Sources of statistics and information on mental health in New Zealand

Organisation/

Programme

Website

Types of statistics/information/data

Coronial Services

https://coronialservices.justice.govt.nz/suicide 

Publishes Provisional suicide statistics, normally around August each year.  With the Ministry of Health, Coronial Services also publishes the Suicide web tool.

Ara Poutama Aotearoa / Department of Corrections

https://www.corrections.govt.nz/

Publishes statistics and research reports on the prison population. See https://www.corrections.govt.nz/resources

Figure.NZ

https://figure.nz/ 

https://maori.figure.nz/ 

https://pacific.figure.nz/ 

Figure.NZ has NZ data on several topics presented as tables and charts. There are quite a few tables relating to different aspects of mental health, including prevalence tables.

Pātaka Raraunga/Māori Figure was launched in 2020 and provides data for and about Māori.

Pacific Data Fale o Aotearoa was launched in 2021 and has data for and about Pacific people in Aotearoa.

FYI.org.nz

https://fyi.org.nz/ 

This website lets you search across official information requests and responses. These can be a rich source of information and are not always published in other forms (for example, a request about the incidence of violence in hospitals). 

The authorities covered by this portal are:

• Those formally subject to the OIA (Official Information Act)
• Those formally subject to LGOIMA (Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act)
• Those which voluntarily comply with the OIA
• Those which aren't subject to the Act but have significant public responsibilities

Global Burden of Disease

http://www.healthdata.org/new-zealand (Country profile)

The international Global Burden of Disease Study (GBD) is the most comprehensive worldwide observational epidemiological study to date. It describes mortality and morbidity from major diseases, injuries and risk factors to health at global, national and regional levels. Examining trends from 1990 to the present and making comparisons across populations helps with the understanding of the changing health challenges across the world in the 21st century. 

Growing up in NZ

http://www.growingup.co.nz/en.html 

This is Aotearoa’s largest contemporary longitudinal study of child development. 

Health and Disability Commission

https://www.hdc.org.nz 

HDC has four strategic objectives to influence change:

• Protect the rights of health consumers and disability services consumers under the Health and Disability Commissioner Act and Code
• Improve quality within the health and disability sectors
• Hold providers to account appropriately
• Promote respect for and observance of the rights of health and disability services consumers

You might find the monitoring and advocacy reports particularly useful.
July 2022: The HDC’s monitoring role has moved to Te Hiringa Mahara - Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission. 

Health Quality and Safety Commission

https://www.hqsc.govt.nz/our-programmes/mental-health-and-addiction-quality-improvement/ 

Works in several programme areas including mental health and addiction services. 

There are several mortality committees (including Suicide, Family Violence and others), which put out reports with statistics.

• Child and Youth Mortality Review Committee mortality data reports 
• Suicide Mortality Review Committee reports.

Te Hiringa Hauora / Health Promotion Agency

https://www.hpa.org.nz 

Runs surveys on health, lifestyles, mental health, wellbeing and smoking

Runs the Health and Lifestyles survey and the Mental Health and Wellbeing survey

Publishes research reports as well as statistical data on wellbeing, alcohol and Māori cultural identity through the Kupe data explorer

July 2022 Te Hiringa Hauora / HPA has been disestablished and has moved into the National Public Health Service at Te Whatu Ora – Health New Zealand. 

Human Rights Commission

https://www.hrc.co.nz/ 

Works in several programme areas, including:

• disabilities 
• indigenous rights
• sexual orientation and gender identity 

The Commission also publishes reports and resources. 

Key Performance Indicators of the New Zealand Mental Health and Addictions Sector

https://www.mhakpi.health.nz/Data/KPI-Framework/Adult-Stream-Framework 

The New Zealand Mental Health and Addictions KPI Programme is a provider-led initiative to improve quality and performance across the Mental Health and Addictions sector.

Le Va

http://www.leva.co.nz/resources 

Supports Pasifika families and communities by designing and developing evidence-based resources, tools, information, knowledge and support services. Le Va’s resource centre provides information on suicide prevention, wellbeing and mental health for Pasifika.

Te Hiringa Mahara – Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission 

https://www.mhwc.govt.nz/ 

The Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission was set up in 2021 and works towards creating better and equitable mental health and wellbeing outcomes for New Zealanders.

The Commission has published a wellbeing framework, and reports on wellbeing outcomes and access and choice.

Mental Health Review Tribunal 

https://www.health.govt.nz/new-zealand-health-system/key-health-sector-organisations-and-people/mental-health-review-tribunal 

Annual and other reports are available on the MOH website.

Manatū Hauora – Ministry of Health

https://www.health.govt.nz 

The “Health Statistics” navigation includes a page on mental health statistics. The Ministry also runs the NZ Health Survey.  

Some data is available to the public from the New Zealand health survey. This is a good source of time series statistics on mental health conditions (i.e., psychological distress, anxiety, mood disorders, bipolar disorder, depression) and other factors contributing to wellbeing like physical activity.

There is also a Mental health data explorer which has indicators for a wide variety of issues, including mild anxiety, substance abuse, loneliness, and more. 

The Ministry also publishes the official suicide statistics and with Coronial Services, the Suicide web tool.

