As Aotearoa’s Mental Health and Addiction Workforce Centre for Pacific, Le Va wants to hear directly from our Pacific workforce about your realities, challenges and aspirations, so we can strengthen the system together.
Pacific Mental Health and Addiction workforce survey
We are inviting all Pacific mental health and addiction workers across NGOs, PHOs, Te Whatu Ora, community services, regulated and non-regulated roles, to participate in our national survey.
The purpose of this survey is to understand:
- who makes up our workforce
- training and professional development needs
- access to supervision, coaching and mentoring
- workforce wellbeing and sustainability
- working conditions and what supports people to remain in the workforce.
Your insights will help build a clearer picture of how the Pacific MHA workforce is currently functioning and where further support or investment may be needed.
The survey is anonymous, will be reported in summary form, and no identifying information will be included. Findings will inform Le Va’s workforce programmes and recommendations to funders and government. A summary of the results will also be shared with you and the MHA sector.
The survey takes from 10 to 15 minutes to complete. The survey will be open for completion until 11:59pm on Sunday 29 March.
We would sincerely appreciate your support in completing the survey and sharing this email with Pacific colleagues across your networks.
Key information
Please download our Key Information document to get more detailed background information about our Pacific Mental Health and Addiction Workforce Survey, about our team and why we are asking you to participate.
Pacific mental health and addiction workers from across Otago gathered in Dunedin in early 2026 to learn, reflect and share space with others who understand the realities of the work, led by Le Va’s Mental Health and Addiction team.
Nicholas Cao (clinical lead) and Seiuli Angel Timali Tiatia-Siau (senior project coordinator) delivered Tu Tonu: Cultural Case Formulation training in partnership with Pacific Trust Otago, with representation from Oamaru Pacific Island Trust (OPIT).
Collectively, they set the tone for a year focused on strengthening Pacific-led practice across Te Waipounamu South Island.
The session created space for Pacific support workers to strengthen culturally grounded practice and engage in conversations about a practical, culturally anchored way of thinking about Pacific wellbeing and resilience.
This work builds on a strong foundation laid throughout 2025, during which the Le Va team delivered Pacific-led mental health and addiction workforce trainings in Dunedin, Invercargill and Oamaru in collaboration with Pacific Access & Choice providers.
Participants of these previous sessions shared that “the training has helped immensely,” that it “gave good insights that would support my current work,” and that it “reminded me to keep learning, reflecting, and asking for guidance.”
From this foundation, Le Va has begun planning to create Pacific Communities of Practice across the South Island.
Conversations with representatives from all four South Island Pacific Access & Choice providers are helping to shape what these future spaces could look like, informed by workforce activity already underway in other regions.
Pacific Communities of Practice are intended to support connection, shared learning and collective reflection through talanoa, practice sharing and relationship-building.
By Pacific, for Pacific mental health and addiction services are available across the South Island to support Pacific communities, while also providing culturally grounded workplaces for Pacific staff:
- Pacific Trust Otago in Dunedin
- Pacific Island Advisory Charitable Trust (PIACT) in Invercargill
- Oamaru Pacific Island Trust (OPIT) in Oamaru
- Etu Pasifika in Christchurch
Learn more about Le Va’s Fenoga Pule framework for Pasifika Primary Mental Health and Addiction professionals: Fenoga Pule.
Le Va is a national Pacific organisation committed to supporting people of the moana to unleash their full potential and have the best possible health and wellbeing outcomes.
Le Va welcomes the Government’s forthcoming Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy as an opportunity to reimagine how we can better serve all New Zealanders. We see it as a pivotal moment that could move Aotearoa beyond crisis response, towards a primary prevention approach grounded in culture, community and care.
Pacific communities in Aotearoa deserve a strategy that reflects the strengths and aspirations of our people – a strategy that addresses systemic inequities while affirming the importance of collective wellbeing, cultural identity and community leadership. To support all people to thrive, the strategy should include a deep understanding of what matters to Pacific people.
Le Va presents the following ten priorities to guide a mental health and wellbeing strategy that creates meaningful and lasting change for our people.
1. Uphold Te Tiriti with genuine partnership
Embed genuine partnership at the heart of the strategy
Tangata whenua are Indigenous to Aotearoa New Zealand. As Tagata Moana, we advise that Te Tiriti o Waitangi must underpin the strategy. Giving effect to the intent of Te Tiriti, through genuine and mana-enhancing relationships with tangata whenua, is essential to the credibility, legitimacy and effectiveness of any mental health and wellbeing strategy in Aotearoa.
