Our mahi

Te Pai Ora SSPA advocates on behalf of our members for system-level changes that support the aspirations and outcomes of children and whānau, and which strengthen our community-based social services and social sector. We see change in these areas as interconnected. 

We ground this mahi in sound policy analysis, research and evidence. We are a bridge builder between government and the community, influencing and shaping policies, legislation and practices that advance the outcomes and rights of children and whānau, and which strengthen the sustainability of community-based social services.

We regularly consult with our members on important issues. We host member knowledge forums on relevant kaupapa, providing opportunities for members to gather the information they need, share what is important to them and connect with other members and experts. Find out about upcoming and past member hui and forums here.

Some of the key ways we undertake our policy and advocacy mahi are:

• drawing on our members experiences, insights and views by bringing our them together in forums on key kaupapa
• making submissions to parliamentary select committees, consultations and system-level reviews.
  
• representing members’ views to government ministers, key decision-makers and members of Parliament
• advisory to government on policy, legislation, planning and service design
• providing a community-based social sector voice on committees and consultation bodies, ensuring a focus on children, rangatahi, whānau and the community-based social service providers who serve them
• publishing thought-leadership papers on key kaupapa related to social services and whānau oranga
• speaking out publicly on kaupapa relating to our strategic priorities

Two major government changes reshaped the pay equity landscape in 2025: the Pay Equity Reset and the Equal Pay Amendment Act 2025. The legislation retrospectively cancelled 33 active claims, including the Social Service Workers pay equity claim (covering workers such as youth workers, family support workers and therapists). This reversed years of work towards achieving fair pay in the sector. Changes to pay equity criteria mean it is unlikely that a new claim for social service workers would succeed under the current legislation.

An earlier equal pay settlement, made with five community-based social work employers reached in 2022, and extended to other community-based social workers in 2023, has not been affected by these changes, other than amendments to review provisions.

Te Pai Ora SSPA continues to be a lead voice advocating for ay equity for providers and employers in our sector.

We offer a range of learning and development (L&D) opportunities throughout the year, which are responsive to what our members tell us they need and workforce development needs. 

These offers provide our members and others working across the community-based social sector with new knowledge and opportunities to learn. By participating in our L&D offers, kaimahi  can share their experience and maatauranga with fellow kaimahi, strengthening our collective workforce capability. You can find out more about our upcoming L&D offers on our Events page. 

Te Pai Ora SSPA annually hosts Whakamanawa – The National Social Services Conference. Our conference brings together all those working across our community-based social services and wider social sector to connect, learn and be inspired and strengthened. It is the only conference in Aotearoa to bring such a wide group of social sector kaimahi and leaders together.

Whakamanawa is a safe space of kaimahi to learn and share whakaaro on the latest developments in government policy, social service practice, workforce development and related kaupapa.

Whakamanawa 2026 will be held in Tāmaki Makaurau. Details about timing and venue are coming soon.

As a collective sector body for community-based social services, we provide sector leadership across a range of issues critical to the sustainability of the social sector. We ground our approach in a commitment to equity, family and whānau ora, and Te Tiriti o Waitangi. Our current sector leadership is focused on pay equity, social sector commissioning, holistic kaimahi hauora, workforce planning and development, and diversity and inclusion in community-based social services. We are also committed to raising a focus on climate justice and environmental sustainability as it relates to the mahi of social services and our communities intergenerationally. Recently we have actively demonstrated this commitment in our mahi relating to the flood and cylone response and recovery, working to tautoko our members and influence change.

Te Pai Ora SSPA participates in system-level, cross-agency and sector initiatives that are aligned to our strategic priorities. Currently, this includes mahi relating to child and youth wellbeing, family and sexual violence elimination, social sector commissioning, social sector workforce planning and development.

We also lead out on kaupapa of concern to our membership and which are sector-wide. Currently a focus is on pay equity – learn more below.

It’s been a tough few years for everyone, taking care of our own wellbeing could not be more important right now, and Te Pai Ora SSPA is committed to growing a movement of holistic hauora amongst social services kaimahi throughout Aotearoa New Zealand.

As a champion the holistic hauora of community-based social services kaimahi, in we 2022 ran the innaguaral Te Pai Ora SSPA Kaimahi Hauora Programme across the course of six weeks, grounded in Te Whare Tapa Whā and the Five Ways to Wellbeing. The Programme was created to give back to social services kaimahi across our community-based social sector, and was funded by Foundation North, Trust Waikato and Rāta Foundation, and run with the support of our friends at the Centre for Social Impact. Kaimahi who participated gained practical tools to use in their daily life and share with their hoamahi and whānau, and with hugely positive feedback from those who participated, we aim to continue to offer programmes with this focus.

Relationship Weaving

Te Pai Ora SSPA provides our members with access to a community of people and organisations doing similar work. We nourish the weaving of relationships at the local, regional and national levels, and tautoko initiatives that are collective, collaborative and community-led. We provide our members with whakawhanaungatanga opportunities, to hui together kanohi ki te kanohi and online.

We are currently working with members to build Communities of Practice and regional Te Pai Ora SSPA Networks, providing collective opportunities for our members in their communities, supporting regional connections and encouraging local collaboration and partnership across the social sector.

Our members are focused on the mahi they are doing every day alongside children and whānau. Our role is to support their work by providing them with timely, relevant information and by helping to share their stories of change, hope and impact.

We keep our members informed about sector news, events, research findings and policy changes through Te Whakahou (our weekly e-pānui), special member alert emails, hui and social media. We also publish a biannual magazine, Kia Mauri Ora, showcasing mahi across our social services and wider social sector. 

Kia Mauri Ora

Kia Mauri Ora focuses on social service practice and shares stories of practice, research and maatauranga to inspire, alongside updates on key developments across the community and government social sector. Kia Mauri Ora is the only publication of its kind in Aotearoa New Zealand. An editorial board of highly respected practitioners and academics supports the magazine’s publication.