A full, audit-ready set of accreditation policies for an Aotearoa New Zealand social or health service typically costs in the thousands, depending on whether they are written from scratch by a consultant, bought as templates, or provided through an ongoing subscription. The price varies dramatically because the work involved varies dramatically – bespoke writing, sector-specific tailoring, ongoing legislative maintenance, and audit alignment are all very different propositions, and most providers don’t make the difference clear until you ask.

This guide sets out what’s actually behind the price tag, what you need at minimum to be accreditation-ready, and how to think about value rather than headline cost.

What policies do you actually need to be accreditation-ready?

It depends on which standard your funder or regulator requires. Most NZ social and health services need to meet at least one of:

• Ngā Paerewa Health and Disability Services Standard for health and disability services
• Te Kāhui Kahu Social Sector Accreditation Standards (SSAS) for social services contracted to government
• Performance Standards for Registered Community Housing Providers for community housing providers

Each of these requires a full policy framework, not a handful of HR documents. That means policies covering governance, financial management, human resources, health and safety, privacy and information management, complaints, quality assurance, child and adult safety, cultural responsiveness, service delivery, and more. Depending on size and type of service, most organisations need 30–50 policies in active use, all current, all internally consistent, and all reflected in actual practice.

Why the cost varies so much

The same headline question – “how much for a full policy set?” – can produce a quote of $5,000 or $30,000 from different providers. Three things drive most of the difference:

• Bespoke vs templated – Bespoke policies written from scratch for your service cost the most. Generic templates cost the least but rarely meet accreditation standards without heavy editing.
• One-off vs maintained – A one-off project leaves you with a frozen set that will be out of date the moment legislation or key policies change. Maintained policies cost more upfront in subscription terms but stay current.
• Sector-aligned vs generic – HR or health-and-safety template providers often look cheap, but their templates are written for general business and miss the specific accreditation requirements that auditors check against.

DIY templates vs done-for-you: what’s the real difference?

DIY templates put the editing burden on you. Done-for-you services do the writing and ongoing maintenance themselves. The middle ground – where The Policy Place sits – provides a sector-specific, accreditation-aligned set that’s already done, with continuous updates as legislation and standards change.

For a smaller provider, the practical difference is usually measured in staff weeks: a DIY template approach can take three to four months of internal work to produce something audit-ready. A done-for-you or subscription approach is typically operational within a month.

How long does it take to build a policy manual from scratch?

For a small to mid-sized service writing its own framework with a single internal lead, a realistic timeframe is 4–6 months for a first usable draft, and another 3–6 months to embed it into practice well enough to pass an audit. With consultancy support that can compress to 3–4 months, but the cost rises sharply.

How The Policy Place approach compares

The Policy Place provides a full, sector-aligned set of policies written by people with extensive experience in social and health services, including in policy and audit roles with only a per-organisation subscription. The policies are kept current as legislation and standards change, and customers don’t pay extra for the updates. That removes both the upfront capital cost of bespoke writing and the ongoing maintenance burden.

For organisations that also need to evidence that their staff and board understand and apply the policies, the Good Practice Hub  provides the audit-ready proof layer alongside.

Frequently asked questions

Is there a free option? Yes — the Good Practice Hub has a free tier (StartSmart) that gives staff and board members a foundational policy induction. The full policy framework itself sits with a paid subscription.

Can I use HR templates I already have? Some organisations are signed up to HR software. They can continue with this and choose if they want the Policy Place to provide HR policies as well or not. Usually, HR provider templates don’t cover everything in the staffing and volunteers category that’s required for accreditation and auditing.  Often, they also need reframing for social and health services contexts.

How quickly can the Policy Place get accreditation-ready policies in place? We operate a queue for new clients. But once started, the job of reviewing your policies and compliance requirements and setting you up with the right policy content takes 2-4 weeks. To maintain your accreditation, we review and update monthly or when legislation changes.

Do prices include Te Ao Māori and Te Tiriti o Waitangi? Māori and Treaty responsiveness are required by accreditation and quality criteria for a range of funding. These are key foundations for the online policy platform and policy content itself and woven into quality.

Talk to The Policy Place about a quote

Written by Kendra Beri, The Policy Place.