Kia Kōrero
Let's Talk – July 2026

Kia ora koutou katoa – welcome to the Platform Mental Health and Addiction NGO and community sector update for July 2026.

In this month's update, let's talk about...

• What's on my desk? 
• MH&A Sector Election Debate - Monday 31 August
• Te Hiringa Mahara Roadmap Launch at Parliament
• Growing our Atamira | Platform Whānau
• Long form agreement (LFA) and transition to Agreement Life Management (ALM) system
• GLE 2026 Update: Match Session & Network Meeting Highlights
• Outcomes Data project
• Mental Health & Addiction Data Stewardship Group - Sector Update
• Consultations
• Navigate Policy Group - Policy Library Update
• Platform AI Leadership Webinar
• Access to online resources
• What We're Reading 

What's on my desk?

As we move through winter, Matariki offers a moment to reflect and look ahead with intention. This spirit of renewal is reflected in the important work underway across our Mental Health and Addiction (MH&A) NGO sector.

It has also been encouraging to see continued growth in our Platform | Atamira whānau, with new member organisations joining us over recent months further strengthening our collective voice and reach.

This month also highlights opportunities to collectively inform and influence the future, including the upcoming MH&A Sector General Election Debate an important forum to ensure our voices are heard and help shape system priorities and outcomes.

We continue to work through significant system change, with updates on the Long Form Agreement, transition to ALM, and strengthening our focus on the use of outcome measures, including data stewardship. Policy engagement remains active across multiple consultations, reinforcing our role in advocating for Platform members and the wider MH&A NGO sector.

I encourage you to engage, attend the debate, contribute to consultations, and make full use of the available resources and policy updates to support your organisations and communities.

As we celebrate Matariki, let us continue to prioritise wellbeing - looking after each other and ourselves.

Ngā mihi nui,

Memo

Mental Health and Addictions Sector Election Debate - Monday 31 August 

A call to action: Our collective voice is powerful, make it count

Please see the event flyer below for further details.

Please register your attendance at the MH&A Sector Election Debate here

A post-Election Debate breakfast will be hosted for Platform Members at Salmond House on Tuesday 1 September.

Te Hiringa Mahara Roadmap Launch at Parliament

Last week, Sally Pitts-Brown (Board Chairperson), Michael Douglas (Deputy Chairperson), and Memo had the opportunity to attend the launch of Te Hiringa Mahara’s Roadmap for Mental Health, Addiction and Wellbeing at Parliament. The event was hosted by the Cross-Party Mental Health and Addiction Group and brought together Parliamentarians to focus on the future direction of mental health and addiction services in Aotearoa.

We would like to acknowledge the outstanding leadership and contribution of Hayden Wano, who has recently stepped down as Chairperson of Te Hiringa Mahara. His work has made a meaningful impact in this space.

We also congratulate Barbara Disley (former Platform Board member) on her appointment as the new Chairperson, and Kelly Feng (Platform member) also appointed to the Board of Te Hiringa Mahara.

We encourage you to take some time to read Te Hiringa Mahara’s system performance monitoring report and roadmap. These documents provide valuable insights into current progress, challenges, and the path ahead for mental health, addiction, and wellbeing services.

Growing our Atamira | Platform Whānau

Over the past six months, we’ve welcomed 15 new member organisations—a strong reflection of the sector’s depth and diversity.

A warm welcome to:

CareNZ | Centre 401 Trust | EDANZ | EDCS | FAMHS | Independent Living Choices | KnowYourStuffNZ | Mindplus | Nova Trust | PSN | Take Notice | Te Roopu Taurima | The Psychology Group | West Coast Health | Youthline

Our collective membership underpins Platform’s ability to provide an independent, credible advocacy voice across government agencies engaging with the mental health and addiction NGO and community sector. Put simply: the strength of our membership directly shapes the strength of our influence, our collective action and power to speak up.

We continue to welcome membership enquiries. If your organisation is interested in joining Platform, please contact louise@platform.org.nz or visit the Platform website for further information.

Long form agreement (LFA) and transition to Agreement Life Management (ALM) system

In mid-June, Platform shared an update with members outlining Health NZ’s approach to upcoming changes in contracting and agreement management.

