Policy positions and submissions

Changes have been proposed to the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015, the WorkSafe New Zealand Act 2013, and the Health and Safety at Work (General Risk and Workplace Management) Regulations 2016, with the aim of streamlining the way Aotearoa’s workplace health and safety system operates.

However, the Bill risks weakening protections by narrowing small businesses’ responsibilities to only manage “critical risks”, which may exclude protecting workers’ mental health and wellbeing. Psychosocial risks (like bullying, burnout, and overwork) may not meet the “critical” threshold but can still cause serious harm, with the burden falling on workers, their whānau, and our health system.

This would affect most businesses in Aotearoa, as around 97% are small businesses – meaning the impact of reduced obligations could be widespread.

Mentally healthy workplaces are good for business. Investing in wellbeing improves productivity and reduces costs like absenteeism and turnover. We recommend supporting small businesses by providing them with practical, accessible guidance to manage risks, not removing their responsibilities.

On 19 February 2026 the Minister for Mental Health, Hon. Matt Doocey, received a joint letter and petition signed by 19,615 New Zealanders. Together, we called on the Government to take urgent action to address poor child and youth mental health rates.

The petition urges both immediate, and long-term steps to ensure that young New Zealanders can access the timely, effective mental health supports they need — and deserve.  

For too long, young people have had the highest rates of mental health challenges in the country, yet waited the longest for support. This collective action reflects a growing, nationwide demand for meaningful change. 

The Ministry of Social Development has consulted on a new Carers’ Strategy Action Plan, following the expiry of the previous plan in 2023. Carers are people who support friends, family, whānau and aiga members with a disability, illness, or health condition – including mental health and addiction challenges.

While the MHF supports the idea of a rolling plan that can respond quickly and flexibly to need, the draft lacks urgency and real action. Many deliverables are vague, with no clear accountabilities, timelines, or corresponding funding.

Carers are doing it tough, experiencing significantly higher rates of anxiety, loneliness, and poor health – especially young carers. Support isn’t reaching people either, with many not even realising they’re considered as “carers”, and services are either hard to find or don’t exist. 

Carers need real support now, including respite, financial help, and recognition of their own needs (not just the person they care for). A stronger focus on equity is also needed, including meaningful support for Māori carers and whānau.

The MHF fully supports the proposal to move towards a health-led response to mental health events, it’s good for vulnerable people and it’s good for Police. However,we estimate it will take at least five years of health workforce building until Police can fully scale back their role. The MHF is particularly concerned about the Police announcement with firm dates for transition starting in 2024 but with no corresponding health actions. 

The MHF urges Police not to make changes to its operating model before an effective alternative is in place, and we urge the government to ensure the overall transition process is exceptionally well planned and coordinated, fully transparent to the public and the mental health sector and implemented on a gradual scale, otherwise vulnerable people and their families will fall through the cracks of a disjointed health response.

The MHF wrote to the Minister of Health and Minister of Police recommending alternative approaches to community mental and suicidal crisis across Aotearoa to replace police responding to these situations alone. We believe Health NZ/Hauora Aotearoa and the Māori Health Authority are well placed to support the localities to create community-led responses crises which suit their specific needs. These responses should be community based, peer-led and co-designed by tāngata whaiora and tāngata Māori.

The Mental Health Foundation of New Zealand opposes the inclusion of provisions that seek to increase punitive measures in response to offences against first responders and corrections officers (clauses 21-24). While we wholly support increasing protections for those providing essential, frontline care, people in acute mental health or substance-related distress cannot be reliably judged as having intent to injure or harm while in an altered state. Evidence shows that increased penalties do not reduce harm to responders or tāngata whaiora. Punishment is not the answer - a preventative and whole-of-system approach to reducing violence against first responders is what works. This requires sustained investment in timely, community-based support to prevent crises from escalating, alongside the urgent development of a nationally cohesive, networked crisis response system  We are concerned about the inevitable disproportionate harm to the most vulnerable in our community, and also to Māori, who already experience inequitable outcomes in areas of mental health and criminal justice.  The small minority of people who act aggressively during a mental health or substance-related crisis can, and often do, recover with appropriate support. We are against trapping people in a system that can compound existing harm, and support a therapeutic, rehabilitative approach. 

This briefing outlines the scope of mental health and wellbeing need in Aotearoa New Zealand; how it can be addressed; and tangible actions MPs can take to support positive mental wellbeing across the motu. 

A printed copy of this briefing has been sent to all MPs, regardless of whether they are in government or in opposition. All MPs have a responsibility and opportunity to help transform our mental health system into one that works — a system that helps New Zealanders and their whānau be well and stay well, by investing in a balanced way across the three components recommended by the 2018 Inquiry into Mental Health and Addiction:  

1. effective services  
2. preventing mental health challenges  
3. promoting lifestyles and habits that support mental wellbeing.

This briefing outlines the legacy challenges and opportunities for positive change for the new minister’s first year in office as Minister for Mental Health. The MHF highlights the key building blocks the minister can strengthen right now, to set our system and all New Zealanders up for enduring positive mental health and wellbeing outcomes. Crucially, we suggest the development of a clear, long-term plan to guide us toward a system that looks at mental health holistically, provides communities with the tools to be well and stay well, and responds early and effectively when problems arise.

On 20 May, 2024, we sent an open letter to the Minister of Education, Erica Stanford, opposing the Government’s plans to remove and replace current relationships and sexuality education (RSE) guidelines. 

This open letter was created with the support of 40 mental health, education and rainbow organisations, and additionally signed online by a further 135 schools, organisations and community groups and 4,105 individuals.

The Mental Health Foundation is pleased that Health and Physical Education is being retained as a learning area in the refreshed New Zealand Curriculum. 

However, despite being a core part of learning for over three decades, mental health and wellbeing are barely mentioned in the draft curriculum, and the fate of the existing mental health guidelines is uncertain.

Compared to previous Health and Physical Education curricula, the draft new curriculum also removes a lot of content and conceptual grounding considered best practice in mental health education and relationships and sexuality education (RSE), and there is now much less emphasis on rainbow and cultural inclusivity.

Ideally, we would like to see the knowledge and practices in the new curriculum aligned with the 2022 mental health education guide, which is holistic, inclusive and addresses community and societal factors that affect our mental health and wellbeing. 

At a minimum, we recommend naming mental health and wellbeing as a core concept of Health and Physical Education and acknowledging this in the purpose statement, introduction and the teaching sequence.