What Whaioro Trust does

Whaioro Trust is a Kaupapa Māori (Māori-led by philosophy) mental health and addiction service provider registered as a charitable trust under the Charitable Trusts Act 1957 in New Zealand. Established in 1999 as a joint venture between Te Runanga o Raukawa and MASH Trust, the organisation operates from offices in Palmerston North and Levin, with health coaches additionally embedded inside medical centres in Feilding and Ōtaki, covering the Horowhenua and Manawatū regions. Seven core services are delivered: Mahi Tū Ora (wellbeing and vocational support), Rangatahi AOD counselling for youth aged 10–24, Kaitiaki-ā-whānau social work, Te Ata Kura alternative education for disengaged 13–16 year-olds, Kaiwhakapuaki Waiora health coaching, Kaiarahi-ā-whānau bars/rongoā Māori healing practice, and Gambling Harm Support. All services are free to clients and delivered under a whānau-centred, strength-based framework applying Te Whare Tapa Whā and Manaakitia te Mauri models, with Te Runanga o Raukawa appointing half of the board of trustees.

The underlying service technology is the Whaioro Model, a delivery framework developed from the conceptual convergence of the two founding organisations, which informs the trust's vision, brand, and clinical approach. Service delivery is conducted through face-to-face community engagement, phone, text, and email, with referrals accepted from GPs, Community Mental Health Services, Iwi Services, education facilities, government agencies, and NGOs, as well as self-referrals. The organisation is a member of the Te Waiora Collective of Iwi and Māori providers and the Horowhenua Tū Tonu Mai alliance providing clinical respite, and holds Quality Improvement Council accreditation against QIC/Te Wana Health and Community Services Care Standards 3rd Edition through 18 September 2028.

Whaioro Trust's revenue model is government-funded service delivery: all services are provided free to clients, with operations sustained by contracts from government health and welfare funding streams consistent with the original 1998 Health Funding Authority approach to the founding providers. The trust is governed by a board comprising four trustees appointed by Te Runanga o Raukawa and four trustees appointed by Whaioro Trust itself, with no private equity, venture capital, or public ownership. Customer segments are predominantly Māori whānau and individuals, youth aged 10–24 affected by alcohol and other drugs, families affected by gambling harm, and disengaged adolescents aged 13–16. Marketing is primarily referral-based and community-driven rather than paid digital.

Name

Whaioro Trust

Legal name

Whaioro Trust

Website

https://whaioro.org.nz

Company type

Private

Founded year

1999

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Whaioro Trust is a Kaupapa Māori charitable trust delivering free mental health, addiction, vocational, social work, alternative education, health coaching, and gambling harm services to whānau across the Horowhenua and Manawatū regions of New Zealand.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Mental Health Services

NAICS

Outpatient Mental Health and Substance Abuse Centers (62142), Other Individual and Family Services (624190)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Peer Support, Recovery Coaching & Sober Living Services (HLAFACAN)

akta.pro secondary industry

Student Wellness & Prevention Programs (Substance Use, Sexual Health, Bullying) (EDAJAIAG)

Keywords

• Mental health services
• Addiction counselling
• Social work support
• Alternative education
• Vocational rehabilitation

Headquarters

HQ city

Palmerston North

HQ country

New Zealand

HQ region

Oceania

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Government Funded Services: Whaioro Trust provides free services to clients, indicating government funding. The organisation was originally established through government initiative (Health Funding Authority approached providers in 1998). Services are provided at no cost to clients across all programmes including wellbeing support, gambling harm support, health coaching, social work, counselling, and alternative education.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Whaioro Trust is a Kaupapa Māori mental health and addiction service provider delivering a coordinated portfolio of seven free services across the Manawatū and Horowhenua regions. Its offerings span wellbeing and vocational coaching (Mahi Tū Ora), rangatahi alcohol and drug counselling, social work (Kaitiaki-ā-whānau), alternative education (Te Ata Kura), health coaching (Kaiwhakapuaki Waiora), traditional healing (Kaiarahi-ā-whānau Bars Practitioner), and gambling harm support — all delivered under whānau-centered, strength-based Māori frameworks.

