Have your say on the Healthy Futures (Pae Ora) Amendment Bill

The Health Committee is calling for submissions on the Healthy Futures (Pae Ora) Amendment Bill.

The closing date for written submissions is 1.00pm on Monday, 18 August 2025.

The bill seeks to improve the effectiveness of health services delivery to patients by:

• Amending the purpose, objectives, and functions of Health New Zealand. The bill would amend the objectives of Health New Zealand (Health NZ) to add the delivery of effective and timely services. It also seeks to add a new purpose to the Act, ensuring that patients get timely access to quality health services. The bill would repeal the health sector principles and the New Zealand Health Charter.
• Increasing Health New Zealand’s focus on infrastructure. Health NZ’s functions would be expanded to provide and plan for quality, cost-effective and financially sustainable infrastructure, and the bill would require the board of Health NZ to have a permanent infrastructure committee.
• Changing the roles and responsibilities of iwi-Māori in relation to delivery of health services. The bill would give the Hauora Māori Advisory Committee (HMAC) a statutory purpose of providing advice to Health NZ and the Minister of Health, on health services for Māori. It would amend the role of iwi-Māori partnership boards (IMPBs) to engage with Māori communities about health needs in their area, and to provide advice to HMAC. The bill would require Health NZ to take into account any advice from HMAC, and would remove the requirement for Health NZ to engage with IMPBs when determining priorities for kaupapa Māori investment.
• Strengthening governance, strategic direction setting, planning, and monitoring arrangements. The bill proposes a series of amendments, including a new requirement for the board of Health NZ to have a delegations policy, and changes to the requirements for board members’ knowledge and experience. Additionally, the New Zealand Health Plan would need to include information about how services and activities will be funded, and would no longer need to be reviewed by the Auditor-General.

Tell the Health Committee what you think

Make a submission on the bill by 1.00pm on Monday, 18 August 2025.

For more details about the bill:

• Read the full content of the bill
• Read what's been said in Parliament about this bill
• Read the Regulatory Impact Statement for this bill
• Read the Department Disclosure Statement on this bill

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