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Many New Zealanders are not thriving, according to new work by the Productivity Commission.
The commission has released its interim report "A fair chance for all", looking into persistent disadvantage in New Zealand, and how it can be addressed.
The inquiry worked to understand what is creating the inequities in people's lives and why certain groups are more vulnerable to disadvantage in New Zealand.
Commission chairperson Dr Ganesh Nana said "persistent disadvantage is not just about being income poor".
He said it also included people who felt "excluded from communities" or who were experiencing "material deprivation" - whether it was doing without access to health services, housing or goods such as shoes and food.
The report considered persistent disadvantage to be ongoing for two or more years.
It found about 17 percent (724,000) of New Zealanders experienced persistent disadvantage in both 2013 and 2018.
Inquiry director Catherine Proffitt said persistent disadvantage was most commonly felt by "sole parents, people from families with no high school qualifications, Māori/Pacific peoples and disabled people.
The preliminary findings and recommendations from the report explore how there could be a greater positive impact on breaking the cycle of persistent disadvantage, and what might need to change in the public sector.
They predominately focus on the overall settings of the "public management system", which include all facets of government, policy and public service partnerships.
The report concluded there were four main barriers to solving persistent disadvantage.
These are power imbalances, discrimination and the ongoing impact of colonisation, siloed and fragmented government and short-termism and status quo bias.
It said system shifts were needed to mitigate these barriers.
The shifts identified are re-thinking overall system settings to prioritise equity, wellbeing and social inclusion; re-focusing public accountability settings to activate a wellbeing approach; broadening and embed a wellbeing approach across policymaking and funding frameworks; and enabling system learning and improvement through monitoring and evaluation.
The Commission said it deliberately took a whole of system view, rather than recommending sector-specific policy changes or how individuals, communities and society in general can achieve change.
It is calling on submissions from the public to ensure the inquiry is well informed and relevant.