14 November 2025
Whānau Āwhina Plunket is delighted to have been awarded $220,400 from Heath New Zealand’s Mental Health and Addictions Innovation Fund to establish a free online perinatal mental health service in the Waikato region.
The new service builds on the success of Plunket’s long-established perinatal mental health services in Canterbury, South Canterbury and Dunedin, to deliver an easily accessible mental health service for whānau of pēpi and tamariki aged 0-5 years from February 2026.
“Our Plunket nurses, Kaiāwhina and community service teams see the growing need for mental health services for whānau with young children every day - and we want to help meet this need,” says Whānau Āwhina Plunket Chief Executive, Fiona Kingsford.
“This new service aims to identify mental health challenges early on and can make a real difference for parents, reducing the need for crisis-level support and high-cost interventions later in life,” she says.
Whānau will be able to access the service via PlunketLine, Plunket’s free 24/7 telephone advice service for parents, or by referral from their health professional.
The service will be led by an experienced and registered mental health professional alongside a multidisciplinary team of registered mental health professionals and support workers. They will provide health promotion, prevention, and early intervention support for those experiencing low to moderate levels of distress, depression or anxiety in the perinatal period.
“Plunket already successfully delivers free online specialist consultation services for whānau via PlunketLine and we know access is important, particularly for whānau facing barriers such as a disability, a lack of transport or living in an isolated area,” Fiona says.
Starting in the Waikato region means Plunket can test how we deliver this service across both urban and rural settings, for a diverse population, before expanding to other areas, she says.
“Health New Zealand requires all proposals to the Innovation Fund to be co-funded by non-government sources, and we are very grateful to both the Wright Family Foundation and the Masfen Foundation who have generously agreed to support this service.”
The new service is currently fully funded for one year. Whānau Āwhina Plunket is a charity and we rely on fundraising to provide vital wraparound support to whānau and tamariki. We would appreciate support from generous donors to continue this service for a second year. Please get in touch with philanthropy@plunket.org.nz if you would like more information.
Read more about Plunket’s work to support maternal mental health