Home and Community Health Association

04/10/2026

As political parties focus on productivity, wealth or the cost of living, it feels important to remember that no amount of wealth can match the value of our health.

In the UK, Prime Minister Andy Burnham has committed to a National Care Service, based on principles that everyone contributes, and everyone is covered; saying it is a profound failure of politics that we have known about this problem for so long and yet failed to act.

Here in Aotearoa, we cannot afford to wait. We urgently need cross-party commitment to our version of a sustainable, quality model of care, because the growth in demand ahead of us is well known.

Every day, kaumātua and older people who should be supported at home are unnecessarily admitted to ED. Meanwhile, hospital beds are occupied by people who are well enough to leave but need flexible, responsive home care that is properly funded to make that possible. None of this is a failure of our hospitals, or of the kaiāwhina and whānau who are doing their very best. It is a failure to plan for what we have long known was coming, and it is one we can still fix if we choose to act together.

We need cross-party commitment to a sustainable model of care now. Enliven's piece below names the challenge, and it echoes the recommendations of 'A Place to Grow Old' report. Integrated, cohesive care that incorporates all the aspects that make people stay well could support a better, wealthier future for us all.

To mark International Day of Older Persons (1 October 2026), Presbyterian Support Northern's (PSN) Enliven Home and Disability Support Services is calling on the Government to make ageing at home a national priority.

22/09/2026

Targets are heading in the right direction, as Simeon Brown MP shared this morning at the Westpac and BusinessNZ breakfast which is great to hear.

But an ageing population will have a stark impact on both hospitals and primary care, as "A Place to Grow Old" makes clear. https://lnkd.in/eHvUbbfy

Primary care was defined as the heart but that makes Home and Community Care the heartbeat of this system: the quietly working part that people don't often see or consider. Easy to ignore yet if we invest in it early, you ease the pressure before it reaches crisis point in our hospitals and Primary care systems. That's the case HCHA has made in our recent manifesto, alongside a simple truth, no sector can grow on funding that hasn't kept pace with its costs. https://www.hcha.org.nz/

What's still missing in this conversation is cross party commitment to a genuinely bipartisan, long term view, one that includes prevention and offers people quality person centered care using HomeCare, health tech and advanced models to shift the approach to keeping people well.

The time for that investment and clarity is now, we cannot afford to wait another political term of deliberation or sadly we will all face the consequences.

21/09/2026

Last week at our Home & Community Health Association Leaders Forum at Te Papa, the whakawhanaungatanga and the connection across aligned platforms was incredible.

A robust political panel on sustainable funding, workforce planning and the bipartisan long term view we need. Audrey Sonerson Sonerson, Director-General of Health, on the future of care in our communities. Outstanding presentations from our kaupapa Māori members. Aged Care Commissioner Erin Jamess on dignity, safety and choice for older people under the Code.

Our funders on where they are headed: Sarah Sinnott, ACC New Zealand; Alastair Hill Hill, DSS Transformation; Mark Powell and Ondine Claridge, Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora. And the Ministerial Advisory Group on Aged Care taking questions on A Place to Grow Old. Rangimahora Reddy of Rauawaawa Kaumātua Charitable Trust reminded us what kaumātua-led ageing well actually looks like, right down to the Kaumātua Olympics they run every year. Our sector has a great deal to learn from that.

It mattered too that pharmacy and primary care leaders were there. Martin D. Lowis, Pharmacy Guild of New Zealand, and Dr Richard Lowe on how our sectors work better together. These are the partnerships that make care at home work.

A powerful day, thanks to our Sponsors; IonMy - Governance, Risk, Compliance & Quality software for the Care sector, Careerforce and Disability Support Services DSS, and a clear message: home and community support is the heart of care.

Read our manifesto and key messages: https://www.hcha.org.nz/

18/09/2026

A memorable week for HCHA.

Reflections below from our CEO Lisa Foster:

Bringing the reality of home care to life at our Parliamentary Manifesto Launch will stay with me for the rest of my life, for two reasons.

One, it felt like such an important moment to stand and speak for the value that quality, holistic, sustainable home care can offer to make the future better for us all. A shift in mindset is needed to see home and community care accepted as a cost effective, preventative approach that keeps people well at home by offering the right support. Home care is the beating heart of the health system, and a strong heart, alongside a level head that recognises the cost savings prevention makes, is needed now more than ever.

Two, the way that message was warmly received.
The message was made more real by a simple exercise with a sliding door theme, which we built into the evening. Guests opened an envelope marked Your Predicted Future, which held one of three real stories: a sandwich generation carer looking after their parent while managing work demands and their own family dynamics, a discharge home gone wrong, or a husband, wife or partner who lost their role and became more of a carer. Different lives, one truth underneath, the sliding door reality of what quality home care can shift, care that notices, and arrives on time.

That future did not stay theoretical, because it is the path ahead for all of us, if we have the luxury of ageing.

Our Manifesto has 10 asks for government and can be found on our website so please take a look https://www.hcha.org.nz/

Ngā mihi nui to Sam Uffindell MP for hosting us, and to every kaiāwhina doing this mahi across the motu. This is just the beginning.

14/09/2026

Tomorrow evening we are gathering at Parliament to launch HCHA's Manifesto with an amazing one page illustration created by Megan Salole, this event is hosted by Sam Uffindell MP and attended by many MPs across the parties.

