Kia Kōrero
Let's Talk – September 2025

Kia ora koutou katoa – welcome to the Platform Mental Health and Addiction NGO and community sector update for September 2025.

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

• What's on my desk? 
• My early days at Platform - Louise Hill, Member Engagement Co-ordinator
• Mental Health and Addiction NGO workforce data project
• Contract Renewals 2025/26
• National mental health campaign launched
• Mental Health Awareness Week
• Alcohol and other Drug Outcome Measure (ADOM) Dashboard Launch
• Healing, learning and improving from harm: National adverse events policy 2023
• Social Investment Fund open
• Grant round closes 12 September 2025 for Workforce Futures Fund
• Future Trends in Social Service Delivery
• Reregistering under the Incorporated Societies Act 2022
• Consultations
• National Navigate Policy Group Update
• Access to online resources
• Events
• What we’re reading

What's on my desk?

As we enter spring, our work continues on all fronts. Raising the profile of our sector to increase understanding of the complexity of the extensive supports provided to tāngata whaiora and whānau. At the same time, highlighting areas our sector can scale up to help address pressures elsewhere and the enablers needed to make our sector even more effective at what it does.

It is important that we continue to collaborate and support one another. Doing so increases our potential to be effective in grabbing opportunities that come our way, and to influence the many changes underway. All with the aim of supporting the mental health and addiction NGO and community sector workforce to be better equipped to support tāngata whaiora and whānau.

During May, Louise joined our team, and she may have been in contact with some of you. Below she shares a glimpse what she has been up to.

A lot of our work is only successful because of the collaboration, the partnerships we have with others, and the input and contribution you give to our work as shown by some of what we cover in this newsletter.

Collectively we will continue to advocate on behalf of the mental health and addiction NGO and community sector, highlighting the capability to innovate and provide community-based solutions to meet the needs of tāngata whaiora and whānau.

Ngā mihi nui,

Memo

My early days at Platform - Louise Hill, Member Engagement Co-ordinator

Kia ora koutou katoa,

For those who I haven’t had the opportunity to meet yet, I am the Member Engagement Coordinator here at Platform. It’s a busy role in a small but mighty team, encompassing a wide-ranging and varied work programme. I have spent the past few months wrapping my head around the sector, asking a lot of questions, working on some exciting new and ongoing projects.... and navigating a sea of acronyms!

I’ve really enjoyed meeting many of you through the Platform Monthly Online Forums and the various Navigate groups and advocacy platforms. What is really evident, as someone new to the sector, is how committed and passionate our members are to ensure that the best possible outcomes are achieved for tāngata whaiora, whānau and communities, despite the challenges being faced by the sector. What is also evident, is the power of collective impact through Platform membership and it’s fantastic to see first-hand the tangible benefits of Platform membership.

Looking ahead, we have some important work programmes and initiatives planned, key working groups, and some interesting events in the pipeline. Keep an eye out for the launch of the Platform Member Portal in the coming months – it’s going to be a great resource.  If you have ideas for events, webinars, or workshops you’d like to see, or if you’re keen to become a Platform member, I’d love to hear from you - louise@platform.org.nz  

Ngā mihi mui,

Louise

Mental Health and Addiction NGO workforce data project

In the previous newsletter we foreshadowed the set-up of this project, which is a collaboration between Te Pou and Platform. An Advisory Group has been stood up to provide input and guidance for the project. It is made up of leaders from Platform’s membership. The Advisory Group met recently to go through the project engagement plan and receive a project update. The key decision was to sign off a questionnaire to gather information to help us understand NGO views about workforce data collection, storage and use. You will have received an email from me last week with a link to this questionnaire. If, for some reason, you did not receive that email you can still access the questionnaire here. We would value your participation and contribution by completing it. The deadline for your feedback is Monday 15 September 2025.

As a reminder – the aim of the project is to explore NGO interests and views about the feasibility and desirability of developing a collective approach to workforce data, not to obtain agreement about designing a data repository. The project will also canvas NGO expectations about the ownership and governance arrangements for that workforce data. The findings will be described in a report that will be made available to the NGO sector and to Health NZ by the end of 2025.

