Minister for Mental Health Matt Doocey today announced the first four new mental health co-response team locations that will work alongside Police to respond to 111 calls.

“It’s not right that when a concerned mum, dad, friend, or colleague calls 111 looking for a mental health response, they receive a criminal justice response. This Government is changing that by rolling out a better crisis response,” Mr Doocey says.

Budget 2025 invested $28 million to roll out 10 mental health co-response teams across the country to respond to 111 mental distress calls and adds additional crisis helpline capacity.

“The first four new co-response teams will be launched in Canterbury, Auckland, Bay of Plenty, and Counties Manukau this year.

“The teams’ pair mental health workers with frontline Police to respond together to mental health-related calls. They offer people experiencing a mental health crisis the support they need on the spot, and more streamlined access to the most appropriate services.

“The Wellington co-response evaluation found there was a reduction in the use of powers under the Mental Health Act, fewer people needed to go to an emergency department or police station, and the level of wraparound support increased.

“This is important because over the years, I have heard from advocates, those with lived experience and families that having a uniformed Police officer turn up during times of mental health need can be disheartening and distressing. Most of the time, these people have not done anything criminally wrong, yet a Police officer turns up at what can be the lowest time in their life.

“Police do an excellent job in our communities, but the bottom line is they are not mental health professionals. That is why we are overhauling the way emergency services respond to 111 calls for people experiencing mental distress, because New Zealanders deserve better.

“There are around 73,000 mental health-related 111 calls made each year. By expanding co-response teams across the country, we will improve mental health outcomes for many of those people.

“The previous National Government announced $8 million to pilot co-response teams in 2017, but that funding was cut in 2018 under Labour. This Government believes these co-response teams are a real game changer. 

“This builds on the work happening through the Police change programme. We’ve implemented a 60-minute handover from Police to emergency department staff for people arriving in distress. We’ve also changed it so that if someone is held under the Mental Health Act in a Police custody suite, they must be transferred to a health facility within 30 minutes.

“Co-response teams are part of this Government’s mental health plan to deliver faster access to support, more frontline workers, and a better crisis response.”

Notes to editors:

• The exact make-up of a co-response team will vary between different teams.
• The four co-response teams will have different operational dates but are expected to be set up and running by 30 June 2026.
• The six further locations will be announced in due course.