Health NZ has issued letters to MH&A NGOs confirming:

• Applicable funding uplifts
• Contract term arrangements
• Their proposed approach for transitioning agreements to the LFA and the ALM system

Health NZ acknowledged that regional approaches may vary, and providers are encouraged to connect with their local Commissioning Portfolio Manager if they have any questions or require clarification.

By this stage, all MH&A NGOs should have received their letters. Members were encouraged to undertake due diligence on the documentation and contracts.

Health NZ reaffirmed its commitment to working collaboratively with Platform and the wider sector to support a smooth transition to ALM.

Looking ahead, Health NZ committed to progress the development of a Mental Health and Addiction Commissioning Framework. This framework will help guide future engagement with the sector on funding, contracting, and system priorities from 2026/27 onwards.

GLE 2026 Update: Match Session &Network Meeting Highlights

Platform recently participated in the Global Leadership Exchange (GLE) in Ottawa, co‑hosting an Intermediary Organisation “Match” session with hosts Knowledge Institute on Child and Youth Mental Health Addiction of Canada, alongside attending the GLE Network Meeting (4–5 June 2026 – see photo of participants below).

Match Session – Demonstrating Value and Impact

The session brought together global intermediaries, funders, providers, and people with lived and whānau experience to explore how the value of intermediary organisations can be better understood and demonstrated. Discussions highlighted the critical role intermediaries play in connecting the system, supporting implementation, and advocating for change—while maintaining independence and high‑trust relationships.

A key challenge remains clearly evidencing impact, particularly given the system‑wide and long‑term nature of this work. Participants identified opportunities to strengthen impact measurement through shared tools, combining data with narrative, and deeper collaboration across jurisdictions.

Network Meeting – From Ideas to Action

The wider GLE Network Meeting focused on how leaders can translate ideas into meaningful action through collective effort. There was a strong New Zealand delegation from across the MH&A system (see photo below).  

Key themes included:

• Mobilising system-wide responses across mental health, housing, and social services
• Embedding co-design and lived experience into solutions
• Strengthening leadership, partnerships, and trust to drive sustained change
• Improving how data and insights inform decision-making

These discussions reinforced Platform’s role in advocacy, sharing information to strengthen capability, bridging policy, practice, and lived experience. It also highlighted the importance of:

• Collective action and strong partnerships
• Ongoing development of impact measurement and storytelling
• Continued focus on co-design and system transformation

GLE 2026 underscored that lasting system change depends on collaboration, trust, and leadership alongside stronger, shared approaches to demonstrating value and impact across the sector.

Outcomes Data project

The report MH&A NGO Outcome Measurement in Aotearoa New Zealand has been drafted and is currently being reviewed ahead of its publication and presentation to the Ministry of Health and Health NZ. The report:

• Provides the first overview of the MH&A NGO outcome measurement landscape in New Zealand
• Outlines findings from the recent survey on outcome measurement in the MH&A NGO sector, as well as further engagement with Kaupapa Māori, Child and youth, Alcohol and other drug focus groups
• Presents 7 key recommendations covering commitment required to support routine collection and reporting of an agreed outcome measure for adult services, lifting uptake of ADOM and developing infrastructure to support this, and further work required to identify and agree on appropriate outcome measures.  

Mental Health & Addiction Data Stewardship Group - Sector Update

The Mental Health and Addiction (MH&A) Data Stewardship Group met on Monday 15 June and continues to focus on strengthening the quality, consistency, and use of MH&A PRIMHD data to support better decision-making across the sector.

Improving data quality and interpretation

The Group remains committed to improving the completeness and accuracy of MH&A PRIMHD data, alongside developing balancing measures to support fair and safe interpretation of MH&A targets. Recent increased attention on seclusion data has helped drive engagement across Health NZ districts, particularly in addressing gaps and resolving some incomplete datasets.

HoNOS family of measures

The Group reviewed three reports relating to the HoNOS family of measures, covering:

• Inpatient outcome completion
• Community outcome completion
• Alcohol and Drug Outcome Measure (ADOM)

Discussion included variation across districts in outcome completion rates, the contributing factors behind this variation, and the support required to improve performance.