Contract Renewals 2025/26

We remain in discussion with Health NZ officials about the new long form contracts and clauses it contains which are of concern. Also, we have commenced discussions about cost pressures in our sector. We have provided an overview of the cost pressure uplifts for our sector since 2021, the portion of this tagged to wage rates for support workers and this against general inflation rates. Further discussions are planned to include developing a work programme that pulls together these important matters.  

National mental health campaign launched

A new national mental health campaign Top Up was launched by Minister Doocey. The campaign will aim to reach up to 2.6 million New Zealanders each year through a range of multimedia channels such as TV, radio, social media and other online platforms.

This will be complemented by a community grants scheme run by the Mental Health Foundation, with the first round opening in October. It will offer $250,000 annually for two years to fund grassroots community wellbeing initiatives, particularly in hard-to-reach communities. You can access information about the campaign and grant here.

Mental Health Awareness Week

This year mental health awareness week starts Monday 6 October and ends Sunday 12 October. The theme for 2025 is "Top Up Together," which aligns with the mental health campaign Top Up.  The intent is to amplify the importance of social connection and community for mental wellbeing. We encourage you to plan and actively participate in initiatives in your organisations and communities that promote positive mental health and wellbeing.

Most importantly we should remember every single week of the year is a mental health awareness week.

Alcohol and other Drug Outcome Measure (ADOM) Dashboard Launch

NGO addiction services who use ADOM data can now access the new interactive dashboard which has been developed by Te Pou. This dashboard provides a regional view of ADOM data, enabling services to better understand trends and outcomes across the sector. While individual NGO-level data is not identifiable, the dashboard offers valuable insights into ADOM collection rates, substances of concern, the impact of substance use on people’s lives and wellbeing, and tāngata whaiora perspectives on their own recovery.

Access to the dashboard is restricted to addiction practitioners in the NGO sector and Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora. Please contact outcomes@tepou.co.nz to request access. You can find more information, terms of use and access information through the Te Pou website or contact Mark Smith, Outcomes Programme Lead at mark.smith@tepou.co.nz

Healing, learning and improving from harm: National adverse events policy 2023

The Health Quality and Safety Commission led extensive consultation and work to develop the Health, learning and improving from harm: National adverse events policy 2023. The aim of the policy is to improve consumer and health care worker safety by supporting organisations to heal, learn and improve the system for others following harm that occurs in health and disability services. You can learn more about this policy here including access to a video that promotes the policy, online resources and educational opportunities. We have organised for Platform members to be updated on this policy and the work done on the recently released clinical governance framework at the Platform member online forum being held on Friday 26 September 2025.

Social Investment Fund open

A heads up that the Social Investment Fund opens its first funding round on Monday 25 August 2025. This round will focus on the priority outcomes and cohorts as decided by Fund Ministers in June 2025. Applications will close at midday on Tuesday 23 September 2025. Full details about the priority outcome and cohorts and a link to the application form can be found here.

Last November I shared with Platform members a webinar recording headed “Dollars + Sense: Measuring Social Impact + Social Return on Investment”. During the webinar there was a discussion about the need for technical assistance in support of NGOs carrying out their own SROI assessments. Also, there was some debate and discussion about the costs of technical assistance and whether there was any merit in this.

We have been working with colleagues from Emerge on service information for a webinar about 101 social investment or SROI ‘101’ for Platform members. We are hoping to have this webinar in the not-too-distant future.

Grant round closes 12 September 2025 for Workforce Futures Fund

This is a reminder that the second round for the fund opened on 12 August and closes on 12 September. The fund has about $15m to spend down over three years to benefit specific workforces including mental health and addiction support. The other eligible sectors are: aged support; cleaning; disability support; home and community health services; social services; urban pest management; and youth work. 

Organisations within these industries that can effect positive change at significant scale are encouraged to find out more at www.workforcefuturesfund.nz. 

