Urgent calls for action on youth mental health following report release

The Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission says said too many young people were missing out on vital mental health care when they needed it. It is calling for urgent action to improve mental health and addiction services. Photo / DepositPhotos

The Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission is calling for urgent action to improve mental health and addiction services in New Zealand, particularly for young people who are at the wrong end of several statistics in its latest report.

The report, released today, shows more New Zealanders are experiencing high levels of psychological distress (14.3%) than five years ago (7.4%). Young people aged 15-24 had the highest rates of mental distress (22.9%) of the age groups surveyed in the report.

Commission chief executive Karen Orsborn said too many young people were missing out on vital mental health care when they needed it.

“We are not alone in sounding the alarm ... we have been told by young people about the challenges they face gaining access to support,” Orsborn said.

Not being able to access the right services could have devastating consequences for young people and their families, she said.

“We have been told by young people about the challenges they face gaining access to support.

“We’ve got to ensure young people know where to seek help and when they do, there is capacity and workforce available to respond in a way that works for them and their circumstances.”

Children and young people (aged 0-18) were most likely, compared with other age groups, to have their referral for specialist help declined (14.9%). Rates for other age groups were between 5-7%.

Young people also faced the longest wait times for treatment, the report said, with 40% of children and teenagers waiting more than eight weeks for a third appointment (compared to 23% overall).

Māori and Pacifika people had some of the highest rates of psychological distress among ethnic groups (22.5% and 23.8%, respectively).

Over the past five years, the report also shows a significant increase in the rate of disabled adults experiencing high levels of psychological distress (26.7% in 2019/2020 to 35.5% in 2024/25).

“The data we have gathered clearly shows that the system is less responsive to the high level of mental-health need of Māori, Pacific and disabled people,” Orsborn said.

Options needed to be available that are tailored for these young people to enable better mental health and wellbeing outcomes, she said.

“It’s vitally important that we close this gap, and it is becoming more urgent. At a population level young people are reporting increasing levels of psychological distress,” Orsborn said. In its summary of New Zealand Health Survey 2024-25 data, she said, “the trend of increasing high levels of psychological distress is not slowing down”

Matt Doocey, the country’s first-ever Mental Health Minister, has released a series of mental health initiatives this year including support for rural and grassroots entities.

Julia Gabel is a Wellington-based political reporter. She joined the Herald in 2020 and has most recently focused on data journalism.