Te Hōtaka mō Ngā Whai Wāhitanga me Ngā Kōwhiringa Access and Choice Progamme

Updated: April 2025

Our independent reports on the Access and Choice programme monitor progress on improving access and choice for mental health and addiction services in Aotearoa New Zealand.

The Access and Choice programme, rolled out from 2019/20 over five years, has a particular focus on people with mild-to-moderate mental health and addiction needs. It aims to improve access to primary mental health, wellbeing, and addiction services, including in Kaupapa Māori, Pacific, youth, general practice, and community settings.

Access and Choice programme report 2025

Access and Choice Programme: Monitoring report on progress and achievements at five years is our 2025 monitoring report on the Access and Choice programme that was rolled out in 2019/20.

Our independent monitoring shows the programme has substantially increased access to and choice in support services and substantially increased access for people seeking help with mild to moderate mental health, addiction, and wellbeing issues. While the programme represents a good investment in the mental health of New Zealanders and has come a long way in a difficult environment over the last five years, we believe concerted efforts are needed to expand its reach further.

The programme provides tailored services for rangatahi and young people, Māori, and Pacific peoples – aligned with the higher levels of need experienced by these population groups. There has been high uptake of services, with rangtahi and young people making up 20% of people accessing the Access and Choice Programme and Māori making up 27%. 

We outline the changes we want to see and make three recommendations. These recommendations provide more detail about what success looks like so action can be taken and progress monitored. The recommendations are:

  1. Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora (Health NZ) increase programme reach to deliver service to 325,000 people per annum by 30 June 2026, as intended in the 2019 Wellbeing Budget.
  2. By 30 June 2026, Health NZ develop a plan to streamline pathways and ensure that Access and Choice Youth services and Infant, Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (ICAMHS) work together to meet the needs of young people across the continuum of care, including shared care arrangements.
  3. Health NZ develop a plan to reduce unwarranted variation across the country in relation to fidelity (including access and entry pathways) to the IPMHA model by 30 June 2026.

The full monitoring report, summary and Kaupapa Māori primary mental health and addiction services data infographic were published in April 2025. 

In parallel to drafting the 2025 Access and Choice monitoring report, we commissioned a literature scan to explore approaches to primary mental health care in Aotearoa New Zealand and internationally. 

Watch the recording from a webinar we hosted on the report findings on 16 April 2025: Access and choice at five years webinar recording

Find out more information about the programme here: wellbeingsupport.health.nz

Access and Choice Programme report 2025 downloads

Download the full Access and Choice Programme: Monitoring report on progress and achievements at five years, Kaupapa Māori primary mental health services infographic, summary and literature scan.

  • Report

Earlier monitoring

This is the third and final monitoring report that Te Hiringa Mahara will be publishing on the Access and Choice programme, as the five-year roll-out period is now complete. Te Hiringa Mahara released reports in October 2021 and November 2022 to provide independent updates on the implementation of the programme. This report builds on our two previous reports and looks at how the services have been implemented across the five-year roll-out period. It looks at what was delivered by the programme compared with what was intended, as well as the impacts of the programme on people and on the mental health and addiction sector.