Product overview

Whaioro Trust is a Kaupapa Māori mental health and addiction service provider offering a coordinated portfolio of seven distinct services. The core offerings include Mahi Tū Ora (wellbeing and vocational support), Rangatahi AOD Counselling (youth alcohol and drug support), Kaitiaki-ā-whānau Social Workers, Te Ata Kura Alternative Education, Kaiarahi-ā-whānau Bars Practitioner (massage/therapy), Kaiwhakapuaki Waiora Health Coaches, and Gambling Harm Support. All services operate under a whānau-centered, strength-based approach using Te Whare Tapa Whā models and are free to access, covering the Horowhenua and Manawatū regions including Palmerston North, Levin, Feilding, and Ōtaki.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Mahi Tū Ora - Wellbeing & Vocational Support

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Te Runanga o RaukawacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1999Te Runanga o Raukawa is an Iwi health provider and original joint venture partner in establishing Whaioro Trust in 1999. The Trust became a separate legal entity under the Charitable Trusts Act 1957, with Te Runanga o Raukawa continuing to appoint half of the Board of Trustees (four members). Whaioro Trust operates under the mantle of Ngati Raukawa ki Te Tonga, representing 24 hapu.
• MASH TrustminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1999MASH Trust was the original joint venture partner alongside Te Runanga o Raukawa in establishing Whaioro Trust in 1999. MASH Trust was a major provider of accommodation and support programmes for mental health clients in Palmerston North. Whaioro Trust maintains an ongoing working relationship with MASH Trust.
• Te Waiora CollectivecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWhaioro Trust is part of the Te Waiora Collective, an integral network of Iwi and Māori providers working from Whānau Ora, whānau centered and strength-based approaches.
• Horowhenua Tū Tonu Mai AlliancecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWhaioro Trust is a member of the Horowhenua Tū Tonu Mai alliance providing clinical respite. This alliance coordinates health services in the Horowhenua region.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Others

• Te Pou (o te Whakaaro Nui): NZ national workforce development and evidence centre for mental health, addiction, and disability. Comparable because it operates in the same mental health and addiction ecosystem and supports Kaupapa Māori workforce capability, but functions as a backbone/infrastructure organization rather than a direct service provider.

Regional players

• Ngāti Porou Hauora: Iwi-established health provider on the East Coast delivering mental health, addiction, and primary care services under Kaupapa Māori. Comparable because it shares the iwi-affiliated charitable trust structure and whānau-centered mental health/addiction delivery model, but operates in a different geographic rohe (Tairāwhiti) and does not directly compete for Whaioro's Manawatū/Horowhenua contracts.
• Te Korimako o Taranaki (Tui Ora): Taranaki-based Māori health and social service provider delivering mental health, whānau ora, and addiction services. Comparable because it operates the same Kaupapa Māori community-service model under an iwi-affiliated structure, but is geographically distinct and does not compete in Whaioro's rohe.

Direct peers

• Te Roopu Taurima o Manukau Trust: Māori health and disability provider offering mental health, addiction, and whānau ora services across the North Island. Comparable because it delivers Kaupapa Māori mental health and community-based wellbeing services in a similar iwi-affiliated trust structure, competing for the same Whānau Ora and government mental health funding pool.
• Odyssey House New Zealand: NZ provider of residential and community addiction treatment, including AOD counselling and recovery support. Comparable because it directly competes for government addiction-treatment contracts and serves overlapping client populations (including Māori) through whānau-centered programmes, though it is primarily residential rather than community-led.

Broad incumbents

• Emerge Aotearoa: Large NZ-wide provider of mental health, addiction, and disability support services. Comparable because it operates across the same clinical and social-support categories as Whaioro (mental health, addiction recovery, wellbeing coaching) but at much greater national scale and with a more mainstream (non-iwi-specific) service model.
• Tu Ora Compass Health: Wellington-region Primary Health Organisation coordinating mental health, addiction, and social support referrals in the same broader catchment as Whaioro. Comparable because it funnels referrals to community mental health and addiction services in the lower North Island and serves overlapping patient populations, but operates at PHO scale rather than iwi-trust scale.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat2 records

Key risks4 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/whaioro.trust

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 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 Whaioro Trust