Kāinga Ora job cuts and build cutbacks

The story so far

Kāinga Ora, the state housing agency, confirmed in May 2025 that it would cut 620 roles, including 194 vacancies, as part of a restructure.^{21 May 2025} Most of the cut roles are in back-office and corporate functions, while frontline tenancy management roles are unaffected.^{21 May 2025} In June 2025 the agency announced a reset plan to stop over 200 housing projects and sell 36 hectares of vacant land, saying some projects no longer offered value for money.^{19 Jun 2025} The agency cancelled 212 projects involving 3,479 houses, expects to save up to $220 million, and will sell a fifth of its vacant land.^{20 Jun 2025} The decisions will lead to accounting write-downs of between $190 million and $220 million, and Labour's spokesperson criticised them, noting that homelessness is rising.^{19, 20 Jun 2025}

Latest

By July 2025 the agency was still scaling back new builds during the housing crisis.^{2 Jul 2025} In Onehunga, Auckland, a planned 186-apartment project was cancelled, leaving the site empty after former tenants moved out.^{2 Jul 2025}

What's next

Kāinga Ora will sell a fifth of its vacant land and expects to save up to $220 million from the cancellations.^{20 Jun 2025}

Key moments

1. 21 May 2025Agency confirms 620 role cuts, including 194 vacancies, in restructure.
2. 19 Jun 2025Over 200 housing projects halted and 36 hectares of land to be sold.
3. 20 Jun 2025212 projects covering 3,479 houses cancelled to save up to $220 million.
4. 2 Jul 2025Planned 186-apartment Onehunga project cancelled, leaving the site empty.

Written from the stories below; each sentence links to its sources.