Significant changes will be made to the way Police respond to calls from people in mental distress.
Instead of just a police officer attending the callout, there will be a co-response team including ambulance staff and mental health experts.
However, concerns have been raised about a lack of detail and training.
In the past year, 77,000 emergency call-outs were made as a result of mental distress.
It's a 55 percent increase in just five years.
"These people don't need police officers, they need experts in mental health, they need people that can get them help immediately," NZ Police Association president Chris Cahill said.
And that's on the cards, with Police Minister Ginny Andersen announcing on Wednesday that a co-response team of three people will be sent to mental distress callouts.
"By putting a health worker alongside a police officer and a paramedic at the time it's needed will stop people going to EDs or hospitals or waiting a long time," Andersen said.
National first announced the idea in 2017 but Labour wound it back when they came into power.
However, they did trial co-response teams in six separate police districts.
"This is an idea that really is a no-brainer, it's been coming for a while," Mental Health Foundation's Shaun Robinson said.
However, the Police Association said Wednesday's announcement lacked any detail on costs and resources.
"Little bit disappointed there is not great guts in it, we'd like to see some more detail," Cahill said.
It's something psychologist Sara Chatwin agrees with, especially when it comes to mental health training.
"It does concern me that people being sent to the frontline are not equipped with the knowledge and expertise they need to deal with these situations."
"It's really important not to rush this, it's important to get the right people and the right skills in place," Andersen said.
The Police and Health Minister have to report back to Cabinet in March with a plan of how it would work and how many resources are needed, and then there is a five-year transition period to put the plan into action.
But apparently, the wait is too long for some people.
"It's well overdue, let's just get it underway now," Cahill said.
That way the right people are responding to those, in mental distress, calling for help.
