Good news for whānau as the announcement of an extra three million dollars for Whānau Ora Commissioning agencies is made.

The three Agencies will now receive $87 million this year between them.

In Budget 2019 $20 million was earmarked to explore new localised Whānau Ora commissioning. That process is now complete and allocations will be announced shortly.

A remaining $3 million will be redirected back into the Commissioning Agencies this year, and consideration will be given to extending this further.

In Budget 2019 the Government boosted funding for Whānau Ora by $80 million over four years. Almost two-thirds of that funding will go directly to Commissioning Agencies.

Whānau Ora supports families to achieve their aspirations. It places whānau at the centre of decision-making and helps them to build a more prosperous future through navigational support and the provision of services including home repairs, financial planning, educational opportunities and health support, just to name a few.

In 2018 an independent review found that, as an approach, Whānau Ora works. It also identified increasing demand for Whānau Ora and suggested exploring other commissioning options – specifically local commissioning in the North Island. This would mean funding community organisations directly to invest in whānau and support them to achieve their aspirations.

In the last financial year, around 13,500 whānau were actively supported through Whānau Ora.

The three existing Commissioning Agencies contracted by Te Puni Kōkiri to invest in initiatives and services in communities are;

• Whānau Ora Commissioning Agency (North Island)
• Te Pūtahitanga o Te Waipounamu (South Island)
• Pasifika Futures (Pasifika families nationwide).

Read all about the Whānau Ora review from 2018.