Police watchdog concedes violence against mental health workers ‘serious’ but too underfunded to investigate – PSA

The PSA is appalled that the IPCA doesn’t have the resources to investigate the policy of Police withdrawing from supporting mental health workers which is now being phased out.

The PSA laid an official complaint with the Independent Police Conduct Authority (IPCA) last month after Police failed to assist mental health workers who were assaulted by a distressed patient. It also requested a wider review into the consequences of the Police’s phased withdrawal from supporting mental health workers.

In its response to the PSA (attached) the IPCA concedes that violence and assaults against mental health workers are a “significant concern” – but states that it does not have the resources to investigate the Police Mental Health Change Response Programme.

The Authority says it currently has a “high volume” of complaints and that it may be some time before it can assess the mental health workers’ complaints about the incident which took place on 21 November 2025.

“This is extraordinary. A critical public watchdog is admitting a serious safety crisis exists but lacks resources to investigate it. That’s a damning indictment of Government funding priorities for independent oversight,” said Fleur Fitzsimons, National Secretary for the Public Service Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi.

The Government has been warned of the funding pressures by the Authority in recent annual reports and in its Briefing to Incoming Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith in December 2023. It advised him then that ‘our current funding allows us to operate at the minimum viable level’, stating that cash reserves would run out in late 2025.

The IPCA also has the clear authority, under Section 12 of the Independent Police Conduct Authority Act 1988 to carry out investigations into ‘any Police practice, policy or procedure’ related to the complaint.

“Mental health workers are being left exposed to increasing violence and the very Authority that should be investigating the policy doesn’t have the resources to do its job. That’s deeply alarming.”

“This comes at a time when public confidence in Police is dropping, making independent oversight more important than ever.

“For democracy to function, the Government needs to properly fund the watchdogs that hold agencies to account, especially in the face of widespread cuts to public services which have consequences like this.

“If the IPCA can’t investigate threats to worker safety because of funding constraints, what else is being ignored? What other critical issues are falling through the cracks because oversight bodies are stretched too thin?

“This is part of a disturbing pattern. We know for a fact that the Privacy Commissioner is overwhelmed with complaints and has been starved of funding despite repeated warnings to the Government over the last few years.

“We call on the Government and Police to shelve plans for Police withdrawal from mental health support before it’s too late and more workers are assaulted or an avoidable tragedy occurs.

“The failure to provide Police support to mental health workers on 21 November should be urgently investigated.”

The IPCA has assigned the specific complaint in relation to the assaults on workers to a caseholder for assessment.

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The Public Service Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi is Aotearoa New Zealand’s largest trade union, representing and supporting more than 95,000 workers across central government, state-owned enterprises, local councils, health boards and community groups.