Healthcare Funding & Financial Management Conference
This new event has been developed to support the development of a financially sustainable healthcare system in New Zealand. It will provide insights and expert analysis to enable improvements in both day-to-day financial management and financial planning to ensure the delivery of critical investment in the highest possible quality of care with available resources.
This senior-level conference will examine how New Zealand healthcare can strengthen financial management, improve financial control, increase productivity, modernise funding and payment models, and deliver sustainable investment in the health system.
The event is built around four distinct themes
Financial Management Excellence
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Financial Sustainability & Productivity
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Funding, Commissioning & Payment Reform
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Capital & Investment
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This conference will provide the insights and expert analysis that will allow delegates leave with the capability to:
1. Strengthen financial controls.
2. Improve financial intelligence and forecasting.
3. Make productivity measurable.
4. Align commissioning and payment with desired outcomes.
5. Build the financial foundations for long-term sustainability.
Who should attend Healthcare Funding and Financial Management?
CFOs and health sector finance directors
Finance managers and finance teams
Hospital and community service operations teams, general managers and service managers
Health-system capital planners
Planning and funding teams
Commissioning, procurement and contracting executives
Primary-care leaders
Finance transformation leaders
Health economists
Treasury Ministry of Health and Health NZ officials
Māori and community health providers
Venue
The location and how you can get there
Aotea Centre
50 Mayoral Drive, Auckland CBD
Agenda to be announced soon
8:00 | Registration and Coffee |
8:45 | Mihi Whakatau |
9:00 | Opening Remarks from the Chair Kevin Harper, CEO, Changing Minds |
9:10 | From Strategy to Delivery: The Future of Mental Health and Wellbeing in Aotearoa
Hon Matt Doocey, Minister for Mental Health and Associate Minister of Health |
9:25 | Audience Q&A with Hon Matt Doocey |
9:35 | The Mental Health Act 2026 – A Potentially Wasted Opportunity or as Transformative as Hoped?
Iris Reuvecamp, Principal, Vida Law |
10:10 | Law Commission’s Review of the Criminal Procedure (Mentally Impaired Persons) Act 2003
Dr Thomas Buocz , Senior Legal and Policy Adviser ,Te Aka Matua o te Ture | Law Commission |
10:30 | Morning break |
11:00 | Equity in Mental Health: Moving Beyond Equal Access to Fair Outcomes
Lee Colquhoun, Chief Operating Officer, Te Puna Ora o Mataatua |
11:30 | Primary Care as the Front Door: the Access and Choice "Integrated Primary Mental Health and Addiction" programme
Dr David Codyre, Clinical Lead Mental Health, Tamaki Healthcare |
12:10 | Beyond Crisis Response: Building a Shared Approach to Suicide Prevention
Reserved - Speaker TBC |
12:40 | Lunch |
13:40 | The Power of Early Conversations
Jordan Shearer, Mental Health and Well-being Programme Lead, Hato Hone St John |
14:00 | Removing the Confidence Gap: Using AI to Improve Access and Quality in Mental Health Care.
Chris Griffiths, Co-Founder and CEO, Tacklit |
14:40 | Crisis Recovery Cafés: Expanding Community-Based Support for People in Distress
Leilani Maraku, Chief Executive Officer, Mana o Te Tangata |
15:10 | Afternoon Break |
15:40 | Lived Experience Leadership: Strengthening Peer Support Across the Mental Health System
Dr Alex Walker, Researcher and educator, Department of Psychological Medicine , University of Otago |
16:20 | Panel Discussion: Frontline Under Pressure: Responding to Mental Health Crisis in a Health- Led System • What the shift from Police-led to health-led mental health crisis response means in practice • How reduced Police attendance is impacting EDs, crisis teams, ambulance and community services • Managing safety, risk assessment and escalation in a health-led response model • Supporting frontline workers who are carrying increasingly complex crisis demand • The role of co-response teams, peer support, Crisis Recovery Cafés and acute alternatives • Strengthening protocols, handovers and referral pathways between health, Police, ambulance, NGOs and community providers • What the workforce needs to respond safely and sustainably: training, supervision, staffing, safety planning and clear escalation pathways Kevin Harper, CEO, Changing Minds Kerri Butler, Founder, Take Notice Serena Lal, Chief Executive, Kites Speaker TBC |
17:00 | Summary remarks from the Chair & Networking Drinks Kevin Harper, CEO, Changing Minds |
8:30 | Registration and Coffee |
9:00 | Welcome back remarks from the Chair Kevin Harper, CEO, Changing Minds |
9:10 | Policy Address: Labour’s Priorities for Mental Health and Addiction Reform in Aotearoa
