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Published: 1 October, 2020

Work on He Ara Āwhina began with the Initial Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission (Initial Commission) in October 2020. Find more information about the He Ara Āwhina framework here . Co-define phase October 2020 – February 2021 The Initial Commission sought feedback on why we should monitor

Published: 16 June, 2022

In early June we provided an article on coercive practices to the New Zealand Herald for consideration as part of its Great Minds campaign on mental health. The article, by our Chief Executive Karen Orsborn, pointed out that coercive practices continue in Aotearoa New Zealand despite evidence they

Published: January 2026

Māori and people with lived experience of mental distress, substance harm, gambling harm or addiction in all that we do, as outlined in our Lived Experience Position Statement . Your views are important to us, and we encourage you to have your say to improve mental health and wellbeing outcomes for

Published: 5 December, 2024

Te Hiringa Mahara – Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission’s Annual Report for the year ended 30 June 2024 is now publicly available. The report summarises how we contributed to better and equitable mental health and wellbeing outcomes for all New Zealanders in the preceding 12 months. This

Published: 13 December, 2023

its first ever Minister for Mental Health sitting in Cabinet is a welcome move. This dedicated role will bring a clear focus to mental health and addiction, and we are looking forward to tangible action and increased momentum over the coming term of government. But where should the new minister start

Published: 10 July, 2025

-for-profits, and wider government. For more than 30 years, he has researched and published extensively in the area of Māori health, with a specialist interest in health outcome measurement (psychometrics), Māori mental health, longitudinal research, public health and health service delivery. He is currently leading New Zealand’s largest dedicated programme of Māori mental health research – Te Aratiatia ki te Hauora.

Published: 28 October, 2021

wellbeing systems in Aotearoa,” says Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission Board chair Hayden Wano. “Our role is to be the eyes and ears of the people of New Zealand, amplifying the voices of our communities. We bring focus to areas where meaningful action can be taken. Appropriate access to and choice

Published: 29 May, 2025

New analysis shows a 10.5% reduction in the number of people accessing addiction treatment services over the last five years raising concerns about whether there is sufficient capacity to respond to an increase in demand.  “Recent reports show drug use has increased, yet over the past five

Published: 31 May, 2023

More people are accessing new services through the Access and Choice programme, however, there has been a decrease in people accessing specialist mental health and addiction services and other primary mental health services, and little or no change on other measures of service quality. This is

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