# Ministry of Health — Aged Care Ministerial Advisory Group: Terms of Reference (December 2025)

Document ID: doc-0084

Publisher: Ministry of Health

Catalogue publication/document date: December 2025

Physical PDF pages: 5

Original capture/access label: June 2026

Original and primary sources reviewed: 9 October 2026

[Preserved bundled original](/pdfs/2025-12%20-%20MoH%20-%20Aged%20Care%20Ministerial%20Advisory%20Group%20Terms%20of%20Reference.pdf)

[Primary publisher source](https://www.health.govt.nz/system/files/2025-12/aged-care-ministerial-advisory-group-terms-of-reference-december-2025.pdf)

## What the document contributes

These five-page terms define the independent Aged Care Ministerial Advisory Group’s remit across home/community support and aged residential care, including respite and transitional services. They ask for advice on sustainable service supply, cost sharing, means-testing thresholds, contracting and regulatory barriers, with attention to rural provision and integration. They exclude Budget advice and broader NZ Super or benefit changes. The terms set deadlines for drafts and final recommendations to Ministers, which are distinct from public release. The later report, A Place to Grow Old, was published on 17 August 2026; the terms themselves establish an advisory mandate and governance rules rather than enacted reform.

## Substantive findings

- The December 2025 terms comprise five physical pages. The bundled PDF exactly matches the official download and the earlier mag-tor-2025 research fixture.

- The Group’s scope is home and community support services and aged residential care, including respite/transitional care. It provides independent advice to the Minister of Health and the Associate Minister responsible for aged care (pp. 1–2).

- Advice is sought on sustainable funding components, standard aged-care bed supply, rural/remote provision, service sufficiency and innovation while maintaining quality standards (p. 1).

- The remit includes sharing costs between individuals and government, means tests/asset thresholds, contracting/regulatory barriers, in-between travel and cohesion with wider health/disability services (p. 2).

- Out of scope are Budget advice, workforce requirements/training/accreditation, changes to NZ Super/benefits or other assistance outside aged care, and standalone disability services except for integration (p. 2).

- The terms specify work starting by 31 January 2026, a draft to Ministers by 17 April, final recommendations to Ministers by 31 May and work concluding by 30 June. These are delivery milestones, not public-release dates or proof of actual delivery (p. 2).

- Members serve for expertise rather than as organisational representatives; conflicts must be declared and proceedings/advice are subject to the Official Information Act. The subsequent advisory report was publicly published on 17 August 2026 (pp. 3–5 and later official report page).

## Identity, dates and provenance

The official URL identifies the December 2025 edition; the text does not establish an exact publication day. SHA-256 4d838d208c04270557f358b6593208e900f0161e3508daaeee7cd92dab333675, 191,919 bytes, matches the bundled original, current official download and mag-tor-2025 entry in artifacts/research/care-reform-chronology-corrections-2026-10-09.json. PDF-production metadata and the 17 December appointment announcement are not treated as an exact release date for these terms. The subsequent report page independently dates public publication to 17 August 2026. Its actual earlier delivery date to Ministers is not established here.

The June 2026 capture/access label is retained as catalogue history. The October 2026 review does not change the original PDF or turn historical findings into current outcomes.

## Where to check the original

Physical/printed p. 1 background and remit; p. 2 detailed scope, exclusions and reporting milestones; p. 3 secretariat/membership/duties; p. 4 conduct/conflicts and remuneration; p. 5 confidentiality, communications and Official Information Act. Workforce sufficiency can inform funding-model advice on p. 1, despite workforce requirements/training/accreditation being separately excluded on p. 2.

## Evidence limits

December 2025 advisory terms, five physical pages, with scheduled ministerial-delivery milestones. These dates do not verify actual delivery or require simultaneous public release. The later report was publicly published 17 August 2026; neither the remit nor its recommendations establish enacted reform. Original PDF/June 2026 access label and the distinction between workforce sufficiency and excluded workforce training/requirements are preserved.

## Additional primary sources

- [Ministry advisory group page](https://www.health.govt.nz/about-us/new-zealands-health-system/health-system-roles-and-organisations/health-committees-and-boards/aged-care-ministerial-advisory-group)
- [Later report: A Place to Grow Old (17 August 2026)](https://www.health.govt.nz/publications/a-place-to-grow-old-securing-the-future-of-aged-care)