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Communities to design local social services

Communities in Ōpōtiki, Porirua and on the West Coast have been selected as the first to help design how social services are delivered in their area, Social Investment Minister Nicola Willis says. Earlier this year, the Government invited communities across New Zealand to apply for Community-led Commissioning, which will give trusted local leaders and organisations with a proven track record more say over how government-funded support is delivered in their communities while holding them accountable for delivering better outcomes. Toi Rāwhiti in Ōpōtiki, the Porirua Local Group and the West Coast Partnership have now been selected from the 49 applications received. "Right now, the Government spends more than $8 billion a year on social services delivered by community groups, iwi and non-government organisations,” Nicola Willis says. “Too much of that money gets tied up in overlapping contracts and duplicated paperwork, following rules written in Wellington that don't always fit what's actually needed on the ground. "We want to flip that. Instead of Wellington deciding how services should run, we're backing communities to design solutions that actually work for their people - and then holding them to account for delivering better outcomes. "Ōpōtiki is a close-knit community of around 11,400 people, and the three iwi behind Toi Rāwhiti - Whakatōhea, Ngāi Tai and Te Whānau ā Apanui - bring deep, existing relationships across that community to the table. Their focus is on breaking cycles of disadvantage before they pass to the next generation so that fewer young people end up disengaged from school, work, or their community. "The Porirua Local Group is made up of Ngāti Toa Rangatira as mana whenua, Porirua City Council, and the Porirua Community Leaders' Forum, a network of more than 200 local leaders, providers and organisations across the city. The group will focus on priorities set by its own community - secure housing, reliable access to healthy kai, and reducing the harm drugs do to families. "The West Coast Partnership is made up of Te Tauraki, Pōkeka Poutini Ngāi Tahu, West Coast Community Trust and Homebuilders West Coast, backed by the region's iwi - Ngāti Waewae and Makaawhio - and the Buller, Grey and Westland district councils. They will focus on connecting health, housing and social support for a population spread across 600 kilometres of coastline, from Karamea to Haast, where distance and isolation make it hard to get help. "We'll be contracting for real outcomes, such as fewer people stuck on the Jobseeker benefit, better school achievement, better health outcomes, and fewer offenders and victims of crime. “The three selected groups will work with the Social Investment Agency over the coming months to build a detailed plan covering who runs things, how they'll be held accountable, how funding will work, and how conflicts of interest will be managed. Those plans will then go to Ministers for approval. "I want to thank the many other regions who put in strong applications. Many of them will be strong contenders for future rounds of community-led commissioning as this approach grows. "I also want to be upfront about the bar here. Communities hold essential local knowledge and relationships. But before any group takes full responsibility for designing local services, their plan has to show real outcomes and accountability - or it doesn't go ahead. "Our goal is for this to become the normal way social services are run, not a one-off. Once these three groups can prove it works, we will roll it out more widely.” Notes to editors: Applications to take part opened on 14 May 2026 and closed on 12 June 2026. The Government received 49 applications, identified 25 for closer assessment, and shortlisted six communities before selecting the three groups named above. Although the original intent was to select one or two groups for the first round of Community-led Commissioning, the response from communities was so strong that Ministers chose to move forward with three applications.