2. Nothing about us without us
Include Pacific voices in every decision
The strategy should recognise and value Pacific leadership and genuine power sharing in all spaces (governance, leadership, frontline and community). It should commit to meeting the unique needs and aspirations of Pacific people, representing Pacific worldviews, knowledge frameworks and approaches within the strategy and its implementation.
3. Prioritise prevention to protect future generations
Invest early, take action upstream, and protect communities from crisis
The strategy should prioritise primary prevention by addressing the root causes and risk factors of mental health and addiction challenges. It should focus on supporting young people, families and communities early, before challenges emerge, and strengthening protective factors across the life course.
4. Value Pacific models of mental health and wellbeing
Embrace collective care and holistic wellbeing
Pacific approaches to wellbeing are relational, spiritual, cultural and collective. Aotearoa’s mental health and wellbeing strategy should embrace holistic models of health that reflect Pacific worldviews and lived realities. A strategy grounded in these dimensions will better enable Pasifika peoples to thrive, and ensure services are both culturally safe and meaningful.
5. Solutions lie within our communities
Let communities lead the solutions – they know what works
Our communities already hold the knowledge and solutions to support their own wellbeing. The strategy should ensure direct investment that enables community leaders and organisations to design, deliver and sustain effective mental health initiatives by communities, for communities. It should place decision-making power and funding directly into the hands of the people.
6. Close the cultural digital divide
Make resources accessible to everyone, everywhere, any time
The strategy should provide a clear mandate and pathway for culturally-grounded innovation, including digital tools and services that also reach Pacific communities. It should include a plan to reach those in greater need of tools and enable better access, in ways that are scalable, safe and culturally resonant.
7. Pacific is not one experience
Honour diversity within Pacific communities
Pacific communities are diverse, and Pacific people who are also Rainbow+, disabled or have lived experience of mental distress often face additional barriers to culturally safe and accessible care. The strategy should recognise the different experiences of Pacific people designed to respond to these intersecting realities, rather than assuming a single Pacific experience.
8. Youth voices matter
Include youth to help shape their future
The strategy should actively centre Pacific youth voices and leadership. Pacific young people bring critical insight into what works for their wellbeing. Co-design processes must be accessible, culturally grounded and safe, ensuring initiatives and services reflect the realities, strengths and aspirations of Pacific young people.
9. Grow a culturally safe and capable workforce
Nurture cultural safety to effectively support our community
A culturally safe and competent mental health workforce means better outcomes for Pacific people. The strategy should prioritise the growth of the Pacific mental health and addiction workforce, with early investment and recruitment through to leadership development and retention. It should also ensure the mainstream workforce is equipped to deliver culturally safe, responsive care that strengthens trust and improves access, experiences and outcomes for Pacific communities.
10. Back the strategy with action, funding and accountability
Turn promises into action with investment, implementation and accountability
A strategy without dedicated investment and action is merely a promise. To deliver meaningful and lasting change, the strategy should be reinforced by long-term funding and clear implementation timeframes. This includes defined milestones, measurable outcomes and transparent reporting to ensure Pacific priorities are included and fully realised. Anything less risks repeating cycles of hope without change.
Around 100 members of the Pacific primary mental health and addiction workforce, alongside students preparing to enter the sector, gathered at Te Puke ō Tara in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland for ‘Navigating new horizons,’ a sector Community of Practice event.
The atmosphere was warm and welcoming, with people reconnecting, meeting new colleagues and celebrating the shared purpose that unites our region.
Guest speaker and chief executive of Le Va, Mati Dr Elizabeth Mati, reminded us that the heart of Pacific workforce development lies in how we collaborate.
She encouraged those present to uplift one another, share knowledge openly, and work in ways that honour relationships and the vā.
“When our workforce connects, collaborates and uplifts one another, everyone benefits – especially the families, communities and vulnerable people who rely on us the most,” she said.
“A strong, united workforce means stronger services and, ultimately, better care for our Pacific people. It means our sisters and brothers, our elders and our young people receive support that truly sees them and meets them where they are.”
Her message was clear – we navigate further and more confidently when we do it together.
A diverse panel brought rich experience and cultural grounding to the day. Participants described the panel as sharing a wealth of knowledge, offering wisdom that was both practical and deeply rooted in cultural values.
Their talanoa affirmed that we are all paddling in the same direction, unified by our commitment to supporting Pacific families and communities.