It was noted that “completion” refers to the recording of outcome collections for tangata whai ora in line with PRIMHD collection protocols.

The Group confirmed that the HoNOS family of measures remains an important tool and agreed that its use should be more visible across the sector.

Lived experience perspectives

Feedback highlighted that some districts’ lived experience teams have  concerns about the use of the HoNOS measures which need to be addressed. The Group noted that greater transparency and active involvement of the MH&A workforce, tangata whai ora and whānau in outcomes collection can improve the quality, utilisation and completeness of outcome measures.

To support this, the Group agreed to develop communications to:

• Increase awareness of the HoNOS family of outcome measures
• Improve understanding of their purpose and value
• Encourage engagement in outcomes collection processes

Housing and accommodation data

The Group received a presentation on work underway to better understand the housing needs of people accessing MH&A services. This included exploring how PRIMHD supplementary consumer records (SCR) accommodation status data might be used to provide further insights.

A proposal to undertake a short feasibility project was endorsed, with findings to be reported back to the Group.

Ongoing focus

The Group reaffirmed that high-quality data is essential, as it underpins planning, and system improvement effort across the MH&A sector at both local and national levels.

Consultations

We are currently working on submissions on the Legislation (Definition of Woman and Man) Amendment Bill – Make a submission and the Summary Offences (Move-on Orders) Amendment Bill – Make a submission. Both of these consultations close on 2 July 2026.

During May and June 2026, we have participated and contributed submissions on the following consultations and surveys:

• Parliament - Disability Support Services Bill
• Parliament - Drug Overdose (Assistance Protection) Legislation Bill
• Changing Minds – National Representative Body
• MHWC – Stakeholder survey
• Ministry of Health – Draft Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy 2026-2036. You can see Platform’s submission to the Strategy here.
• PSA – RespectED
• Parliament – Sale and supply of Alcohol Amendment Bill 2025
• Tāhono Trust – Platform Regulation

Navigate Policy Group - Policy Library Update

We’re pleased to announce that three policies, Complaints Acknowledgement Letter, Workforce and Structure, and Infection Prevention and Antimicrobial Stewardship, have been reviewed by the Policy Group and uploaded to the Policy Library on our website. We will continue to keep members updated on the developments to the Policy Library, which can be found here.

Platform AI Leadership Webinar

Last Friday, in collaboration with Mosaic Partners, we hosted an AI Leadership Webinar for Platform leaders. This practical session was designed for senior leaders and provided a clear view of where organisations sit on their AI journey, using an accessible overview of the AI capability curve. The session also helped leaders identify what good AI progression looks like and offered realistic, actionable next steps to move their organisation forward.

Subject to member interest, we are also planning a follow-up AI workshop open to all Platform members. This session would build on the Copilot Tips and Tools session delivered at the end of May, with further details to be shared shortly.

Access to online resources

Navigator Trust New Zealand recently shared new resources which could help support the work of your organisations. You can check out the new resources below:

• Matariki Resources: Explore and Celebrate the Māori New Year - these resources will help people understand more about Matariki and provide guidance for those eager to observe, commemorate, and celebrate at this special time.
• Important policies: This resource describes 5 important policies – health & safety, complaints, volunteers, Te Tiriti o Waitangi |Treaty of Waitangi and artificial intelligence.
• Tick for Governance online course: A cost-effective, accessible, Aotearoa New Zealand designed and hosted, online course from Community Networks Aotearoa to help you and your community organisation learn and be recognised for good governance skills and practices.

You can also find more resources that support NGO and community providers to thrive here:

• CommunityNet Aotearoa
• NZ Navigator
• Digital Stuff We Love

What we're reading

Get in touch with the Platform team!

The Platform team is always available to interact with members on mental health and addiction NGO and community sector matters should you have any queries, concerns, or ideas. If you are interested in learning more about the benefits of being a Platform member and joining our collective voice, please don't hesitate to get in touch. 

Memo Musa (Chief Executive): memo@platform.org.nz
Simon Katz (Policy Analyst): simon@platform.org.nz
Louise Hill (Membership Engagement Coordinator): louise@platform.org.nz