Doorstep — What We're Building

The problem we're solving

Our elders are invisible to the systems meant to care for them

New Zealand has a growing elderly population, many of them living alone. The systems designed to support them are built around compliance and billing — not human connection.

1 in 3

New Zealanders over 65 report feeling lonely some or all of the time

80%

of care app features are designed for the organisation — not the person being cared for

None

of the existing NZ platforms combine community visiting, whānau connection, and social opportunity in one place — designed for community organisations rather than clinical providers

"New Zealand elder care has traditionally created systems that keep track of elderly people and the cost of care to the organisation. What hasn't been built is one that genuinely keeps our elders connected — to their community, their whānau, and their own dignity. Doorstep exists to fill this gap."

— The problem Doorstep was built to solve

What Doorstep is

Not a monitoring system.
A connection platform.

Doorstep coordinates regular one-hour community visits — sitting with someone, having a cup of tea, listening to their stories — while providing careful, discrete wellbeing monitoring in the background.

Genuine human visits

Trained community carers make regular visits — not to tick boxes, but to sit and talk, share a cup of tea, and be genuinely present with someone who might otherwise spend the day alone.

Careful monitoring

Every visit captures wellbeing, mood, medications, and observations in a structured, secure way — giving coordinators and families a real picture of how someone is doing over time, not just in a crisis.

Community connection

Doorstep actively links clients to local events, outings, clubs, and activities — because the goal isn't just to keep someone alive, it's to help them actually live.

Three experiences, one platform

Built for everyone in the care circle

Carer app · Mobile

For community carers

A mobile-first app designed for use on the go, between visits, with one hand while carrying a bag of shopping.

Today's visit schedule
Client profiles & history
SOAP visit notes
Medication check
Wellbeing & mood scales
Flag & escalate concerns
Request coordinator update
Out & About event board

Coordinator dashboard · Desktop

For coordinators

A full desktop dashboard giving the coordinator a real-time view across all clients, carers, and activity.

Daily overview & visit status
Flag & alert management
Update request workflow
Report generation & sending
Client & carer management
Schedule management
Out & About event management
Outcome reporting

Whānau & GP portal · Mobile & desktop

For whānau & health professionals

A warm portal for whānau — and a separate clinical view for GPs with SOAP notes, medication compliance and flags.

Wellbeing scores & trends
Recent & upcoming visits
Carer cultural profile (anonymised)
NZ Police vetting confirmation
Update reports from coordinator
Request an update
GP: SOAP notes & clinical summary
GP: Medication compliance rates
GP: Full flag history

Live system

See it for yourself

All three portals are live and running now at doorstep.nz. Use the demo login details below to explore each one.

Mobile app · Demo login

Carer app

sarah.ngata@doorstep.nz

Desktop dashboard · Demo login

Coordinator portal

tania.henare@doorstep.nz

Mobile & desktop · Demo login

Whānau & GP portal

jane.wilson@example.com · dr.patel@example.com

Password for all demo accounts: password

Community voices

What the care circle says

Doorstep includes a built-in testimonials system. Coordinators review and approve feedback from families, GPs and community members — then publish it automatically to their website with a single line of code.

💬

Complaints & compliments

A public form for families, GPs, neighbours and community members to share feedback — anonymously if they prefer.

✅

Coordinator review & approval

Tania reads each compliment, edits out any identifying details, and approves it for publication — privacy protected at every step.

🌐

Embeddable widget

One line of code drops the testimonials widget into any existing website. New approvals appear automatically — no web updates needed.

For GPs and health professionals — seeing real testimonials from families and community members builds the trust that leads to referrals. Doorstep makes it easy for community care programmes to show their impact, not just describe it.

Feature set

Everything the care circle needs, nothing it doesn't

Every feature in Doorstep was designed from a real human need — not from a feature checklist. Features marked in teal are already built into the live system.

Visiting & care notes

The core of every visit — capturing what matters in a structured, human-readable way.

Visit scheduling SOAP format notes Medication checks Wellbeing scale (1–5) Mood & appetite logging Social contact tracking Voice-to-text notes Offline mode Visit history timeline

Safeguarding & alerts

A clear escalation pathway that protects clients, carers, and organisations.

Three-level flag system Coordinator notification Flag response workflow Emergency contact access Audit trail Safeguarding reports Incident logging

Family & GP communication

Controlled, consent-based information sharing that keeps everyone informed without compromising privacy.

Update request by carer Update request by family Coordinator report generation Family portal GP portal access Consent-controlled sharing Granular consent management Email delivery Report history log

Social connection — Out & About

Because keeping someone alive and helping them actually live are two very different things.

Community event board Category filtering Transport availability Suggest to client (logged) Coordinator event management Recurring events Event attendance tracking Transport booking

Client profiles

Rich profiles that treat clients as whole people — not patient numbers.

Medical conditions Medication list Emergency contacts GP & specialist details Interests & life history Wellbeing trend chart Ethnicity & hapū/iwi NZ services referrals Photo Document storage Home safety notes Cognitive screening

Reporting & outcomes

The data organisations need to demonstrate impact to funders, commissioners, and communities.

