Our Guiding Documents
Documents guiding the Mental Health Commission's work.
Some of the key documents and strategies that guide the Commission's work are:
- National Mental Health Strategy, comprising:
- looking forward: strategic directions for mental health services June 1994
- moving forward: the National Mental Health Plan for more and better services
September 1997 - mental health standards
- Blueprint for mental health services in New Zealand - how things need to be, November 1998 (pdf, 407kb)
- the New Zealand Disability Strategy: making a world of difference - Whakanui Oranga, April 2001
- Te Tāhuhu: improving mental health 2005-2015: the second New Zealand Mental Health and Addiction Plan, June 2005
- Te Kōkiri 2006-2015: the Mental Health and Addiction Action Plan, August 2006
- Te Haererenga mo te Whakaōranga, the journey of recovery for the New Zealand mental health sector, April 2007
- Te Hononga 2015, connecting for greater well-being, August 2007
Te Tāhuhu
Te Tāhuhu - improving mental health: 2005-2015 sets the strategic direction and government priorities for investment in mental health and addiction. It outlines the Government's key strategies to secure a sustainable and effective mental health system where recovery becomes inevitable. Part of that is to support the development of a skilled, appropriate workforce. Te Tahuhu broadens the focus of the existing mental health strategy to include prevention, promotion and primary care.
Te Kōkiri
Te Kōkiri focuses on implementing Te Tahuhu. It concentrates on providing earlier access to mental health and addiction services and calls for stronger links between primary and specialist health services.
Te Kōkiri identifies specific measures to improve mental health and prevent addiction. it also identifies key stakeholders and organisations to meet these challenges and sets timeframes for achieving progress between 2006 and 2015.
Te Hononga
On August 14, 2007, a week after the passage of legislation to extend the Commission's term to 2015, the Minister of Health, Hon Pete Hodgson, launched the Commission publication Te Hononga 2015, connecting for greater well-being which provides, a future picture of the sector from the Commission's perspective.
The Ministry of Health in its publication Te Tāhuhu provided the vision for the future - Te Hononga provides the picture of what the sector will look like at 2015 when Te Tāhuhu has been fully implemented. It recognises that mental health is a key component of each person's overall wellbeing and that to achieve wellbeing we need strong support from whanāu, families and communities.
This destination portrayed in Te Hononga is not just about how a strengthened mental health and addiction sector (both government and non government) will look. It is also about better lives for everyone, and the types of connected services, systems and society there will be to support this.
Achieving the picture drawn in Te Hononga will underpin the Commission's work in coming years.