It's a significant moment for our sector, bringing together providers, NGO partners, MPs and officials, plus other decision makers to put a shared vision for home and community health in front of the people who can help make it real. The time for a more resilient and preventative approach has never been more right and the heartbeat of health takes place in peoples own homes.

None of this happens without support, and we want to acknowledge the sponsors who've made the evening possible.

AlayaCare, whose all-in-one platform helps providers manage scheduling, care delivery, compliance, and workforce operations so teams can focus on what matters most, the people in their care.

Hendrix Health, the official Heidi partner for Aotearoa and the Pacific, supporting clinicians with AI-powered documentation tools that give more time back for patient care.

IonMy - Governance, Risk, Compliance & Quality software for the Care sector whose integrated quality, risk, and compliance platform helps organisations meet regulatory requirements while driving continuous improvement.

Ngā mihi nui to Megan and to each of you for backing this kaupapa. We look forward to a fantastic evening. Casey Costello MPLawrence Xu-Nan Chris Hipkins MPSimeon Brown MP

09/09/2026

Mauri Ora – Home and Community Support – the Heart of Care HCHA Forum starts in 6 days, and we are excited to welcome everyone who has registered.

🔊Mauri Ora – Home and Community Support – the Heart of Care HCHA Forum
📆Wednesday 16th September 2026
⌚8.30am-4.15pm (Please note registration starts from 8am and the Forum starts promptly at 8.30am)
🏢Location: ICON Room, Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, 55 Cable St, Te Aro, Wellington, 6011
🚶‍♀️🚲🚌🚗How to get to Te Papa: https://www.tepapa.govt.nz/visit/plan-your-visit/getting-here

If you have any queries relating to your booking, please contact: [email protected]

07/09/2026

Integrated and cohesive health planning that is long term, was a key discussion topic at the fantastic BusinessNZ 2026 Election Health Forum.

We appreciated the shift toward discussing the wider picture of health prevention, diagnosis and treatment (hauora in its fullest sense) and the balanced, interdependent solutions this kind of thinking can offer, if we act on it. Homecare is at the heart ❤️

Thank you to Minter Ellison Rudd Watts for hosting

07/09/2026

Better access to aged care needs to stay on the agenda leading into the election. This week Australian State Health Ministers are pushing back hard on their Federal Government, with close to 3,500 people stuck in hospital beds and a shocking 100,000 people waiting for Support at Home packages in Australia. It's a warning sign for any system, including ours, that when aged care capacity doesn't keep pace, the pressure doesn't disappear, it just moves downstream onto hospitals, families and the workforce carrying it all. This is such a critical part of the longer term picture, economically and morally. The question remains, what kind of health system do you want for your care? One that is holistic, that reflects manaakitanga at its core?

We all deserve care that is person centered and easily accessible or do we just watch, do nothing and know crisis awaits. These questions need to be held strong.

Health Ministers across Australia are calling for the Federal Government to do more on aged care.

When older Australians are medically ready to leave hospital but can’t access an aged care place or the support they need, it puts pressure on hospitals right across the country.

WA is investing in initiatives to help people transition out of hospital safely, but this is a national issue that needs stronger Federal action.

Every State and Territory wants the same thing - better access to aged care and home supports, so older Australians can get the right care in the right place.

31/08/2026

'A healthy nation is a wealthy nation' is a term that is so right I had to share it thanks to Mark Robinson.

Primary care, hospital-level care and residential care are all supported by a hidden first line of defence, home-based care, the beating heart of the healthcare system: vital, invisible and under pressure.

The aged care report highlights the urgent need for long-term solutions, not ones impacted by political cycles or preferences, but grounded in the reality of demand and delivery, and the moral weight of dignity and duty. The interconnection of health and wellbeing is well appreciated, yet the jump many find tough is the link to economic stability for Aotearoa. But that's a fact.

Homecare is provided by many not-for-profit and private organisations, giving people care and choices where most prefer it, at home, at a fraction of the cost of $2000 a night in hospital. Under the current system, as detailed by the report's Chair, David Cunliffe, aged care costs alone will rise from $2.5 billion to nearly $5 billion by 2037/38. If the system is redesigned with a boost for homecare, it saves $835 million a year. Who delivers that care needs some thought too.

We need urgent action, yes, and perhaps a reminder that those older people will include me and you(if we are lucky), and we deserve to have a say in the picture we will all have to live with. So what kind of health and social care system do you want?

Casey Costello MPSimeon Brown MP Dr Ayesha Verrall Chris Hipkins MP Scott Simpson MP Huhana Melanie Lyndon Lawrence Xu-NanSam Uffindell MP

Recommendations from a Ministerial Advisory Group include increased in-home care, a workforce strategy, and national pathway for people in the aged care sy

30/08/2026

This last week has brought stormy skies and devastating news for some of our faith based providers in the Auckland region, who have been told that they have lost their home and community support contracts. This affects around 4500 older and disabled clients, along with the kaiāwhina who have built years of trust and relationship with them.

We still need more clarity from Health NZ on next steps and how the transition will be managed. What is already clear is the significance of this change, and we look forward to understanding what the next steps will be for everyone involved.

As the sector continues to change, we hope that community rooted, not for profit values are not lost in the process. We welcome more discussion with Health NZ.

Our aroha goes out to the providers, their kaiāwhina, and the whānau at this challenging time.🙏