Phase Two of the Police Mental Health Response Change Programme is set to be extended with a second group of districts implementing Phase Two from 19 May.

The tranche two districts have been jointly assessed for their readiness and the multi-agency Mental Health Response Change Programme Governance Group has endorsed their implementation.

Included in this second tranche will be:

• Police districts Auckland City, Canterbury, Kaikōura as part of Tasman, Wellington, Bay of Plenty (excluding Tokoroa and Taupo), Eastern (excluding Wairoa), and Southern (excluding Waitaki and Central Lakes), and
• Health NZ districts Auckland, Canterbury, South Canterbury, Capital Coast & Hutt Vally, Wairarapa, Bay of Plenty, Lakes (excluding Taupo), Hawke’s Bay (excluding Wairoa), Tairāwhiti, and Southern (excluding Waitaki and Southern Lakes).

Police and Health NZ will continue to work closely with these teams and districts to support their preparation and implementation for the changes and will continue work with remaining districts to get them ready to start Phase Two.

The agencies anticipate tranche three districts will implement Phase Two changes on 16 June, pending final readiness assessments and governance group endorsement.

Police Assistant Commissioner Mike Johnson says we remain committed to our joint efforts towards a system that supports mental wellbeing and gives people access to the best help that works for them.

“Safety is always Police’s number one priority. Police have always, and will always, respond when there is an immediate risk to life or safety.This will not change.

Outside of an emergency, Police have a threshold for what mental health related work sits with police and what doesn’t.

“This supports us all to clarify roles and responses, ensuring Police are only involved where it’s appropriate. That means where there is an offence identified (that we would attend through normal prioritisation) or where there is an immediate risk to life or safety,” says Assistant Commissioner Johnson.”

Health NZ Director of Specialist Mental Health and Addiction Karla Bergquist says agencies are committed to getting it right and have been working together to ensure the changes are well implemented.

“The safety and well-being of patients and our staff is paramount as we work to ensure people requiring mental health support receive the right care at the right time.

“We have adopted a staged approach and extended our timeframes for Phase Two, introducing it in a planned and safe way. As part of this planning work, we have developed new procedures with clinical input and created training materials for staff to support them through this change.

“We are focussed on continuous improvement and will keep listening to feedback from our teams and stakeholders and take a joint approach to review learnings as we go.”

“We’d like to assure the public that as always, there is a range of services to help people in serious mental distress or those who are concerned about whānau. You can free call or text 1737 , contact your local crisis assessment team or in a life-threatening situation, call 111.”

Phase One of the joint agency approach commenced on 4 November 2024, and Phase Two roll-out commenced in some districts on 14 April 2025. The changes will see an increased health-led response, enabling Police more time to do the work that only Police can, which the community expects them to do.

Notes:

Contact numbers for local crisis assessment teams are available online at: https://www.health.govt.nz/your-health/services-and-support/health-care-...(link is external)

Phase Two of the mental health response changes began on 14 April in Police districts Waitematā, Counties Manukau, Waikato, and Tasman (excluding Kaikoura) and Health NZ districts Waitematā, Counties Manukau, Waikato (excluding Tokoroa and Taumarunui), Nelson-Marlborough, and West Coast.

The Phase Two changes remain the same and include:

• 60-minute handover detained persons in EDs – Police who have detained a person under the MH Act and transported them for an assessment will remain in the ED for a maximum one hour before departing, unless they consider there is an immediate risk to life or safety.
• Changes to mental health assessments in custody – If someone is placed under the MH Act while in a Police custody suite, they will need to be taken to a health facility within 30 minutes. Custody rules will ensure people in distress are assessed appropriately, preferably in a health setting.

NZ Police and Health NZ districts are not the same (Police has 12, Health has 20), so there are some parts of a Police district which are not included in the comparable Health NZ district or vice versa.

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