Comcare Trust

What Comcare Trust does

Comcare Trust (formally Comcare Charitable Trust, Reg. No. CC10571) is a Christchurch-based, non-profit charitable trust founded in 1987 to support adults with experience of mental illness and addiction to live independently in the community. It delivers a portfolio of five interlocking service divisions from offices in Christchurch, Rangiora, Ashburton, and Ōtepoti (Dunedin): Community Support Services (Community Support Work, Community Integration Service, Activelinks); Peer Support Services (Peer Support, Peer Support Training, Peer Health Coaching, MHAPS); Community Housing (Transitional Housing and Social Housing); Jobconnect (Pre-employment Vocational Support, Supported Employment, Peer Support); and Housing Service Delivery (Housing Facilitation, Group Living, Home Rescue, Sustaining Tenancies). At any one time the organisation supports approximately 1,200 adults, employing a recovery-oriented, strengths-based methodology grounded in lived-experience peer support.

The operating model is contract-driven rather than commercial. Revenue is sourced entirely from New Zealand government agencies, namely Te Whatu Ora Waitaha Canterbury for community and mental health services, the Ministry of Social Development for transitional housing and Jobconnect employment support, and the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development for Transitional Housing, Sustaining Tenancies, and Supported Re-Housing. Comcare is registered with the Community Housing Regulatory Authority (part of MBIE) as a Community Housing Provider, which is the regulatory pathway that unlocks its housing revenue stream. Service access is channelled primarily through a Single Point of Entry referral system driven by referrals from Specialist Mental Health Services, GPs, MSD, and MHUD, with self-referral available for Jobconnect, Peer Support, and Activelinks. No pricing is disclosed to end users.

Distribution is via direct delivery across the two regions, augmented by collaborative participation in the Equally Well initiative with Platform, Te Pou, and other sector partners. The CEO chairs the Canterbury Regional Equally Well Committee. The organisation is not technology-platform-led: the core technology description is 'social services and community support platform focused on mental health recovery and social housing,' and there are no disclosed APIs, AI capabilities, mobile apps, or proprietary software assets — making the technology stack effectively a CRM and case-management back office supporting a largely people-delivered service.

Name

Comcare Trust

Legal name

Comcare Charitable Trust

Website

https://comcare.org.nz

Company type

Private

Founded year

1987

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Comcare Trust is a Christchurch-based New Zealand charitable trust, founded 1987, delivering mental health, addiction, peer support, housing, and employment services to approximately 1,200 adults across Canterbury and Dunedin, funded entirely by government contracts.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Christchurch

HQ country

New Zealand

HQ region

Oceania

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Government Healthcare Contracts: Contracted services with Te Whatu Ora Health New Zealand for mental health support services, community support services, and housing facilitation
2. Ministry of Social Development Funding: Funding for transitional housing services and employment support through Jobconnect
3. Ministry of Housing and Urban Development Contracts: Contracted by MHUD for transitional housing service providing short term furnished accommodation
4. Registered Community Housing Provider: Social housing provision as a registered Community Housing Provider (CHP) through Community Housing Regulatory Authority (CHRA)

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Comcare Trust is a New Zealand charitable trust that provides mental health, addiction, community housing, and employment support services to adults in Canterbury and Dunedin. Services are delivered through five divisions: Community Support Services, Peer Support Services, Community Housing (registered Community Housing Provider), Jobconnect (employment support), and Housing Service Delivery. Funding comes primarily from government contracts with Te Whatu Ora, the Ministry of Social Development, and the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development.

Product overview

Comcare Trust is a community-based organization providing integrated mental health and social services in Canterbury and Dunedin, New Zealand. The organization operates as a portfolio of five interconnected service divisions: Community Support Services (including Community Support Work, Community Integration Service, and Activelinks), Peer Support Services (including Peer Support, Peer Health Coaching, Peer Support Training, and MHAPS), Community Housing (including Transitional and Social Housing), Jobconnect (employment support including Pre-employment, Supported Employment, and Peer Support), and Housing Service Delivery (including Housing Facilitation, Group Living, Home Rescue, and Sustaining Tenancies). These services work together to assist people with mental illness and addictions to live well in the community through a recovery-focused, strengths-based approach.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Community Support Services Provides a broad range of support to assist people move forward in their daily lives, including assistance with financial management, relationship building, daily routines, and life skills development. Available in Christchurch urban areas and rural Canterbury for adults experiencing mental illness and addiction.
• Peer Support Services Offers face-to-face and telephone support based on internationally recognized Principles of Intentional Peer Support. Includes Peer Support, Peer Support Training, Peer Health Coaching, and MHAPS services for adults experiencing mental distress and/or addiction.
• Community Housing Registered Community Housing Provider through CHRA (part of MBIE). Provides social housing including group living situations and single bedroom flats around Christchurch for single people with mental health or addiction issues, including long-term social housing and short-term transitional housing.
• Jobconnect Employment Services Full employment search and support service providing assistance to job seekers and employers, including pre-employment vocational support, supported employment, and vocational peer support. Member of NZDSN and applies Supported Employment principles for people with disabilities.
• Housing Service Delivery Range of housing support services addressing homelessness and tenancy sustainability for people with mental illness and addiction, including Housing Facilitation, Group Living, Home Rescue (urgent intervention), and Sustaining Tenancies (MHUD-funded).