Jess Ngahere, K’aute Pasifika; Janeta Vasega, Vaka Tautua; Mafiress McGregor Taua’i, K’aute Pasifika; Leolasi Fauena, Pacific Homecare; Dr Christmas Seu, The Fono; Temukisa Tinai, Penina Trust
Feedback from the day highlighted how important connection is for our Pacific primary mental health and addiction workforce. Attendees shared that they felt more connected to others across the sector and valued the chance to share ideas and hear different perspectives.
They appreciated the space for networking and talanoa, and enjoyed learning from the depth of experience represented across organisations.
‘Navigating new horizons’ reinforced what makes our workforce strong: relationships, cultural integrity, generosity and a shared goal of improving wellbeing for Pacific families.
Le Va thanks everyone who attended, contributed, spoke, supported or helped bring the event to life, with a special thank you to the organising committee with representatives from each of our Pacific provider services.
Together, we continue to build a connected, confident and culturally grounded Pacific primary mental health and addiction workforce.
For Toleafoa Mark Esekielu, Le Va’s senior manager for mental health and addiction, this year’s Cutting Edge addiction workforce hui stirred up a lot of reflection.
“Conferences have always brought value for me – not just the sessions, but reconnecting with peers, the chance to pause, reflect and reset. Cutting Edge 2025: Te toka tū moana was no different.
Looking back to see how far we’ve come
More than 17 years ago, I was a service manager for a Pacific non-government organisation in Christchurch. Our mental health and addiction team back then consisted of one clinician for youth and one for adults, making up the bulk of all the Pasifika practitioners in the South Island.
One thing stood out at Cutting Edge in those days – we didn’t see many of our own people, few Pasifika practitioners at all. I still remember joining my first teleconference for the National Pacific Treatment Forum (Addiction) with four teams across Aotearoa and only eight practitioners. The Pasifika addiction workforce was small enough that you could fit us all on one teleconference line.
The realities for our Pasifika addiction workforce in those early days were stark. We didn’t yet know how significant the harm from alcohol and other drugs was for Pasifika. We didn’t have data on access rates or unmet need, and didn’t have integrated holistic Pasifika solutions. We did know, and still know, “E fofo le alamea le alamea” – that the solutions for Pasifika communities come from within our own communities.
A changing landscape
Fast forward to Cutting Edge 2025, and the energy in the room was unmistakably different – a larger Pasifika presence, stronger voices, more community-led solutions, more cultural grounding. Our aspirations have grown, and so has our clarity.
During the event, Helen Schmidt-Sopoaga was honoured with a DAPAANZ Lifetime Membership award for more than 20 years of service to the addiction sector in Aotearoa. This lined up beautifully with Phil Siataga’s keynote reflection, “E lele le toloa, ae o nisi timi e lē, toe fo’i i le vai, ‘ā e su’e se is nofoaga e malu ai – Though the toloa may return home, sometimes we find other places to live and call home.”
Aotearoa is our new home, and the world is different now. Our Pacific homelands have evolved into significant transit routes and destinations in the illicit drugs trade. Fiji, Samoa and Tonga have seen a surge in drug consumption and drug related crime, as domestic and international criminal networks move drugs through and to Aotearoa, Australia and the wider Pacific.
After 17 years, what do I take away from Cutting Edge 2025?
The Pasifika addiction workforce in Aotearoa is stronger, more skilled, more grounded and more connected than ever before. But the system we work in still has some way to go in responding to what our communities need.
Many of the reflections I walked away with align closely with what Pasifika communities continue to call for – a mental health and addiction system that honours who we are, how we heal and the realities we face as Pasifika people.
We know the path forward. Our communities are the experts in their own lives and they have told us again and again what works. Our lives are lived holistically, so our solutions need to be holistic. We belong to different ethnicities, are from different islands, and have different experiences of coming to and living in Aotearoa. So work with us, work with the experts when seeking to understand.
So many things have changed, but so much of what matters has not. This continues to drive our Pasifika addiction workforce to serve, grow and learn – so that one more policy, one more organisation, one more interaction with Pasifika people improves and supports us to have better lives.
Le Tautua is Le Va’s Pacific leadership programme, designed to grow and equip Pasifika health and disability leaders of today and tomorrow with the tools, knowledge and confidence to lead with courage, connection and care.
Proudly supported by Te Whatu Ora, this programme ensures culturally grounded leadership is at the heart of Aotearoa’s health system.
