The Waitangi Tribunal

On Friday 25 September 2026, the Tribunal released Hautupua: Te Aka Whai Ora (Maaori Health Authority) Priority Report, Part 2 in pre-publication format. The stage 1 report on the disestablishment of Te Aka Whai Ora/the Maaori Health Authority was released in November 2024. This stage of the priority inquiry addressed claims concerning the Crown’s alternative plans to Maaori health in lieu of a Maaori health authority. The Tribunal panel for this inquiry consisted of Judge Stone (presiding), Professor Susy Frankel (who resigned as a Tribunal Member on 15 September 2025 and completed these proceedings per clause 1 of schedule 2 to the Treaty of Waitangi Act 1975), Professor Tom Roa, Professor Linda Tuhiwai Smith, and Tania Simpson.

The Healthy Futures (Pae Ora) Amendment Bill was introduced to the House on 2 July 2025, two days before the stage 2 hearing process concluded. This prevented the Tribunal from reporting, as its jurisdiction was removed. The Healthy Futures (Pae Ora) Amendment Act was enacted 12 months later, on 10 July 2026, and the Tribunal then issued its report.

The stage 2 report addressed two issues:

• whether the Crown’s process in developing plans to address Maaori health in lieu of a Maaori health authority is consistent with te Tiriti o Waitangi and its principles; and
• whether the Crown’s alternative plans to address Maaori health in lieu of a Maaori health authority are consistent with te Tiriti o Waitangi and its principles.

After assessing the evidence presented from parties, the Tribunal found breaches of te Tiriti/the Treaty principles of tino rangatiratanga, kaawanatanga and good government, partnership – including the duty of consultation – active protection, equity, and options.

The Tribunal’s findings on process included that the Crown did not discharge its duty to adequately inform Maaori when developing an alternative plan. The Crown also failed to undertake meaningful consultation with Maaori that honoured te Tiriti/the Treaty. The Crown failed to recognise and respect the right of Maaori to self-determine what is best for them in respect of Maaori health and failed to properly engage with, and inform, Maaori of potential changes to two key elements that formed part of its alternative plan: the Hauora Maaori Strategy and the Pae Ora (Disestablishment of Maaori Health Authority) Amendment Act 2024. This fell well short of a Tiriti/Treaty consistent process.

The Tribunal found that the Crown’s alternative plans breached Tiriti/Treaty principles in a number of ways. The Crown failed to take any meaningful action towards Maaori health equity and failed to produce any clear alternative plan for Maaori health in a timely manner. The Crown failed in its duty to follow its own laws, rules, and standards by reviewing Te Aka Whai Ora only 10 months after its establishment, whilst announcing that it must wait longer than a year to review other system-wide changes within the health sector. This signalled a double standard. The Tribunal found that the Crown failed in its duty to consult with Maaori, consequently dismissing Tiriti/Treaty-based governance duties and making changes to Maaori health with minimal cultural responsiveness and a lack of Maaori input across all levels.

Overall, the Tribunal found that Maaori have suffered and will continue to suffer a range of short- and long-term prejudicial effects as a result of these breaches.

To give effect to Treaty principles, the Tribunal recommends that the Crown:

• commit to revisiting the option of a stand-alone Maaori health authority;

• consult extensively with Maaori and make informed decisions on matters concerning Maaori health; and

• base all decision-making concerning Maaori health and, in particular, measures to address long-standing Maaori inequities, on robust evidence and scientific knowledge.

On 16 September 2026, the Waitangi Tribunal released a pre-publication copy of Hūtia te Rito o te Harakeke, kei Hea te Kōmako e Kō? The Stage Two, Part I Report of the Education and Training Amendment Act and Te Mātaiaho Urgent Inquiry.

The Tribunal’s stage two, part I report concerns the Crown’s reform of Aotearoa New Zealand’s national curriculum, comprising both Te Marautanga o Aotearoa and the New Zealand Curriculum. This report follows the Tribunal’s stage one interim report concerning proposed changes to treaty provisions in the Education and Training Act 2020, released in May 2026, and precedes the forthcoming stage two, part II report addressing the removal of school boards’ Treaty obligations, formerly contained in section 127(1)(d) of the Education and Training Act 2020.

The Tribunal panel was comprised of Judge Rachel Mullins, Gerrard Albert, Derek Fox, Dr Paul Hamer, and Kevin Prime. The claimants, Te Kapotai and Ngāti Hine, first applied for urgency on 19 November 2025. On 3 December 2025, a further application for urgency was received from the kaimahi Māori of Te Riu Roa/New Zealand Educational Institute. The Crown opposed urgency.

