AUTHOR=Lockett Helen , Elwin Warren , Williams Robert 
  
TITLE=From promise to practice: the growth and future of individual placement and support employment support in Aotearoa New Zealand
  
JOURNAL=Public Health Reviews
  
VOLUME=Volume 47 - 2026
  
YEAR=2026
  
URL=https://www.ssph-journal.org/journals/public-health-reviews/articles/10.3389/phrs.2026.1609475
  
DOI=10.3389/phrs.2026.1609475
  
ISSN=2107-6952
  
ABSTRACT=BackgroundThis policy brief examines Individual Placement and Support (IPS) in Aotearoa New Zealand since 2019, within wider health, welfare, and labour market settings.AnalysisUsing a macro (policy, funding), meso (organisational and services) and micro (practitioner level) framework, IPS availability and implementation quality are examined. The IPS workforce has doubled in 5 years to 113 full-time equivalent employment specialists across 13 of 19 health districts. However, service quality, as measured by fidelity score is variable, and access is uneven.Policy optionsIPS already exists, the workforce and implementation infrastructure exists, and outcomes have been demonstrated. New Zealand has solved the effectiveness problem, but not the authorisation one. Clear accountability for investing in evidence-based employment services for people in contact with specialist mental health and addiction services is needed from government agencies. Drawing on research, fidelity reviews, and national policy, recommendations are made to support equitable scale-up.ConclusionIPS employment support is simultaneously an employment and a mental health intervention, as well as a mechanism to address systemic inequities. There is ample, robust evidence that IPS works in New Zealand. What is needed is a system that is accountable for delivering it at scale.