If you have read what the fund supports and what it doesn't, and assess you have an eligible project, email admin@workforcefuturesfund.nz to make a time to discuss your proposal. It’s a very specific fund and this discussion will help you decide whether to commit the resources required for an application.  

The fund agreed to support six projects in its first round. Contracts have been finalised with five of these organisations and you can read the project descriptions under the updates section on www.workforcefuturesfund.nz.  

Reregistering under the Incorporated Societies Act 2022

If your organisation is an incorporated society still registered under the Incorporated Societies 1908 Act you will need to reregister under the Incorporated Societies Act 2022 before 5 April 2026 to remain on the register. If your organisation does not reregister, it may cease to exist and lose access to bank accounts, ownership to assets, other entity names, amongst other consequences. Perry Field Lawyers have prepared a draft letter seeking an extension which you can read here. To learn more about how to reregister read here.

Consultations

We are currently working on:

• Medsafe: Proposed changes to blood monitoring and prescribing requirements for Clozapine. This proposal seeks to update safety and monitoring requirements around clozapine-induced neutropenia and agranulocytosis to balance patient safety with accessibility and reduced burden. We plan to prepare a submission to this consultation which is open until 8 October. You can read more about the consultation here.
• Toitū Te Waiora, Community, Health, Education and Social Services Workforce Development Council is seeking sector and community feedback on two proposed new Disability support qualifications. You can read about this consultation here. Deadline for feedback is 5pm Friday 12 September 2025. We encourage you to participate in this consultation.

During August we participated and contributed to these consultation processes which have now closed:

• People’s Select Committee on Equal Pay: Peoples Select Committee on Pay Equity
• External Reporting Board: Reporting and assurance of service performance information
• External Reporting Board: 2025 Amendments to XRB A1 Application of the Accounting Standards Framework
• Parliament: Online Casino Bill Online Casino Gambling Bill - New Zealand Parliament
• Toitū Te Waiora, Community, Health, Education and Social Services Workforce Development Council; Proposed skill standards for the New Zealand Certificate in Disability Support (Level 3)
• Toitū Te Waiora, Community, Health, Education and Social Services Workforce Development Council; Proposed Health and Wellbeing Core Skill Standards
• Parliament: Health Futures (Pae Ora) Amendment Bill

​​​National Navigate Policy Group Update

We are pleased to share that the Policy Library on our website has been updated as follows:

• 5 existing policies have been reviewed and uploaded to the Policy Library – Managing People’s Records and Information, Business Continuity, Declined Services Log, Workforce and Structure, and Family/Domestic Violence Leave Policy.
• 1 new policy has been created and uploaded to the Policy Library – AI Management.
• 17 obsolete policies have been removed from the Policy Library. Please let us know if you would like to know which policies these were.

The National Policy Group, in consultation with the subject matter expert, is currently working through the next round of policy reviews. We will continue to keep members updated on developments to the Policy Library, which can be found here.

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:

• Keeping information safe and private: Under the Privacy Act, organisations must follow a set of rules when handling personal information. This resource outlines an organisation’s privacy responsibilities, and notes that some industries and types of personal information have codes of practice which change how the Act applies to them.

• Financial reporting: This resource provides an outline guide and tools about monthly reporting, keeping track of grants, year-end financial statements and auditing. 

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

• CommunityNet Aotearoa
• NZ Navigator
• Digital Stuff We Love

Events

The Speedfreaks Charitable Trust - Run for a Reason on Sunday 21 September - Auckland and Christchurch. 

Falling within Recovery Month and ahead of this year's Mental Health Awareness Week the Speedfreaks Charitable Trust is inviting the Ōtautahi and Tāmaki Makaurau community to join them and Run for a Reason. 

To support your entries and the mahi you do within our community we’ve created a discount code for you to share within Platform to receive 20% off the pre-registered general admission ticket price ($23). Tamariki aged 16 and under are free.

Your discount code is = SFR4R2025

For more information and to book your place please head over to Speed Freaks Run for a Reason - ŌTAUTAHI | CHRISTCHURCH / Speed Freaks Run for a Reason - TĀMAKI MAKAURAU | AUCKLAND

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