Health system reforms

Our health and disability system is transforming to support all New Zealanders to live longer and have the best possible quality of life. 

About Pae Ora|Healthy Futures

The Pae Ora (Healthy Futures) Act 2022 was established by government to ensure that everyone can access quality health care, no matter who or where we are.

The Act’s purpose is to:

  1. protect, promote, and improve the health of all New Zealanders
  2. achieve equity by reducing health disparities among New Zealand’s population groups, in particular for Māori
  3. build towards pae ora (healthy futures) for all New Zealanders.

Our role

Manatū Hauora has a specific role in achieving Pae Ora. We act as the kaitiaki | steward of the Aotearoa New Zealand health system.

In our role as kaitiaki we set direction across the health system so we and others can make informed decisions and prioritise accordingly.  We advise the Government on health policy while regulating and monitoring the health system to ensure it regularly adjusts to perform well, delivering better health outcomes and equity for all. 

Find out more at Setting the direction for our new health system.

Working together

Achieving an equitable quality health care system is an ambitious task and we cannot do it alone. As part of the Act three new entities were established to ensure quality health care is available to all.

We work closely with our partner agencies, namely:

Te Whatu Ora was established as part of the  Pae Ora (Healthy Futures) Act 2022. It replaces district health boards and leads the operation of the health system. It works in partnership with the Te Aka Whai Ora to design and deliver health services. A national approach makes the system simpler, more consistent, and able to focus on population health and meaningful community and consumer participation.

Te Aka Whai Ora works to ensure Māori are involved at every level of decision-making. Te Aka Whai Ora is an independent entity with clear accountabilities to both Māori and Ministers. It will work with Manatū Hauora to commission and plan services, commission kaupapa Māori services and monitor the performance of the system for Māori.

Whaikaha is responsible for the commissioning and delivery of disability support services with a clear mandate to transform the way they are delivered. It is also responsible for supporting other government agencies to incorporate disability perspectives and needs into their own policies and services so they can meet their own responsibilities to disabled people and whānau.

Work related to the health system reforms

The health reform has enabled nationally led programmes of work to drive changes that will meet legislative requirements of the Pae Ora (Healthy Futures) Act 2022 and lead to better health outcomes for all New Zealanders.

Many programmes of work related to the health system reforms are already underway.

The Health System Reform Implementation Roadmap

Our priority since the Act was established in June 2022 has been to lay the foundation for change and improvement to tackle longstanding barriers to equity, reducing variation, and achieving a better functioning more collaborative set of health entities.

The Roadmap is a consolidated view of nationally-led work across health system entities, showing a series of achievements that will be delivered across the system to deliver on the intent of the reform.

Our commitment to Te Tiriti

Manatū Hauora works in partnership with Te Aka Whai Ora to ensure the health system meets its obligations under Te Tiriti o Waitangi, addresses Māori health aspirations, and achieves equity and pae ora for Māori. We also lead Māori-Crown relationships across the health sector and facilitate Waitangi Tribunal processes. We are continuing to grow our own understanding and confidence in Te Tiriti, equity, and te ao Māori, including te reo Māori and mātauranga Māori, through the ongoing implementation of our Whāinga Amorangi action plan. 

The Ministy is committed to embedding Te Tiriti in all our work, supported by our Te Tiriti position statement which sets out four goals for Māori health, and the five Te Tiriti principles as articulated in the Hauora report (PDF, 2.9 MB)

In this section

  • In 2018, the Minister of Health announced a wide-ranging review designed to future-proof our health and disability services. The Review considered the overall function of the Health and Disability system to ensure the system is better balanced towards wellness, access, equity, and sustainability. The final recommendations were released in June 2020. Read more
  • The system reform roadmap is a consolidated view of nationally led achievements across Te Whatu Ora, Manatū Hauora and Te Aka Whai Ora, showing how activity is aligned to enable the health system to deliver on the intent of the reforms. Read more
  • The public statement of what Government expects the health system to deliver and achieve over the next two years, what funding and support are available and how success will be measured, monitored, and reported. Read more
  • Learn about the legislation that sets out the health and disability system’s statutory framework. Read more
  • As chief steward of New Zealand’s health system and the lead advisor to government on health, Manatū Hauora has established the System Reform Integration Office (SRIO) Read more
  • Programmes of work related to the health system reforms. Read more
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