improving crisis responses in Aotearoa New Zealand.  The panel included lived

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: 9 April, 2025

On 8 April the NZ Police and Health NZ made a joint announcement about Mental Health Response Changes.  With Phase One complete, the agencies Phase Two will now start from 14 April with both agencies agreeing to a staged implementation across districts. Te Hiringa Mahara has made this

Published: 18 February, 2025

Government and health agencies to accelerate improvement in a range of critical areas. This included a call for Health NZ to develop a mental health and addiction workforce plan to address service capacity and workforce shortages by June 2025. “We will be keeping a close watch on access and will