On 2 March 2026, the Tribunal granted the claims urgency and, on 15 and 17 April 2026, the claims were heard. On the last day of hearing, following a judicial conference, the parties submitted a revised statement of issues which expanded the inquiry’s scope to include the proposed Education and Training Act 2020 reforms addressed in the stage one interim report. The revised statement of issues also replaced the heading ‘New Zealand Curriculum – Te Mātaiaho’ with the ‘National Curriculum’, thereby expanding the inquiry’s scope to incorporate Te Marautanga o Aotearoa, the curriculum designed for use in Māori-medium and kaupapa Māori settings. On 28 April 2026, the Tribunal heard oral closing submissions.

On 21 April 2026, Judge Mullins confirmed the Tribunal would report in two stages, with stage one addressing broader proposed changes to the Education and Training Act 2020 under the treaty clause review and stage two addressing the removal of section 127(1)(d) and the national curriculum. After receiving written closing submissions, the Tribunal issued its stage one interim report on 24 May 2026.

In this, its stage two, part I report, the Tribunal found that the Crown, through its actions related to developing a ‘knowledge-rich curriculum’ informed by the ‘science of learning’, breached a number of Treaty principles. Specifically, it found that the Crown:

• breached the principle of partnership through its lack of meaningful engagement and consensus-building with Māori about the new draft national curriculum and its failure to fulfil its obligations under the Kawa Whakapūmau with Ngā Kura ā Iwi;
• breached the principle of active protection by moving ahead with a knowledge-rich approach in the absence of evidence that it will reduce Māori inequities, in the face of opposition from Māori and the wider sector, with an apparent lack of engagement with the findings of the Huia Kaimanawa report, and in the context of its heightened duty to act in a protective manner in the compulsory schooling sector, where known inequities exist;
• breached its duty of active protection of te reo, tikanga, and mātauranga Māori by reducing emphasis on them (in a context in which section 127(1)(d) of the Education and Training Act 2020 had also been removed) and simultaneously inhibiting teachers’ capacity to meaningfully incorporate content from te ao Māori given the volume of prescribed content and mandatory teaching times for reading, writing, and mathematics;
• breached its duty of active protection of tikanga and mātauranga Māori by sidelining the Te Tīrewa Marautanga framework in favour of the same knowledge-rich design principles (except one) as underpinned the New Zealand Curriculum;
• breached the principle of partnership by failing to sufficiently consider the aspirations and priorities that whānau, hapū, and iwi have for their uri in Māori-medium and kaupapa Māori settings in its redesign of Te Marautanga o Aotearoa;
• breached the principle of equity through its lack of active protection and relative disregard for Māori voices; and
• breached the principle of good government in officials’ apparent failure to make any robust assessment of the applicability of the philosophy behind knowledge rich to New Zealand circumstances (and to Māori in particular), in officials’ corresponding reinforcement of the Minister’s predetermined position, and by the Crown’s apparent lack of consideration of existing successful Māori education models.

The Tribunal recommended that the Crown recommit to working in partnership with Māori in education and return to working with Māori on designing a truly indigenous Māori-medium and kaupapa Māori curriculum through Te Marautanga o Aotearoa. The Tribunal further provided the Crown with a list of features that it recommended should characterise the Crown’s renewed commitment to partnership. The Tribunal concluded that partnership was essential if the Crown were to correct its course and achieve equitable outcomes for ākonga Māori.

On Thursday 3 September 2026, the Waitangi Tribunal released Hauwhaikaha: The Disability System Report in pre-publication format for stage two phase one (disability phase) of the Health Services and Outcomes Kaupapa Inquiry (Wai 2575). This report is the outcome of the Waitangi Tribunal inquiry into the Aotearoa New Zealand disability system, taking into account countless hours of lived experience, research, personal stories, evidence gathering and detailed analysis. In total, 48 claimants and 13 interested parties participated in the inquiry with 11 hearing weeks held between 2022 and 2024.

Ensuring the participation of taangata whaikaha Maaori claimants, the proceedings in the inquiry were governed by a set of guidelines, developed collaboratively with the relevant parties. These included, for example, having New Zealand Sign Language interpreters available during all the hearings and using double vowels instead of macrons in written material.

In accordance with the accessibility protocol, plain-language summaries of the report were produced in five alternate formats: audio, Braille, Easy Read, large print, and New Zealand Sign Language. This makes the report more accessible to those most affected by it.

