Whanau Ora Commissioning Agency

What Whanau Ora Commissioning Agency does

Whānau Ora Commissioning Agency is a non-profit, Māori-led commissioning agency headquartered in Henderson, Auckland, founded in 2014 (originally as Te Pou Matakana) to coordinate integrated wellbeing, health, education, and social services for Māori whānau across the North Island (Te Ika-a-Māui) of Aotearoa New Zealand. The agency operates through six regional footprints — Te Tai Tokerau, Tāmaki Makaurau, Hauraki-Waikato, Waiariki, Te Tai Hauāuru, and Ikaroa-Rāwhiti — via a network of 100+ provider partners and a field force of 200+ Kaiārahi (navigators) embedded in communities. Its model is grounded in tikanga Māori and whānau-centred outcomes rather than transactional service delivery, and is led by Chair Merepeka Raukawa-Tait and CEO John Tamihere.

Core programmes include the Kaiārahi Programme (navigator-led goal-planning and outcomes support), Whānau Direct (grants of up to NZ$1,000 per whānau application for immediate needs), COVID-19 Rapid Response (240,000+ care packages distributed to 138,000 whānau, 40+ mobile clinics), the COVID-19 Vaccination Campaign (844,214 vaccinations administered across 200 sites, with 28.6% to Māori), and the 'Rep My Suburb' Census campaign (39,000 completed forms in three weeks at $8.43 per completion). Supporting infrastructure comprises Social Return on Investment (SROI) measurement accredited by Social Value Aotearoa, an annual Whānau Survey, and the Level Six Diploma in Whānau Ora delivered with WaiTech (over 600 kaimahi graduates since 1987). The agency also led the Māori Inquiry into Oranga Tamariki (engaging over 1,000 whānau) in partnership with Te Pūtahitanga o Te Waipounamu.

The business model is a publicly-funded commissioning intermediary: the agency receives government contracts and distributes funding to provider partners who deliver frontline services to whānau. It is not a technology company and has no proprietary software products, APIs, AI/ML capabilities, or commercial pricing structures; services are publicly funded and Free to the end whānau. Reported impact metrics are substantial — 4 million+ whānau supported over ten years, with 540k directly impacted — and the agency has earned international recognition (2025 SDG Award via the United Nations Office for Partnerships; Gold in Cultural Impact at ONE Asia Awards). Revenue is not publicly disclosed. The agency faces material near-term uncertainty following the current New Zealand government's decision to discontinue the Whānau Ora contract, and leadership has signalled an explicit pivot toward 're-indigenisation and transformation.'

Name

Whanau Ora Commissioning Agency

Legal name

Whānau Ora Commissioning Agency

Website

https://whanauora.nz

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Whānau Ora Commissioning Agency is a non-profit, Māori-led commissioning agency in Aotearoa New Zealand that channels public funding through 100+ provider partners to deliver integrated wellbeing, health, and social services for Māori whānau across six North Island regions.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Māori Social Services Commissioning

NAICS

Social Advocacy Organizations (8133), Administration of Public Health Programs (923120)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Tribal/Indigenous Public Health Authorities (HLAJAAAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Indigenous/Tribal Education Authorities & Boards (EDADABAM), Stakeholder Engagement, Indigenous/Tribal Consultation & Social Impact (SIA) (EUAHAAAH)

Keywords

• Māori social services
• Whānau wellbeing commissioning
• Community case management
• Kaupapa Māori programmes
• Social return on investment

Headquarters

HQ city

Auckland

HQ country

New Zealand

HQ region

Oceania

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Pricing tiers

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Whānau Ora Commissioning Agency is a non-profit commissioning body that distributes government funding to a network of 100+ provider partners across the North Island of New Zealand to deliver kaupapa Māori (Māori-led) wellbeing programmes for whānau (families). Core offerings include the Kaiārahi Programme (deploying navigators who walk alongside whānau to set and achieve goals), Whānau Direct grants of up to $1,000 per application to meet immediate needs, and policy/advocacy initiatives including the Māori Inquiry into Oranga Tamariki.