Across two days in early October, 30 participants from across the motu came together on the west coast of Auckland for a transformative two-day wānanga.
Over the course of the programme, participants shared experiences, strengthened connections and filled their baskets of knowledge.
Many entered feeling unsure but left with confidence and reassurance that they were well on their way to becoming bold, authentic leaders.
Guided by this year’s theme, “Navigating the vā: Leading with courage, connection and care,” participants engaged in workshops that explored their leadership values, personal strengths, cultural identity and collective responsibility.
They built skills in communication and connection, and rediscovered their ability to lead authentically while navigating complex spaces. Most importantly, they left with renewed confidence in their voices, their identity and their power to create meaningful change.
We were privileged to hear from inspirational leaders, including Pauline Fuimaono Sanders and Pakilau Manase Lua, who generously shared their stories of resilience, advocacy and cultural grounding.
Their kōrero left a lasting impact on the cohort, reminding us that leadership is about being brave enough to stand in our difference and lead from a place of service.
Together we laughed, we sang and we shed tears of joy, united in the belief that the future of our Pasifika communities is bright. To our MC Pale Sauni, thank you for holding the space with a full heart.
To our participants, thank you for your courage, your honesty and your leadership. Malo ‘aupito, fa’afetai tele lava, vinaka vakalevu.
The Le Tautua leadership cohort for 2025:
- Monica Leatinuu
- Georgina Bentley
- Buccilea Ongolea
- Tashina Katene
- Lusila Lisone
- Richard Dalhousie
- Etta Tauauve’a
- Caitlin Hughes
- Toli Aoina
- Takai Tavalea
- Esitaola Pihigia
- Jennie Nnebechukwu
- Anggie Tuumatavai Tuifua
- Justine Ringiao
- Libby Blore
- Lavenia Saravanua
- Christophur Faiva
- Melissa Dunlop
- Anjali Lavulavu
- Seiuli Tauamiti
- Etevihe Lafaele-Taunana
- Elizabeth Le’man
- Kola Fue
- Petrina Kairangi Blair
- Elle Tennent
- Elisha Ng Lam
- Sina Latu
- Dana Kunaiti
- Taryn-Indianna Hainsworth-Fa’aofo
At this year’s Addiction Leadership Day in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland, Le Va staff highlighted the need for Pacific‑led solutions, noting that current services are often reactive and crisis‑oriented, and can lack culturally grounded healing.
Mark Esekielu – Le Va senior manager mental health and addiction – and Nicholas Cao – Le Va clinical lead – gave an overview of Le Va and its initiatives that support the addiction workforce and leadership pipeline.
Le Va clinical lead Nicholas Cao shares his insights
These include Le Va’s Futures That Work scholarship programme, the Addiction and Problem Gambling Harm scholarships, and the Le Tautua leadership programme – all designed to grow capability, capacity and future leaders in the sector.
The pair shared insights from the mental health and addiction stream at Le Va’s Global Pacific Solutions conference, highlighting that in responding to addiction and mental health challenges, we can draw on ancestral intelligence and ancient cultural practices for healing and support.
Future models of care, they said, should be designed by Pacific people – rooted in kinship, culture, spirituality and healing traditions – while being strengths‑based, creative and digitally fluent to meet the needs of future generations.
Organised by the National Committee for Addiction Treatment (NCAT), with secretariat support from Te Pou, there are three Addiction Leadership Days each year.
These one-day events provide an opportunity to deepen professional networks, as well as share sector updates and research, while strengthening and developing leadership.
The day also featured national leaders, including Phil Grady (Health New Zealand – Te Whatu Ora), who outlined a programme of work to improve system performance, integrate services and strengthen the mental health and addiction workforce.
Dr Bonnie Robinson of The Salvation Army presented social statistics linking housing, poverty and family violence to addiction harm, while Cory James and Cera James (Tuhiata Mahiora) explored the importance of mana motuhake (self‑determination) in client‑led care.
The event brought together practitioners, sector leaders, decision makers and lived experience voices to share strategies, innovations and a vision for a more equitable, culturally grounded addiction sector.
Learn more about Le Va’s work in the mental health and addiction sector: Mental health and addiction.
On the last day of June, Pacific people with lived experience of disability, addiction or mental health challenges, and the workforce who support them, gathered in Papatoetoe for the ‘Tiare Ruperupe 2025: Combined Regional Fono’.
Hosted by 3village1island, attendees came from across Aotearoa – from Ōtautahi, Pōneke and Napier – to connect, share and help shape a positive future for our families and communities.
