Ensuring Aotearoa’s social services are sustainable, making a positive impact every day
As the national membership-based organisation open to all community-based social service providers, we champion what our members need to work effectively alongside children, rangatahi and whānau in their communities and rōhe. We take an intergenerational view, focusing on the aspirations of families and whānau and what they need to thrive now and into the future.
Our name, Social Service Providers Te Pai Ora o Aotearoa reflects our whakapapa as an organisation, the essence of our mahi over the past 20 years and more, and the aspirations we hold for the people of our country. Learn more about our history, name and visual identity here.
We’re all about strengthening Aotearoa New Zealand’s social sector.
Our mission
Our members are changemakers in their communities and hapori. We tautoko our members to work collectively and collaboratively in their communities and rōhe. We represent them nationally, championing what they need to be sustainable and effective, and we advocate for change on the issues that matter in the lives of the people they serve. We ensure their experiences and whakaaro influence laws, policies and practices.
How we do it
We listen with care to our members, advocating for them and the aspirations and positive outcomes of the children, rangatahi and whānau who they work alongside everyday. We acknowledge Te Tiriti o Waitangi as a founding document of Aotearoa New Zealand, and are committed to whānau Māori outcomes that are equitable and fulfil Te Tiriti o Waitangi. We are a values-led organisation, seeking every day to be relationship-centred, to whakamana, focus on whanake and demonstrate māia and auaha.
Our team is based in Te Whanganui-a-Tara, supported by our National Executive members around the motu.
Our team focuses on serving our members, and working effectively with our partners and stakeholders. Our National Executive members are elected from our member organisations. We collaborate and team up with others to make a bigger difference where we can. We are a member of ComVoices and a partner organisation of the Kempe Center’s annual international conference. We provide sector representation on system-level projects and initiatives, to shape change.
Our members are changemakers in their communities and hapori.
Our Full Members are organisations funded by government to deliver social services in our communities every day. Most have a strong focus on working alongside children, rangatahi and whānau. Our members include Iwi and Kaupapa Māori social services, Pacific providers, region-specific and national providers. Our Affiliate members are organisations and individuals working in areas aligned to our kaupapa.
A common thread amongst our members is their commitment to the aspirations and outcomes of children, rangatahi and whānau, grounded in relationships in their local communities and hapori.
We are proud of the often life-changing mahi Te Pai Ora SSPA members do every day, providing professional and skilled manaaki to the people they walk alongside, through the tough realities of life for families and whānau around the motu.
We’ve been championing Aotearoa New Zealand’s social services for over 20 years.
Our organisation was built by our members, and today we continue that collective tradition. Our name reflects our organisation’s whakapapa, the essence of our mahi over 20+ years, and the aspirations we hold for the people of our country. Our rerenga kōrero, Te Pai Ora o Aotearoa, was gifted to us by Ngāti Toa Rangatira, meaning ‘to improve the wellbeing of all in Aotearoa’.