Ingrid Leary, Labour MP for Taieri and Labour’s spokesperson for Mental Health and Seniors, Labour |
9:40 | Panel Discussion: Young People’s Mental Health: Building Earlier, Inclusive and More Connected Support
Shae Ronald, Chief Executive Officer, Youthline Judy O'Brien, Chief Executive Officer, Inside Out Kōaro Riwhi Kenny, Facilitator, InsideOUT Kōaro |
10:30 | Morning break |
11:00 | Beyond the Mind: Integrating Physical Health into Mental Health Care
Dr Tracey Pons, Chair, Physiotherapy New Zealand (PNZ) , Physiotherapy in Mental health specialist interest group (PiMH) |
11:20 | The Future of Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy in New Zealand: Promise, Caution and Clinical Readiness
Gary Wynn, Consultant Psychiatrist, Ecdysis Clinical Psychedelic Therapy; Professor of Psychiatry and Neuroscience, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences |
12:00 | Mental Health, Addiction and Corrections: Strengthening Support Across the Justice Pathway
Erik Monasterio, Consultant in forensic psychiatry, Orko |
12:30 | Lunch Break |
1:30 | Prioritising Underserved Populations: An Intersectional Approach to Mental Health Policy, Practice and Care Who is being left behind? Understanding the conditions that shape mental health, help-seeking and access to care When disadvantage intersects: Case studies illustrating how multiple and intersecting factors can create barriers to access, engagement, trust and support Seeing beyond the majority: Using an intersectional lens to identify populations whose needs may be overlooked in policy, service and care design From evidence to action: Practical approaches for embedding equity into policy, service design and care delivery to improve access, engagement and outcomes for underserved populations Reserved- TBC |
2:00 | He Tuhinga Whakatakoto Tōku Wawata Hauora – A Tangata Whaiora‑Led Advance Mental Health Directive In redesigning crisis care, we need to be cognisant of what the new mental health legislation proposes. One key change is the formal recognition and use of advance directives as a way for tāngata whaiora to state their will and preferences ahead of time. This presentation describes the development of my own eight‑page advance mental health directive, written to guide my care when I may not be able to express my wishes and to name the harms that must be avoided. It outlines the process I used, the questions I asked of myself and my clinicians, and the Kaupapa Māori and Te Tiriti‑grounded principles that shaped the document. Central to this "case study" is the assertion that tāngata whaiora must be the agents in our own care, defining what culturally grounded, safe, mana‑enabling (standing in our own mana) care looks like, and insisting that services respond to these directives as core clinical information rather than optional add‑ons. Kerri Butler, Founder, Tautika |
2:30 | Summary remarks from the Chair & end of Conference Kevin Harper, CEO, Changing Minds |
Stay tuned for the 2027 Speakers
Riwhi Kenny
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Dr Tracey Pons
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Kevin Harper
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Dr Thomas Buocz
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Dr Thomas Buocz is a Senior Legal and Policy Adviser at Te Aka Matua o te Ture | Law Commission. Thomas joined the Commission in 2023. He previously worked in legal academia and the public service in New Zealand and Austria.
Thomas has a law degree (Magister iuris) from the University of Vienna and a doctoral degree in social and economic sciences from the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna. He moved to New Zealand in 2021.
Serena Lal
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Hon Matt Doocey
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Ingrid Leary
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Dr David Codyre
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Kerri Butler
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Lee Colquhoun
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Aklilu Hibtit
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Gary Wynn
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Tickets
Group 3+
Price Per Person-
Must be from same organisation & book at the same time. For valid tickets, payment by 24 February, 2027.
Virtual
Price Per Person-
Must be from same organisation & book at the same time. For valid tickets, payment by 24 February, 2027.
Registration Conditions
Ticket Terms
All prices are in New Zealand dollars ($NZD)
A surcharge of 2.5% + GST applies to credit card payments on top of the total amount.
Super Early Bird Tickets are valid only for the specific event for which they were purchased and cannot be transferred to other events. To remain valid, Super Early Bird, Early Bird, Standard and Last Minute tickets must be paid by date quoted.
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