Ministry of Pacific Peoples

https://www.mpp.govt.nz/ 

The Ministry publishes various reports including the Contemporary Pacific Status Report and Wellbeing budget reports. 

Ministry of Social Development

http://www.msd.govt.nz 

The Ministry of Social Development published The social report in 2016. The report covers a range of topics, from health, social wellbeing, connectedness, life satisfaction and more. 

The summary indicators page shows a range of figures for many social indicators, with comparison information with other OECD countries where available. 

New Zealand Parliament

https://www.parliament.nz/en/pb/order-paper-questions/written-questions/ 

Parliamentary questions help keep the Government of the day accountable and transparent. Members of the public can search a database of written questions and answers and find information that they may not find elsewhere. Sometimes questions are asked about mental health services and issues.  

New Zealand Police

https://www.police.govt.nz/about-us/publications-statistics 

NZ Police provide research reports and data about many aspects of their work, including incidents, offenders and victims.

New Zealand Treasury

https://treasury.govt.nz/information-and-services/nz-economy/living-standards/our-living-standards-framework/measuring-wellbeing-lsf-dashboard 

The government has implemented a “wellbeing” budget, and this webpage pulls together various indicators of wellbeing into a LSF (Living Standards Framework) dashboard.  

OECD

http://www.oecd.org/newzealand/ 

OECD publishes on various topics, including economics, health, and society. The website features data and reports, e.g., the Better life index.  

New Zealand participates in the OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). PISA measures 15-year-olds’ ability to use their reading, mathematics and science knowledge and skills to meet real-life challenges. The survey takes place every three years and includes questions about student wellbeing and bullying.

Ombudsman

https://www.ombudsman.parliament.nz/resources 

The website contains a variety of resources and publications (including guides, case notes, opinions, and reports) on a wide range of topics. A search of publications for the word “statistics”, for example, pulled up recidivism and taser use statistics.

Social Wellbeing Agency

https://thehub.sia.govt.nz/ 

The Hub is a one-stop-shop for all social science research that was undertaken, commissioned, or partly funded by central government in New Zealand.

Statistics New Zealand

https://www.stats.govt.nz/ 

Statistics NZ run the census and other surveys. Their website hosts a variety of tools and publications, and web pages contain links to related sources. 

You might be interested in:

• Statistics by topic, including wellbeing, housing, life expectancy and more
• Te Kupenga, a report on Māori wellbeing.
• Visit the Society topic for some wellbeing and other statistics.

The Ngā Tūtohu o Aotearoa: Indicators Aotearoa New Zealand has a separate website. Visit this page for the Wellbeing indicators.

Suicide Prevention Office

https://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/suicide-prevention-office-drive-action-save-lives 

The Office was established in 2019, but no website yet. 

See MOH’s Suicide prevention in New Zealand for the latest activity in this space. 

Te Pou

https://www.tepou.co.nz 

Te Pou is the national centre of evidence-based workforce development for the mental health, addiction and disability sectors in New Zealand. 

Some of Te Pou’s current projects look at reducing the use of seclusion and restraint, increasing access to talking therapies, supporting more people to take part in training, and improving the physical health of people using services. They also provide tools, training, and resources to improve outcomes and information use.

Te Pou is leading the National’s Mental Health and Addictions KPI programme.

Te Puni Kōkiri/Ministry of Māori Development

https://www.tpk.govt.nz/   

Te Puni Kōkiri has a number of publications about health. 

See in particular publications on Māori wellbeing and research on the wider determinants of health, such as:

• Providing a Māori perspective on wellbeing
• An Indigenous Approach to the Living Standards Framework

Te Rau Ora

https://terauora.com/publications/

Te Rau Ora provides information on suicide prevention, wellbeing and mental health for Māori.

University of Auckland/ Adolescent Health and Research Group

https://www.fmhs.auckland.ac.nz/en/faculty/adolescent-health-research-group.html 

The Youth2000 survey series took place in several waves from 2000 onwards, and includes reports and research articles on Rainbow, Pacific and Māori young people.

For results of the 2019 survey, see the Youth19 website.

University of Auckland/ Attitudes and Values Study

https://www.psych.auckland.ac.nz/en/about/new-zealand-attitudes-and-values-study.html 

This is a 20-year longitudinal national probability study that looks into the social attitudes, personality, and health outcomes of more than 60,000 New Zealanders. 

Many papers from this study deal with a wide variety of topics, including mental distress, gender, discrimination, and more.  

University of Otago/ Dunedin study

https://dunedinstudy.otago.ac.nz/ 

The Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study has been going for 45 years. It is a longitudinal study of the health, development and wellbeing of a general sample of New Zealanders. They were first studied at birth (1972-73) and followed up every couple of years, with researchers hoping to continue further assessments in the future. 

The programme has spawned several sub-studies on changes in youth behaviour, parenting styles, and health of families.

Waitangi Tribunal

https://www.waitangitribunal.govt.nz/ 

 A report on reoffending rates contains a section on “The situation for Māori today'.

World Health Organization

http://www.who.int/mental_health/management/en/ 

WHO publishes on various health topics including mental health and substance abuse, e.g., Mental disorders and Suicide prevention, and there is also a Mental health atlas.

There is some information about the Western Pacific region, but not so much specifically on New Zealand.