About us

Who we are

We’re a small government agency with a big reach across the social system. We take a broad view, looking at issues that New Zealanders face but don’t fit neatly into the work of a single agency. This allows us to get actionable insights to decision-makers, and ensure that real people – whānau and communities – are involved in and benefit from the work we do. Ultimately, we want to achieve sustainable improvements for the wellbeing of New Zealanders.

How we do what we do

We use a broad and inclusive set of wellbeing measures that tell us whether people are leading full, meaningful lives. We create tools and practices to target gaps in the social sector’s knowledge. We partner with the social sector, combining science, data and lived experience to draw insights that are enriched by whānau voices.

Who we’re working with and for

We support the sector’s capability to utilise insights by creating tools and practices that stimulate innovation. We work with decision-makers to take insights and apply them. Ultimately, we want our approaches to achieve sustainable improvements for the wellbeing of New Zealanders.

We report to the Minister for Social Development – Hon Carmel Sepuloni(external link) – who agrees the Agency's work programme in consultation with the Social Wellbeing Board of social sector chief executives.

Learn what a social wellbeing approach looks like in practice. Read our case study Towards better social sector decision making and practice: a social wellbeing approach [PDF, 2.2 MB].

Our history

Formerly the Social Investment Agency, we became the Social Wellbeing Agency on 19 March 2020. Read the Minister's press release(external link).

We are a Departmental Agency hosted within the State Services Commission.

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