Te Rau Matatini

Te Rau Matatini
Name	Te Rau Matatini
Formation	1996
Type	Non-governmental organisation
Location	Aotearoa New Zealand
Focus	Māori public health, kaumātua care, whānau well-being

Te Rau Matatini is a national Māori health and workforce development organisation based in Aotearoa New Zealand that focuses on hauora Māori and kaimahi capacity-building across kaupapa Māori health services. It operates as an intermediary between iwi, hapū, marae-based providers, and national policy bodies, delivering workforce training, strategic leadership, and sector development for kaumātua, rongoā practitioners, and whānau-centred services. Te Rau Matatini engages with tangata whenua health providers, tertiary education institutions, and government commissioning agencies to strengthen culturally-responsive practice and improve health outcomes for Māori.

History

Te Rau Matatini formed amid sector reforms in the 1990s that reconfigured health commissioning and community provision, following precedents set by initiatives such as the Waitangi Tribunal claims processes and the restructuring associated with the Health and Disability Commission Act 1994. Its establishment responded to advocacy by iwi leaders, kaumatua, and Māori health providers including Ngāi Tahu, Ngāti Porou, and tribal health entities that sought an organisation to coordinate kaupapa Māori workforce development alongside entities like NZ Māori Council and Māori Women's Welfare League. During the 2000s Te Rau Matatini collaborated with the Ministry of Health (New Zealand), district health boards such as Auckland District Health Board, and tertiary providers including Te Wānanga o Aotearoa and Massey University to develop national competency frameworks. The organisation has since evolved through partnerships with research bodies like Te Kupenga Hauora Māori and policy actors including Health Workforce New Zealand and participated in national responses to public health challenges alongside agencies such as Ministry for Pacific Peoples and the New Zealand Public Health Association.

Mission and Governance

Te Rau Matatini's mission centers on building a sustainable Māori health workforce and enabling whānau-centred hauora through culturally-grounded leadership and practice, aligned with aspirations advanced by groups like He Korowai Oranga and frameworks endorsed by Whānau Ora. Governance structures reflect Māori tikanga and include representatives drawn from iwi, kaumātua, and sector experts comparable to governance models used by Te Puni Kōkiri and tribal trusts such as Ngāruahine. Executive leadership collaborates with advisory panels that include academics from institutions like University of Otago, University of Auckland, and Victoria University of Wellington as well as practitioner leaders linked to organisations such as Katoa Ltd and Whānau Ora Commissioning Agencies. The board balances statutory compliance with funders including the Ministry of Health (New Zealand) and philanthropic trustees akin to Rātā Foundation while embedding tikanga Māori decision-making.

Programs and Services

Programmes delivered by Te Rau Matatini include national workforce planning, tikanga-based clinical training, kaumātua support initiatives, and rongoā education aligned with providers such as Ngā Manukura o Aotearoa and education partners like Te Wananga o Aotearoa. Services span accreditation support for Māori health providers, capability development for kaumātua services similar to models from Age Concern New Zealand, and resources for hauora kaupapa coordinated with networks such as Māori Health Providers Coalition. National initiatives have included competency development frameworks, workforce registries, and culturally-adapted clinical guidelines used by Māori-led providers in regions including Northland, Waikato, and Tairāwhiti.

Training and Workforce Development

Te Rau Matatini has produced curricula and training modules for whare wānanga and polytechnics, working with organisations like Te Wānanga o Raukawa, Ara Institute of Canterbury, and Toi Ohomai Institute of Technology to embed Māori models of care into kaiāwhina and nursing pathways. It has supported qualification pathways consistent with standards from New Zealand Qualifications Authority and workforce planning informed by analytics similar to reports from Health Workforce New Zealand. Initiatives include leadership development for kaumātua managers, mentoring for Māori clinicians, and career-lattice programmes that link diploma and degree pathways used by iwi-run health services and primary care providers across urban and rural rohe.

Partnerships and Collaborations

Te Rau Matatini collaborates with a wide array of partners including government agencies such as Ministry of Health (New Zealand) and Te Puni Kōkiri, tertiary institutions such as University of Auckland and Massey University, iwi authorities like Tūhoe, and service networks including Māori Health Providers Coalition. It engages in research partnerships with entities like Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga and Health Research Council of New Zealand-funded projects, and aligns workforce initiatives with national programmes run by organisations such as Pharmac (New Zealand) and district health boards including Canterbury District Health Board.

Impact and Outcomes

Measured outcomes include increases in the number of Māori-qualified kaimahi across primary care and kaumātua services, reported improvements in culturally-safe practice among providers in regions such as Rotorua and South Auckland, and strengthened governance capacity among iwi health trusts. Impact assessments draw on indicators used in national strategy documents like Whānau Ora and evaluation methodologies similar to those applied by Te Puni Kōkiri and academic evaluation teams from University of Otago. Case studies highlight enhanced service reach in rural rohe, greater Māori leadership in commissioning, and integration of rongoā and kaupapa Māori approaches into mainstream primary care.

Funding and Resources

Funding streams for Te Rau Matatini include contracts and grants from the Ministry of Health (New Zealand), project funding from philanthropic bodies analogous to Lotteries New Zealand and Rātā Foundation, and commissioned research support from agencies like Health Research Council of New Zealand. Resource mobilisation also involves collaboration with iwi development entities such as Whakatōhea Trust and capacity-building funds channelled through regional development organisations. Financial stewardship is overseen by a board that reports to funders and stakeholders, while resource allocation prioritises workforce scholarships, kaumātua service contracts, and capability-building investments for Māori health providers.

Category:Health organisations based in New Zealand Category:Māori organisations