Kaiawhina AI – Bilingual Capability, Wellbeing and Impact Platform for Kaimahi

Lead organisation:

Te Pai Ora SSPA

Kaiawhina AI will support kaimahi across social services, youth work and mental health by providing a bilingual kaupapa Māori platform that reduces documentation burden, strengthens wellbeing, and makes whanau impact visible.

Many workers face heavy administrative load, declining hauora, and limited guidance on safe AI use, while also navigating systems that do not reflect kaupapa Māori practice. Kaiawhina AI brings together wellbeing check-ins grounded in Te Whare Tapa Whā, voice‑first case reflections in te reo Māori or English using Papa Reo, strengths‑based documentation support, embedded AI literacy, and automated impact reporting that aligns with Māori wellbeing frameworks. Co‑designed with kaimahi and governed through Māori data sovereignty principles, the platform is built by Māori and Pacific technologists and will be freely available through sector partners.

By reducing time spent on administration, improving hauora, and providing practical bilingual tools for everyday mahi, Kaiawhina AI aims to strengthen workforce sustainability and support better outcomes for kaimahi and the whānau they serve.

This project is led by Te Pai Ora Social Service Providers Aotearoa (SSPA) in partnership with Hui E! Community Aotearoa, Ngāpuhi Iwi Social Services, Ngāti Kahungunu Iwi Incorporated and Making Everything Achievable.  This tool is being built by Māori and Pacific technologists, with funding from the Workforce Futures Fund | Tahua Rāngaimahi Anamata