Home and Community Health Association

28/05/2026

Great to be prudent in uncertain times yet are health cost savings now going to cost us all dearly later?

That’s the question we need the public to ask any Government to ponder and to make sure that we learn from our cousins across the Tasmin not replicate their mistakes. The post below shows dire 1 yr + waiting lists for home care and workforce crisis!

With a New Zealand budget appearing to focus on building more hospitals - where is the focus on prevention, on care closer to home with Home and Community support sector aligned with primary care partnerships- that’s the fiscal common sense pathway but when will we take it?

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1NiZBtGtAD/

26/05/2026

A time for more transparency of the financial value for the Home and Community Health sector and its role as the heartbeat of health. Keeping whanau well closer to home offers more than just cost savings it makes peoples lives more colourful and offers whanau choice to remain in their own communities.

With Budget Day almost upon us, today's news of a $400 million health underspend, largely attributed to lower than forecast payments for community and residential support services, is worth pausing on.

Interesting timing. Interesting category.

The confusion about where exactly this underspend occurred reflects something we have long been calling out: we lack the budget transparency needed to properly analyse what we are spending on home care versus hospital or residential care, and crucially, what we are getting for it.
Because when we do have the numbers, they are impossible to ignore. Health NZ's own Sapere data shows that basic home and community support costs around $7,400 per person per year. A subsidised rest home place cost $65,000 at the same point in time. Nearly nine times more. With room for innovation and the right funding settings, expanding home care and investing in prevention and integrated care models is a clear winner. Whether that opportunity is taken, or whether the focus narrows to short term cost savings, is one of the more important questions sitting behind this Budget.

The international picture reinforces it. In the United States, supporting someone at home costs USD $70,000 per year (around NZD $118,000). In a state institution, that rises to more than USD $395,000 (around NZD $667,000), a fivefold difference. And for every dollar invested in home and community-based care, the broader economy returned $2.50.
Underfunding this model does not reduce costs. It shifts them, to emergency departments, rest homes, and family members who leave the workforce to fill the gaps. The savings are illusory. The harm is real.
Our kaiāwhina (community health assistants) workforce and family carers make this model work. It is, quite simply, a sound investment.

If we are ageing in place here in Aotearoa, and most of hopefully will be; this is one worth caring about.

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25/05/2026

On 21 May our CEO attended Rural Fest 2026 as a new member of Hauora Taiwhenua, and it was a day that reinforced the need for visibility and value for the care our kaiāwhina provide in rural and remote communities. Lisa attended carrying the voices of our members, with key messages shaped by their experiences on the ground: that kaupapa Māori home and community support is relational, not transactional, and that the trust kaiāwhina build in isolated communities is an equity intervention in itself that cannot be measured in activity volumes alone. Whānau trust is not incidental to these services. It is the service. Rural Aotearoa represents the second largest city in the country, and home and community support sits at its heart. Lisa will be sharing more detail with HCHA members, along with the advocacy priorities that emerged from the day.

Kia ora koutou. I'm Lisa Foster, Chief Executive of the Home and Community Health Association (HCHA), the peak body and national voice for home and community health and support providers across Aotearoa. HCHA represents varied organisations that enable people to live at home and within their communities: kaumātua, tāngata whaikaha, people recovering from acute illness, and those managing long-term conditions, often in rural areas.

I'm thrilled to join Hauora Taiwhenua because rural care is strongest when we are focused on the needs of our communities, with GP practice, homecare providers, community health professionals and the kaiāwhina workforce working in alignment. That connection is at the heart of what I hope to explore here. Where this alignment already exists in rural locations, the outcomes are noticeably better for it.

With the Rural Health Strategy setting a clear direction toward integrated, preventative care closer to home, the home and community health sector is a natural part of that picture. These priorities resonate deeply with home and community providers, and advocating together for their realisation makes every kind of sense. The effects of getting this right ripple outward: healthier whānau, more empowered communities, and reduced pressure on acute and residential services. Those benefits are not always easy to measure, but they are profound and they are real.

The rural dimension of home and community health remains genuinely underserved in national policy conversations, and that is the other reason I am so glad to be part of Hauora Taiwhenua. Too often, policy for our sector is shaped around urban service patterns, leaving rural and remote communities to absorb the consequences, with compounding factors of workforce shortages, inequitable funding, and the quiet weight of geographical distance from decision-making. These are the challenges we share, and they sit squarely at the intersection of what HCHA advocates for and what this network truly understands. I'm here to learn, to connect, and where I can, to contribute.

Learn more about Lisa here: https://zurl.co/xrj4F

24/05/2026

There is a short time for submissions on impactful changes for disability so please spread the word.

Submissions are open for the Disability Support Services Bill, announced last week by the Government. If you are a disabled person, a family carer, or a watchful citizen of New Zealand, we encourage you to read the Bill (there is an Easy Read version on the submissions page) and make a submission. There are only 19 more days to make a submission - an absurdly short amount of time for such an important Bill. We will be releasing information along the way. Shame on the New Zealand National Party, the NZ First Party, and the ACT Party for this cynical surprise legislation so close to a general election. And the very very short submissions timeframe which makes it difficult for the most stressed and vulnerable people to participate in what should be a fair democratic process. However, we have no option but to participate in the submissions process as best we can. Have a look. https://www3.parliament.nz/en/pb/sc/make-a-submission/document/54SCSSC_SCF_E6D8596D-C177-486B-CCF2-08DEB47E5457/disability-support-services-bill

23/05/2026

HCHA supports and stands together with NZDSN in the request for adequate and authentic engagement to occur for this Disability Support Bill.

