Matt Doocey unveils New Zealand’s first comprehensive Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy, incorporating innovative AI navigation and a commitment to zero seclusion, aiming to transform services over the next decade.
Matt Doocey has unveiled New Zealand’s first Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy alongside a three-year implementation plan, promising a more coordinated approach to services and a stronger push to make support easier to find and use. Speaking at Parliament on Thursday, the mental health minister said the sector needed the same long-term direction and accountability as the wider health system.
The strategy, which sits under the Healthy Futures (Pae Ora) Act, comes after a consultation process that began in April and was designed to set a 10-year direction for mental health and wellbeing. The Ministry of Health said the public feedback period ran from 8 April to 18 May 2026, following an extension announced in December 2025 to better align the work with legislative changes and allow for broader engagement.
The implementation plan sets out 50 actions intended to speed up access to support, lift the number of frontline workers and improve crisis responses. Among the headline measures are AI-powered navigation to help people reach mental health and addiction services, and the expansion of integrated support across mental health, housing and employment. The government also wants a national plan to end seclusion, alongside a youth-focused roadmap co-designed with young people.
Doocey said the recently passed Mental Health Bill already bans seclusion for people under 18, and he wants the system to move to “zero seclusion for everyone”. He also pointed to the scale of need among young people, saying nearly 23 per cent of those aged 15 to 24 report high or very high levels of psychological distress.
The new strategy follows earlier government work, including Kia Manawanui Aotearoa, the long-term mental wellbeing plan launched in 2021 in response to the 2018 Government Inquiry into Mental Health and Addiction. Public health groups, including the Public Health Association of New Zealand, have welcomed the strategic direction but urged ministers to go further on primary prevention, equity and the social factors that shape mental health, arguing that progress will depend on action well beyond the health sector.
Disclaimer: This content is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical judgment, advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
