Health and Lifestyles Survey

The Health and Lifestyles Survey (HLS) was last in the field in 2020/2021. It was a national in-home survey that measured New Zealanders’ behaviours, attitudes, and knowledge on a range of health and lifestyle topics including alcohol, food and drink, smoking, vaping, gambling, mental wellbeing, and sun safe behaviour.

The survey was conducted every two years and data is available from 2008, with the latest data in 2020/2021. 

More information:

Reach Aotearoa, formerly CBG Health Research Limited, an independent research company, carried out the HLS for Health Promotion.

Data from this survey for research purposes is accessible through our microdata process. 

Alcohol Use in New Zealand Survey

Te Whatu Ora has undertaken national alcohol monitoring surveys in some form since 2005. The Attitudes and Behaviours towards Alcohol Survey (ABAS) ran from 2005 to 2016.

The most recent monitor, the Alcohol Use in New Zealand Survey (AUiNZ), also known as ‘What you think about drink’, last in the field in 2019/2020, covers alcohol consumption and behaviours, and attitudes and beliefs about drinking. 

More information:

NielsenIQ, an independent research company, carried out the 2019/20 AUiNZ survey for Te Whatu Ora, Health Promotion, formerly Te Hiringa Hauora.

Data from this survey for research purposes is accessible through our microdata process.

New Zealand Youth Tobacco Monitor

The New Zealand Youth Tobacco Monitor (NZYTM) is a national school-based monitor of Year 10 students. The current NZYTM consists of the annual ASH Year 10 Snapshot which collects information on smoking and vaping use of Year 10 secondary school students.  The survey is funded by Te Whatu Ora and managed by Action for Smokefree 2025 (ASH).

More information on the ASH Year-10 Snapshot Survey and outputs can be found on: 

Between 2006 and 2018, the NZYTM also included the Youth Insights Survey (YIS). The YIS was carried out every two years.  

Additional information and publications on smoking and vaping from related surveys such as

Accessing our microdata

We aim to maximise access to survey datasets for research purposes while ensuring responsible use that protects information shared by participants. Access to our survey datasets can be requested through our microdata process for research purposes.  

Available information

Have a look at our available data to get an idea of what is possible for your research project. A dataset on this list may or may not be available to access. However, please feel free to contact us about it. 

Access to datasets

Our datasets are potentially available for statistical purposes to researchers working within academic institutions, government agencies and the wider health sector, subject to certain conditions.

Safety and security 

Good statistical practice and our ethical obligations to survey participants require that information collected through our surveys, particularly personal information that could be used to identify individuals, is treated as confidential and stored securely. 

We must balance the benefits of microdata access with our obligations to hold data securely and protect the confidentiality of information supplied by individuals. Failing to adequately protect individual information potentially reduces public trust and confidence in us, and wider government, which in turn affects the ongoing quality of IP and data collections. 

Policy 

We have developed a Data Access Policy for External Researchers. This policy applies to all researchers who request access to our IP and data, and outlines our procedures for providing access to our survey data and the application and approval process. 

Gaining access

If you are interested in accessing our survey data for your own research, please do the following: 

  1. Read the Data Access Policy for External Researchers. Familiarise yourself with any information about the dataset you are interested in that is available on this website.
  2. Download and complete an application form. If you have any queries about this process or would like to check the availability of the dataset you are interested in, please email the Evidence Team. 
  3. Email your completed application form to the Evidence Team. A full application process may take up to a few months from the time we receive your application. 

Download: Available data - XLS, 32 KB

These are the currently available survey datasets from Health Promotion.

Download: Data access policy for external researchers - DOC, 808 KB

Please read this policy before requesting access to our microdata.

Download: Application form - DOCX, 61 KB

Download and complete this application form to request access to our datasets.