“We’re calling on the Government to urgently extend the Select Committee process for the Disability Support Services Bill so disabled people, whānau and the wider disability sector have a genuine and accessible opportunity to participate,” said NZDSN CEO Debbie Hughes.
Read our statement: https://nzdsn.org.nz/disability-support-services-bill-select-committee-process-not-accessible-for-disabled-people/

21/05/2026

If rural Aotearoa were a single city, it would be our second-largest, serving almost 20% of our population.

A fantastic day on Wednesday at Parliament, part of an annual event run by Hauora Taiwhenua Rural Health Network;. The day brought real clarity to key Ministers and MPs across the parties on the healthcare challenges impacting rural healthcare.

The passion, dedication, and compassion in the rural health sector is clear. And there was sharing of simple (and strategic) ways to improve rural healthcare with moderate investment or reshaping - the key point overall is that rural just needs 'a fair go' for those working in these communities!

Funding is required for training, for NGO hospitals to align with HNZ run hospitals, among other needs. Another point that stood out for me is the fact that behind healthcare there is a massive integrated workforce, and we need to be able to quantify this better. GP's, nurses, allied health professionals, medical lab scientists, and this includes the 27,000 kaiāwhina/community healthcare assistants.

How do we ensure we keep them and care for them = Realistic funding.

This links to the Declaration on Rural Health https://lnkd.in/eq8z7xex

19/05/2026

Homecare is the invisible heartbeat of health and we can take it for granted until it stops! In Australia adequate realistic funding is still falling way short and causing chaos for the 200,000+ seniors who need it.
Aotearoa can learn from this and hopefully the recommendations that eventuate from the Ministerial Advisory Group on Aged Care can offer the roadmap and the means to achieve that!
Investment in prevention is always better choice than the alternative.

Ageing Australia is alarmed at the lack of Support at Home packages announced in tonight’s Federal Budget.

19/05/2026

The Disability Support Services Bill is welcomed for offering clearer frameworks for disabled people. However, if these frameworks lead to reduced access for those with impairments and health needs, that is not acceptable. That will just lead to more acute needs, more hospital admissions and people falling between the cracks. That would also be a disaster for the 300,000 people living with a Rare Disorders NZ
Consultation with key groups prior to this Bill being announced would have been a sensible action. There was an opportunity to include the voices of disabled people, carers, and providers in the Bill's development. As it stands, we all need time to understand what this means in practical terms for disabled people, carers, and our provider members who deliver respite care, employ family carers or act as hosts of Individualised Funding.
The Select Committee process offers an important opportunity to raise realistic implementation concerns and ensure the Bill strengthens rather than constrains support for disabled New Zealanders and those who care for them.
There is now a consultation period and it is vital to have your input as providers, carers, and kaiāwhina. Please share your thoughts and concerns so we can represent your voices effectively in the Select Committee process.

Disabled people in Aotearoa have become fluent in government language and we know that when ministers start talking about sustainability, clarity, fairness, and stability, it is worth paying close attention to what is happening behind those carefully chosen words.

17/05/2026

Aged care reform in Australia is a timely reminder that good intentions need sufficient funding to become good outcomes.
Right now, 200,000 older Australians are waiting for assessments and home care under a system that was meant to serve them better. Reform without resourcing is just reshuffling the deck.
Aotearoa has the chance to watch and learn here. If funding doesn't match need, we don't solve the problem, we relocate it, straight into our hospitals. 🏥

Ageing Australia CEO Tom Symondson responds to the Federal Budget in The Australian, saying “At last count, more than 200,000 older Australians were either waiting for a Support at Home package or waiting just to be assessed. This funding clearly won’t meet increased demand over the next 12 months, let alone clear the backlog."

Read more about our response to the federal budget > https://ap1.hubs.ly/y0RWK70

12/05/2026

Fantastic to have this commitment to a partnership approach by Government on this Rural Health Declaration especially when you realise that 19% of New Zealanders live rurally!

Home and community health in people’s homes and in local rural regions is a vital component of an integrated system and framework.

New Rural Health Declaration Calls for Urgent Action

Rural health leaders are calling for urgent action to address persistent and preventable inequities facing rural communities across Aotearoa New Zealand.

Released following the 21st WONCA World Rural Health Conference, the Aotearoa New Zealand Declaration on Rural Health 2026 sets out six priority areas to strengthen rural health systems, improve access to care, and support a sustainable rural workforce.

The Associate Minister for Health, Hon Matt Doocey, speaking on behalf of the Minister of Health, Hon Simeon Brown, endorsed the strategic direction set out in the calls to action of the Aotearoa New Zealand Declaration. This endorsement signals Governments commitment to working in partnership with Hauora Taiwhenua to improve health outcomes for rural communities.

Hauora Taiwhenua says the Declaration provides a clear roadmap for change to improve outcomes for rural communities.

Read more: https://zurl.co/XLedT

11/05/2026

Pricing uplifts that allow for sustainable services and genuine growth in our sector are long overdue, particularly given the weight of historic underfunding accumulated over many years. What we need is a sufficient, practical, cost-reflective, and co-designed funding model. Being told to simply be more efficient is not a solution.

An insightful window into what matters most for our kaumātua and seniors across Aotearoa. Nearly 70% prefer to receive aged care in their own home, most commonly because of the comfort of familiar surroundings (73%), greater independence (72%), more control over daily routines (66%), and the ability to stay close to whānau and friends (63%).

As we head towards Budget Day, the stakes feel very real. To keep home-based care a genuine and available choice, we need sustainable funding now more than ever. Historic underfunding has not kept pace with growing need, and the sector continues to feel the compounding pressure of the fuel crisis. Temporary relief measures will come to an end, and without lasting co-designed solutions, serious strain on our essential mobile workforce is inevitable.

With Government acknowledgement of the value and necessity of this workforce, we remain hopeful that Budget 2026 will deliver practical and meaningful outcomes for the people who depend on these services most.

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