Social policy reflects the dominant social, economic and political discourses of a nation’s government and reveals how each country addresses the needs and wellbeing of its population. As such, social policy plays a significant role in shaping the response to need in any community or population, through the provision of financial, physical or legislative protections or resources. There are ways for practitioners and other advocates to influence, and resist where necessary, the direction of policy through community development, strategic change, research and social action. This volume provides examples of such initiatives and examines the making and shaping of contemporary social policy in Aotearoa New Zealand.