The Health Research Council is launching the He Ara Whakahihiko – Hauora Fund, a new funding round designed to strengthen Māori health research capability, establish clear pathways to impact, and deliver both health and economic benefits. This fund replaces our Ngā Kanohi Kitea Community Advancement Fund.

The fund forms part of the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment’s (MBIE’s) wider He Ara Whakahihiko Capability Fund and has been established to administer funding that supports the health/hauora objectives of MBIE's broader investment framework.

Through this fund, we are seeking to support high-quality biomedical and/or clinical research that will contribute to improving Māori health outcomes. 

Applications opened on HRC Gateway on 8 January 2026 and will close on 12 February 2026. For key dates and full investment criteria, please refer to the 2026 He Ara Whakahihiko – Hauora Fund Application Guidelines available here.

As part of the science system changes, there is a need to consider where ethics functions will sit in the future ethics system, and to clarify roles and responsibilities.

The Government has advised that the National Ethics Advisory Committee (NEAC) will be responsible for developing a new national standard called the National Standard on Ethical Conduct in Human Research.

The new standard will define the core components of the national ethics system, providing a framework for researchers, ethics review bodies, institutions and research governance, and potential research participants. The Minister of Health and the Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology will have a role in commissioning and approving the standard.

It will become a legal requirement for researchers whose studies involve human participants to comply with the national standard.

Cabinet has also agreed that the Health and Disability Ethics Committees (HDECs) will be able to charge research applicants for fast-track ethics review. This will be optional, and ethics review of research applications in scope of an HDEC will continue to be free for applicants who decide not to pay for the fast-track review process.

The new national standard and the fast-track ethics review process are both subject to the passing of the Science, Innovation and Technology Bill and the relevant provisions coming into effect. For now, the HRC retains all of our existing ethics functions.

Ministry of Health officials will consult with the research sector (both commercial stakeholders and public researchers) on the proposal for cost recovery for fast-track ethics review. This will take place during 2026.