Maaori have a significantly higher prevalence of disability than non-Maaori. Additionally, throughout this inquiry, the Tribunal heard evidence regarding inequitable health outcomes for taangata whaikaha Maaori. The claimants alleged that the overrepresentation of Maaori within the disability population stems from inequitable health outcomes that Maaori experience generally, including inequitable access to health services and poorer health outcomes. The report explores whether the persistent inequitable health outcomes suffered by taangata whaikaha Maaori are indicators of Tiriti/Treaty breach. In doing so, the Tribunal canvassed various structural aspects of the disability system, from the collection of disability data to decision-making design, and then assessed those structural aspects for Tiriti/Treaty compliance.

The Crown agreed that there was a higher proportion of unmet need among taangata whaikaha Maaori and that taangata whaikaha Maaori are frequently marginalised within the health and disability system. Notwithstanding the apparent over-representation of Maaori within the disability population, the evidence suggests that there is inequitable access in the uptake of disability support services by taangata whaikaha Maaori due to systemic access barriers. The claimants alleged that the Crown has failed to address the barriers in the disability system and reduce adverse health disparities. Some claimants shared their lived experience of a daily struggle to attain health and wellbeing outcomes in the current disability system. Taangata whaikaha Maaori consistently said that the disability system is fragmented, complex and difficult to navigate.

Essentially, the claimants are asking to be heard and seen within the disability system with the call: ‘nothing about us, without us’. Taangata whaikaha Maaori expressed the need for the Crown to genuinely partner with them in the design, delivery and monitoring of the disability system. The claimants contended that they have consistently called for increased representation of taangata whaikaha Maaori in the disability system and have requested formal partnership mechanisms with the Crown. They advocated strongly for adequate representation of taangata whaikaha Maaori across all levels of the disability system.

The Tribunal found that the Crown has prejudiced taangata whaikaha Maaori in several ways.

The Crown has historically failed to partner with taangata whaikaha Maaori in the design of the disability system, including the services that are available to them, and the formulation of disability-related policy, strategies and action plans. The Tribunal found that the Crown has not managed the disability system in a way that adequately supports and resources taangata whaikaha Maaori to formally participate in the design of the system, as well as at the decision-making level.

The Tribunal also found that, despite the Crown being aware of longstanding inequity, it has failed to sufficiently inform itself of how the disability system is performing in order to adequately address disparities. Moreover, the Tribunal observed that the Crown has not implemented nationally consistent data standards for Crown agencies, which means that taangata whaikaha Maaori health outcomes are not systematically and separately measured and reported on. Maaori and taangata whaikaha Maaori are at present unable to independently and formally scrutinise the performance of the Crown’s policy settings for the disability system or its compliance with te Tiriti/the Treaty.

Kaupapa Maaori providers are intrinsic to delivering culturally appropriate services to taangata whaikaha Maaori and sustaining hauroa Maaori. They are themselves expressions of tino rangatiratanga. The Tribunal found that kaupapa Maaori providers do not receive sufficient funding or support to deliver culturally appropriate services that meet the needs of taangata whaikaha Maaori. The Tribunal further found that taangata whaikaha Maaori and their whaanau face many funding-related barriers, affecting their ability to receive timely, quality and sustainable services of their choosing.

The Tribunal was repeatedly told that taangata whaikaha Maaori and their whaanau are disadvantaged by the gap in available disability services, as well as by experiences of racism and discrimination. Such access barriers are exacerbated for Maaori who live in rural areas, where scarcity of services often leads to further barriers, such as long travel distances and higher associated costs. Moreover, Maaori and taangata whaikaha Maaori are under-represented in the health and disability workforce, which affects the care received by taangata whaikaha Maaori and the cultural competency of services. The Tribunal found that the Crown’s delivery of training and professional development does not ensure disability staff are culturally competent and has resulted in too many cases of taangata whaikaha Maaori receiving culturally unsafe care.

The Tribunal found several breaches concerning claims relating to three specific roopuu: Kaapoo Maaori (Maaori who are blind, deafblind or vision-impaired or who have low vision), Taangata Turi (Maaori who are deaf or hard of hearing) and taangata whaikaha (Maaori with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder).

To give effect to Tiriti/Treaty principles, the Tribunal recommended that:

• the Crown establish viable partnership models in a process co-designed with taangata whaikaha Maaori;
• the Crown honour the Tiriti/Treaty principles of partnership and tino rangatiratanga by including taangata whaikaha Maaori in the design and delivery of the disability system; and
• the Crown ensure appropriate replacements for the monitoring role that Te Aka Whai Ora had under the Pae Ora (Healthy Futures) Act 2022 for the health and disability system (including the health services provided through prisons) to improve Maaori health outcomes, including for taangata whaikaha Maaori.

The Tribunal also made several recommendations regarding data, funding and accountability, as well as further specific recommendations in relation to Kaapoo Maaori, Taangata Turi and taangata whaikaha Maaori.