51716 (2024). Ingrid Leary to the Minister for Mental Health

51716 (2024). Ingrid Leary to the Minister for Mental Health: Does he agree with OutLine Aotearoa chief executive Emmaline Pickering-Martin, that community services applying to the government's $10 million mental health fund, require an external audit of the proposed project (to prove positive social return on investment) and there are few experts who can undertake that kind of audit in New Zealand, and they come at a price that is unaffordable for many in the mental health sector; if so, what, if anything, will he do to address this?

Hon Matt Doocey: I am advised that the Request for Proposals for the Mental Health and Addiction Community Sector Innovation Fund does not specify which organisations can undertake the evaluation of return on social investment. Organisations who want to submit a proposal are free to choose who they ask to undertake the evaluation.