Aotearoa New Zealand Homelessness Action Plan 2020-2023

Last updated: 11 June 2025 The Aotearoa New Zealand Homelessness Action Plan built on and supported work that was already underway around New Zealand to address responses to homelessness.

This page is no longer being updated, you can still find the Homelessness Action Plan, progress updates on implementation, and the evaluation report in our documents section.

Homelessness Action Plan (HAP) evaluation report released

About the Aotearoa Homelessness Action Plan 

The Aotearoa New Zealand Homelessness Action Plan (HAP), which was published in February 2020, recognised that action was needed to prevent homelessness, increase housing supply and provide support services.  

We helped to deliver the action plan with the help of multiple government agencies and partners. This included leads from:

Ministry of Social Development
Oranga Tamariki
Te Whatu Ora – Health NZ
Ministry of Health
Kāinga Ora
the Department of Corrections.

We worked closely with homelessness sector services, formed by Te Matapihi he tirohanga mō te Iwi Trust and Community Housing Aotearoa to support the development and delivery of action plan initiatives with the sector.

The Homelessness Action Plan contained 18 immediate actions, which aimed to address the most critical points in our progress on longer term homelessness actions. Despite the pressure on the homelessness sector, all the actions got underway and most of them tracking towards their targets.

Download a copy of the Homelessness Action Plan

MAIHI and the Aotearoa New Zealand Homelessness Action Plan  

Te MAIHI o te Whare Māori – the Māori and Iwi Housing Innovation Framework for Action (MAIHI) and the six kaupapa Māori principles (Mauri, Whakamana, Manaakitanga, Tino Rangatiratanga, Whanaungatanga, and Tikanga) were embedded into the action plan.

MAIHI focused effort around both urgent actions to reduce homelessness for Māori and the deeper system changes needed to improve Māori housing.

The action plan committed to partnering with Iwi, hapū, marae and Māori organisations, local authorities, providers, and people with lived experience of homelessness to prevent and reduce homelessness.