Why mental health in NZ is at an all time low whilst mental health awareness is at an
all time high.

In the last couple of years there has been a significant growth in emphasis on mental health
awareness. As a year 12 student I've noticed the speeches, posters, notices and even entire
lessons dedicated to educating us on the topic of mental health. Yet despite this, in the
article published by the Mental health and Wellbeing commission on the 20th of May 2025
Aotearoa is stated to show declining mental health among its young population. In the Unicef
Report card 19 NZ is ranked last in the mental health category and bottom five in overall
child wellbeing. So the question stands: if awareness is at an all time high why is Mental
health in New Zealand still declining?
Another article by the Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission, published earlier this year,
highlights how young people are missing out on access to mental health support. It specifies
a 20% decrease in access for people aged 19–25 and a 6% decrease for those aged 0–18.
The report published by Auditor-General John Ryan gives critical insight into some of the
fundamental flaws in our mental health system. He notes there has been a 33% increase in
funding for mental health and addiction services from 2018 to 2021, reaching almost $2
billion in spending. He later states this has made a positive difference for individuals with
mild to moderate mental health needs, but has resulted in people requiring more specialised
services being neglected. One reason for this is the lack of specialist services: in 2023, only
63% of young people aged 19 and under were seen within three weeks of referral. The

Auditor points to a shortage of mental health and addiction practitioners, stating that
"sustained effort will be needed to increase local education and training pipelines."
Another major failure the Auditor General highlights, is the divided nature of our mental
health system. New Zealand's mental health services are divided across multiple agencies,
including the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Education, Oranga Tamariki , Te Whatu Ora , and
ACC. Each of these organisations has its own budgets, programmes, and aims, which
makes it extremely difficult for teenagers to find out who to seek help. In practice, if a
16-year-old like myself had anxiety induced by family violence and sought help from the
school counsellor (Ministry of Education), I would get referred to a GP, then possibly placed
on a waitlist for specialist services (Te Whatu Ora) — while, although family violence is
technically under the domain of Oranga Tamariki, they wouldn't know until a report is filed. In
the words of the Auditor-General: "We saw no coherent system design or vision of how the
different parts should fit together as a whole."
It's clear there is an imbalance between the level of mental health awareness and the
capacity to respond to it, and New Zealand has recently made its first step toward
addressing this issue. In 2025, the Pae Ora Act was improved to require a long-term strategy
focused on improving national mental health and wellbeing. This strategy is projected to last
ten years and has four main goals: supporting people earlier, improving access to services,
growing the workforce, and improving the effectiveness of care. Public consultation for this
strategy has now ended, though results have not been released. However, the Mental Health

and Wellbeing Commission has outlined two major issues mentioned earlier in this essay-
improved accessibility and improved workforce. The strategy specifically states it will "ensure

people are well supported when they move between different services," a direct response to
the fragmentation the Auditor-General raised. It also aims to expand the workforce by
"increasing training opportunities, internships, and student placements," targeting the
shortage behind the statistic that only 63% of students were seen within three weeks of
referral.
On the surface this sounds like a step in the right direction; however, it remains to be seen
whether these improvements will receive sufficient funding to be implemented. An article by
NZ Doctor, responding to the 2026 mental health budget, states funding is still insufficient
and staff remain overworked. The implementation of the health and wellbeing strategy will
hopefully mean increased funding in the future, but as it stands, very little visible change has
been made.
Mental health in New Zealand currently sits on a rapidly declining slope. A large reason for
this can be attributed to the Auditor-General's statement of "no coherent system design." Our
mental health system isn't good enough. Our rising awareness hasn't fixed the core issue.
No amount of posters, lessons, or speeches will cure a teenager with depression if they still
have to jump through hoops to access the support they need. Until we are resolved to
acknowledge and fix the glaring issues that have already been identified, New Zealand will
continue to be unable to reach those in need.