Product overview

Whānau Ora Commissioning Agency operates as a commissioning body rather than a traditional software product company. Its portfolio consists of outcome-focused programmes and initiatives built around the Whānau Ora philosophy—a kaupapa Māori approach to whānau wellbeing. Core programmes include the Kaiarahi Programme (deploying navigators to support whānau goal achievement), Whānau Direct (immediate needs grants up to $1,000), the COVID-19 Rapid Response and Vaccination initiatives, and the 'Rep My Suburb' Census campaign. Supporting infrastructure includes Social Return on Investment measurement tools, an annual Whānau Survey for outcome tracking, and the Diploma in Whānau Ora education programme delivered in partnership with WaiTech. The Māori Inquiry into Oranga Tamariki represents a policy advocacy initiative. These programmes collectively form a whānau-centred commissioning ecosystem designed to create sustainable, meaningful change through relationship-based support rather than traditional service delivery.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Kaiārahi Programme
• Whānau Direct
• COVID-19 Rapid Response
• COVID-19 Vaccination Campaign
• CENSUS 'Rep My Suburb' Campaign
• Diploma in Whānau Ora
• Ko Te Wā Whakawhiti - Māori Inquiry into Oranga Tamariki
• Social Return on Investment (SROI) Measurement
• Whānau Survey

Quantifiable outcome

• 4 million+ whānau supported over 10+ years
• +4 more outcomes

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Te Pūtahitanga o Te WaipounamucoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe South Island Commissioning Agency that partnered with Whānau Ora Commissioning Agency (Te Pou Matakana) to jointly commission the Māori Inquiry into Oranga Tamariki in 2019.
• WaiTechcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWaiTech has been delivering the Diploma in Whānau Ora since 1987, building a workforce of over 600 kaimahi graduates who work within the Whānau Ora network.
• Tui Ora LtdcoreOthersProvider partner in Taranaki, New Zealand. Five students from Tui Ora graduated with the Level Six New Zealand Diploma in Māori Health in 2023/2024.
• Te Whānau o WaipareiracoreOthersProvider partner in Tāmaki Makaurau (Auckland), New Zealand. Three students from this organisation graduated with the Level Six New Zealand Diploma in Māori Health in 2023/2024.
• Te Runanga o Te WhānaucoreOthersProvider partner in New Zealand. One student from this organisation graduated with the Level Six New Zealand Diploma in Māori Health in 2023/2024.
• Motion SicknessminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCreative agency partner that collaborated with Whānau Ora on a digitised campaign celebrating Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori 2024, featuring live technology on billboards across Aotearoa.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Pasifika Futures: Pasifika commissioning agency in Aotearoa, working alongside Whānau Ora to deliver whānau-centred wellbeing outcomes. Mirrors the WOCA model of government-funded, community-led commissioning for an indigenous/Pasifika population.
• Tui Ora Ltd: Taranaki-based whānau ora provider in WOCA's network. Delivers integrated health and social services to Māori whānau under the same commissioning framework; graduates from Tui Ora have completed the Level Six NZ Diploma in Māori Health.
• Te Whānau o Waipareira: Auckland-based whānau services provider in WOCA's Tāmaki Makaurau region. Delivers integrated health, education, and social services for Māori whānau and is a graduate source of the Diploma in Whānau Ora — directly comparable in service mix and target population.
• Te Pūtahitanga o Te Waipounamu: South Island Whānau Ora Commissioning Agency. Operates the same kaupapa Māori commissioning model as WOCA, but for Te Waipounamu; the two agencies jointly commissioned the Māori Inquiry into Oranga Tamariki in 2019, evidencing structural and operational equivalence.

Others

• WaiTech: Education and training provider that has delivered the Diploma in Whānau Ora since 1987, producing 600+ kaimahi graduates for the WOCA network. Functions as WOCA's primary workforce pipeline supplier rather than a service-delivery competitor.

Broad incumbents

• Te Puni Kōkiri (Ministry of Māori Development): New Zealand government ministry that advises on Māori development policy and allocates funding to Māori initiatives. Operates in the same policy space as WOCA but as a Crown agency with a national and broader developmental mandate.
• Ngāi Tahu: Te Waipounamu-based iwi with a substantial social services, health, education, and cultural revitalisation portfolio. Operates a broader iwi-driven wellbeing strategy than WOCA, with significant asset base, and is the iwi-level counterpart to WOCA's commissioning function.
• Ministry of Social Development (MSD): New Zealand government ministry responsible for social welfare, employment, and housing support. WOCA's commissioning function is partly substitutive of MSD's role for Māori whānau; comparable in service scope (welfare, case management) but as a mainstream Crown provider.

Regional players

• National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (NACCHO): Australian peak body for Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations. Mirrors WOCA's role as a commissioning/aggregator for indigenous health and wellbeing services, but at a national scale and in a different (Australian) policy environment.
• First Nations Health Authority (Canada): Canadian indigenous-led health authority responsible for planning, designing, managing, and funding health programmes for First Nations in BC. Direct international analogue to WOCA's indigenous public health commissioning function under a different national framework.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/WhanauOraAgency
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCI3GxSQ4-6wxDoUle9TJe-w
• Facebookfacebook.com/WhanauOraCommissioning
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/whanau-ora-commissioning-agency

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Whanau Ora Commissioning Agency