Members of Le Va’s mental health and addiction team welcomed the opportunity to join the fono, which united practitioners and lived experience leaders across the mental health, addiction and disability sectors.
Jasmine Leota, senior project coordinator at Le Va, said, “The fono created a valuable platform for talanoa, connection and shared insight.
“We were honoured to hear from Dr Junior Ulu, Director of Pacific Health at the Ministry of Health – his contribution added significant depth to the day’s discussions.”
Our team also had the opportunity to acknowledge and celebrate the remarkable achievements of Papali’i Seiuli Johnny Siaosi (KSM), a respected leader and pioneer in the sector, recently awarded the King’s Service Medal in the 2025 King’s Birthday Honours.
Nearly everyone at the fono had lived experience of disability, addiction or mental health challenges or had personal lived experience of supporting fanau.
The shared goal at the fono was to strengthen the Pasifika workforce through collaboration, and contribute to building a robust Pacific mental health and addiction workforce at an event that helped infuse hope, knowledge and support.
“As climate change continues to reshape our world, Pacific communities face unique challenges that demand innovative health solutions.” – Te Poutoko Ora a Kiwa.
In June, members of Le Va’s Public Health and Mental Health & Addiction teams were privileged to attend the Te Poutoko Ora a Kiwa (Centre for Pacific and Global Health) Research Symposium – ‘From Vulnerability to Vitality: Global and Pacific Health responses in a changing climate’ at the University of Auckland’s Fale Pasifika.
The day brought together distinguished health leaders, Pacific researchers, health professionals and changemakers committed to advancing wellbeing and equity through Pacific-led knowledge, solutions and innovation.
Le Va’s Pasifika Equity Lead, Pakilau Manase Lua, gave a presentation on “Making Our Moana Healthy Again” as part of the Pacific Leadership stream, and the team was honoured to attend Professor Sir Collin Tukuitonga’s inaugural professorial lecture, celebrating his service and leadership in Pacific and global health.
It was an inspiring day and wonderful for our team to reconnect with many of the presenters from Le Va’s recent Global Pacific Solutions 2025 conference, continuing the vital conversations around climate, culture and community.
Te Poutoko Ora a Kiwa was established in April 2023 as the first University research centre dedicated to Pacific and global health solutions and leadership. With Prof. Sir Collin Tukuitonga at the helm, its mission is to transform and impact health for Pacific people in Aotearoa, in the Pacific region and globally.
For more than 16 years, Le Va’s purpose has been to support people of the moana to unleash their full potential. We do this by carefully designing and developing evidence-based resources, tools and support services for the best possible health and wellbeing outcomes.
Together, we move from vulnerability to vitality, driving action for thriving Pacific communities.
It’s essential that Pasifika are involved from the outset of any study about our experiences.
With a new Child and Youth Mental Health and Addiction Prevalence survey on the horizon for Aotearoa, Le Va has put together guidelines to ensure the experiences of Pasifika peoples are accurately and respectfully captured, alongside other priority groups.
In Aotearoa, there is a longstanding data deficit around youth mental health and addiction, which means a prevalence study of this kind is long overdue. We know our Pacific young people experience higher rates of mental health distress and barriers to accessing culturally appropriate mental health care.
Addressing existing gaps in understanding by collecting and analysing comprehensive and up-to-date data is vital to informing policy development and driving improved wellbeing outcomes for all families and communities in Aotearoa.
Le Va welcomes the government’s commitment to ongoing funding for measuring mental health and addiction challenges among children and young people to help determine what supports are needed. We also know it is important to further our understanding of the causes of mental health challenges to prevent them from occurring in the first place.
Le Va’s general manager, Mati Dr Elizabeth Mati, says, “It’s essential that Pasifika are involved from the outset of any study about our experiences. From study design and measurement tools to interpreting findings, cultural, clinical and lived Pasifika expertise must be included to ensure accuracy and cultural integrity.”
Le Va’s report calls on the New Zealand Government to ensure the inclusion of Pasifika peoples in this important national prevalence study is done in a culturally relevant and meaningful way.
Many thanks to those who contributed to our comprehensive report: Moana Connect, PwC New Zealand, Le Va’s clinical governance group and Pasifikology. Together we share the goal of enhanced outcomes for Pasifika communities, with early intervention, evidence-informed decision making and equitable resource allocation.
Le Va is part of the Wise Group. Copyright ©2026