Quantifiable outcome

• Supports approximately 1,200 adults at any one time across mental health and addiction support services
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• PlatformcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPlatform is the initiative leader for Equally Well, a collaborative programme addressing poor physical health and reduced life expectancy of people with mental illness and/or addiction. Comcare endorsed the Equally Well Consensus Position paper in 2015.
• Te PoucoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTe Pou is a co-initiator of Equally Well initiative alongside Platform. They lead the physical health workstream and provide resources including the Equally Well Consensus Position paper. Comcare CEO chairs the Canterbury Regional Equally Well Committee with representation from Te Pou.
• Te Whatu Ora Waitaha Canterbury | Health New ZealandcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTe Whatu Ora is the primary funder for mental health services and makes referrals to Comcare. Comcare CEO chairs the Canterbury Regional Equally Well Committee which includes representation from Specialist Mental Health Services under Te Whatu Ora.
• Ministry of Social DevelopmentcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMSD provides funding for transitional housing services and receives referrals from Comcare. Comcare has been contracted by MSD to provide housing support services for vulnerable individuals.
• Ministry of Housing and Urban DevelopmentcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMHUD contracts Comcare for Transitional Housing Service offering short term furnished accommodation. Also funds the Sustaining Tenancies service and Supported Re-Housing service.
• Christchurch District Health BoardcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCDHB originally contracted Comcare to provide short-term accommodation and support services for vulnerable individuals following Christchurch earthquakes. Historic partner that enabled development of housing services.
• Royal New Zealand College of GPsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRNZCGP endorsed the Equally Well Consensus paper and published an action statement confirming commitment to the initiative. Related to Comcare's involvement in Equally Well collaborative.
• Community Housing Regulatory Authority (CHRA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCHRA, part of MBIE, regulates Comcare as a registered Community Housing Provider (CHP). This regulatory relationship enables Comcare to provide social housing services.
• New Zealand Disability Support Network (NZDSN)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerJobconnect is a member of NZDSN and incorporates the key principles of Supported Employment as set out by NZDSN for employment services to people with disabilities.
• Ōtautahi Community Housing Trust (OCHT)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOCHT is a local housing provider that Comcare works with to assist clients in obtaining housing from local body or community housing sources.
• Kāinga OraminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFormerly Housing New Zealand, Kāinga Ora is a state housing provider that Comcare assists clients to access housing from.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Odyssey House New Zealand: Odyssey House NZ provides addiction treatment, mental health and reintegration services across residential and community settings. Its addiction focus and government-funded residential care model make it directly comparable to Comcare's Group Living and addiction support programs.
• Emerge Aotearoa: Emerge Aotearoa is a national NZ provider of mental health, intellectual disability and housing services funded via government contracts. Its national footprint and similar mixed service portfolio make it Comcare's most direct competitor for tier-1 mental health and housing contracts.
• Richmond NZ: Richmond NZ is a community-based mental health provider delivering recovery-focused support, housing and wellbeing services across multiple regions. Its recovery-oriented, strengths-based approach aligns with Comcare's stated methodology and contract model.
• Pathways Health: Pathways Health delivers mental health, addiction and community support services across multiple NZ regions under government contracts. Its service mix and contracting model closely parallel Comcare's Community Support and Peer Support offerings.
• Together Trust: Together Trust is a UK charity providing mental health, disability and community housing services. While UK-based, its integrated mental-health-plus-housing model and government/local-authority funding pattern closely mirror Comcare's operating model.
• Lifewise: Lifewise is a New Zealand NGO providing housing, mental health and disability support services across Auckland and Christchurch. It mirrors Comcare's integrated housing-plus-mental-health model with government contracting, making it a close operational peer in the same sector.

Broad incumbents

• Mind Australia: Mind Australia is one of Australia's largest mental health NGOs, offering community mental health, housing and peer support across multiple states. It is a larger, established peer operating in the same broad category but at materially greater scale than Comcare.
• Mental Health Foundation of New Zealand: The Mental Health Foundation of NZ is a national advocacy and education charity working on mental health promotion and policy. It operates in the same broad mental health space as Comcare but focuses on advocacy and resources rather than direct service delivery.

Emerging players

• Barnardos New Zealand: Barnardos NZ provides child, family and community support services nationally, including some mental health and family housing overlap. It is adjacent rather than directly competing for adult mental health contracts, but competes for overlapping MSD/child-and-family funding pools.

Others

• St John New Zealand: St John NZ is a major community health and ambulance services provider with national reach. While not a direct peer in mental health social services, it is an adjacent health-sector organization that interacts with Comcare's referral network and shares government contracting relationships.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/comcare-trust

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Comcare Trust