Platform Trust and Te Pou are pleased to share the final report from the MH&A NGO Outcomes Measures project, Mental health and addiction NGO outcome measurement in Aotearoa New Zealand. This report provides the first national overview of outcome measurement practices across the mental health and addiction NGO sector and explores opportunities to strengthen the collection and use of outcomes data across Aotearoa.
The project found that mental health and addiction NGOs are highly engaged in outcome measurement, with 96% of surveyed organisations collecting outcomes data. The report highlights opportunities to improve consistency across the sector while maintaining flexibility for NGOs to measure the outcomes that matter most to the people, whānau and communities they support.
Read the final report.
The MH&A NGO Outcomes Measures project was a partnership between Platform Trust and Te Pou, funded by Health New Zealand. The project was undertaken to better understand how outcomes are currently measured across the mental health and addiction NGO sector, identify good practice, and explore what infrastructure and support would be needed to strengthen routine outcomes measurement in the future.
The project included a national NGO survey, sector engagement, focus groups, advice from an NGO advisory group, and a review of national and international evidence. Findings from the project are intended to inform future discussions about outcomes measurement, service improvement, and demonstrating the impact of mental health and addiction NGO services.
This companion report presents detailed findings from the national survey of 74 mental health and addiction NGOs, including information on outcomes measurement practices, commonly used tools, barriers, enablers, and views on a national approach to outcomes data.
NGO outcomes - survey results report July 2026
NGO outcomes - survey results summary
This document was developed during the project and provides background information on the purpose, scope and approach of the MH&A NGO Outcomes Measures project.
The information about mental health and addiction service delivery by non-governmental organisations (NGOs) contained in this report provides Platform and its’ members a foundation to showcase the value, worth and capability that NGOs add to the functioning of a mental health and addiction system in Aotearoa New Zealand.
This infographic shows the number/percentage and demographic of people accessing MH&A NGO services, types of services provided, the share of workforce from the total MH&A workforce and proportion of funding received from the total expenditure on MH&A services
The following practice examples highlight some of the innovative work that is happening in mental health NGO services. These example snippets can be found in the Main Report.
Click on the practice example for more detailed information about each of these services - this will take you to the addendum where you can read the full practice example.
