Te Kāhui Hauora was established under the Pae Ora (Healthy Futures) Act 2022, which gave Iwi-Māori Partnership Boards a broad statutory role. This included engaging with whānau and hapū, evaluating the state of hauora Māori, determining priorities for improvement, working directly with Health New Zealand on those priorities, monitoring health sector performance, and reporting back to Māori.

In July 2026, the Healthy Futures (Pae Ora) Amendment Act 2026 significantly reduced the statutory functions of IMPBs. Sections 29 and 30 were replaced, removing a number of the specific functions and responsibilities originally given to IMPBs under the Act.

Section 29 of the current Healthy Futures (Pae Ora) Act 2022 now sets out the purpose of IMPBs as representing the local perspectives of Māori communities on health outcomes, based on their needs and aspirations.

Section 30 now sets out two statutory functions:

• engage with local Māori communities about their health needs, aspirations and health outcomes; and
• communicate the results and insights from that engagement to the Hauora Māori Advisory Committee.

Manatū Hauora | Ministry of Health’s Hauora Māori Advisory Committee (HMAC) publishes regular monitoring reports for its nine population priorities for Māori health. These reports provide insights on system performance and population health trends.