Wellbeing trend charts Visit completion stats Outcome reports (funder-ready) Social engagement tracking Cultural responsiveness data Safeguarding metrics Anonymised aggregate data Export to PDF / CSV

Teal = built into current prototype Grey = planned for full build

Culturally responsive care

Built for Aotearoa — not adapted for it

Cultural responsiveness in Doorstep is not a policy statement — it is built into the architecture of the system itself. Every design decision reflects the reality of who our clients and carers are, and what genuine care looks like in this country.

"In Aotearoa, care is not a transaction. It is a relationship. It is manaakitanga — the expression of respect, generosity and care for others. Doorstep is built on that foundation."

Te Tiriti o Waitangi

Every carer profile includes a field recording their demonstrable understanding of Te Tiriti o Waitangi. This is not a tick-box — coordinators can record and verify each carer's actual knowledge and experience. Organisations can report their Te Tiriti-competent carer ratio to funders with confidence.

Carer matching by culture

Clients can express a preference for a carer who shares their cultural background or speaks their language. Some kaumātua will only feel comfortable with a Māori carer who understands tikanga. Some Pacific clients want someone who shares their worldview. That is not a limitation — it is culturally responsive care done right.

Ethnicity data for equity reporting

Both client and carer records use Stats NZ Level 1 ethnicity classification — European, Māori, Pacific, Asian, MELAA, and Other — with support for multiple ethnicity identification. This enables meaningful equity reporting and is aligned with what DHBs, the Ministry of Health, and community funders require.

How cultural responsiveness works in practice

Te reo Māori throughout

The Doorstep tagline — Tiaki kaumātua, tiaki hapori — is not decoration. The language of care is woven through the platform as a signal of values, not marketing.

Whānau-centred family portal

The family portal is designed around the concept of whānau — that care is a collective responsibility, not an individual one. Multiple family members and trusted people can be granted access with the client's consent.

Manaakitanga as a design principle

Every screen in the carer app is designed to support genuine human connection — not data entry. The visit is the purpose. The notes are the record of a relationship, not a compliance exercise.

Equity reporting built in

Age and ethnicity data — universally required for NZ health funding — is captured from day one. Organisations can produce equity reports for funders, DHBs and the Ministry of Health without any additional data collection effort.

NZ community services directory

Doorstep includes a built-in directory of NZ-specific community services — Meals on Wheels, Quitline, Healthline, elder abuse reporting, transport shuttles — with one-click referral logging against the client record.

Healthline integration

Coordinators can access Healthline (0800 611 116) directly from the flag management screen, with the client's full medical history in front of them — and log the call and outcome against the client record for safeguarding and audit purposes.

Our values

What we believe

Doorstep is not just a piece of software. It is built on a set of beliefs about what care should look like in Aotearoa — and those beliefs shape every decision we make.

Manaakitanga

Genuine care and respect

Every person in our care is a whole human being with a history, a family, and a dignity that must be honoured. Not a client number. Not a compliance checkbox.

Whanaungatanga

Relationships at the centre

The visit is the purpose. The notes are the record of a relationship. Everything Doorstep does is designed to support genuine human connection — not replace it.

Kaitiakitanga

Guardianship and responsibility

We hold a position of trust. Our carers, our coordinators, and our technology are all guardians of the wellbeing and privacy of those in our care.

Transparency

Honest, consent-based sharing

No information is shared without explicit consent. Every action is logged. Every decision is accountable. We believe in being open about what we do and why.

Dignity

Every elder is a whole person

We record interests, life history, and preferences — not just medical conditions — because understanding who someone is makes for better, more human care.

Community

Care is collective, not transactional

Doorstep exists because communities care for their own. We are here to support and strengthen that — not to industrialise it or reduce it to a service delivery metric.

Privacy & security

Built with privacy first — not as an afterthought

Doorstep handles sensitive health and personal data about some of the most vulnerable people in our community. Privacy and security are not features — they are the foundation.

NZ Privacy Act 2020 compliant

Designed from the ground up to meet all Information Privacy Principles. Consent is explicit, documented, and revocable at any time.

Role-based access control

Carers see only their assigned clients. Coordinators see their organisation. Nobody sees everything without a genuine need.

Consent-gated information sharing

No health or personal information is ever shared with families, GPs, or anyone else without the client's explicit consent — confirmed at each request.

Hosted in New Zealand

Production data will be hosted on NZ-based infrastructure (Catalyst Cloud). Client data stays in Aotearoa under NZ law.

Full audit trail

Every access, edit, and data sharing event is logged immutably. Organisations can demonstrate compliance at any time.

Client dignity at the centre

Clients can see their own data, correct errors, withdraw consent, and have their records deleted. This is their information, not ours.

Development roadmap

Where we are, and where we're going

Doorstep is being built in deliberate phases — proving value at each stage before investing in the next.

Phase 1 — Complete

Concept & working prototype

All three interfaces — carer mobile app, coordinator dashboard, and family portal — designed and built as interactive prototypes. Domain secured at doorstep.nz.

Carer app prototype Coordinator dashboard Family portal doorstep.nz registered

Phase 2 — Now

Church pilot programme

Partner with a church community in Māngere to run a small real-world pilot — approximately 8–12 clients and 3–5 volunteer carers. Gather feedback, test the workflow, refine the product.

Church coordinator meeting Volunteer carer onboarding Client consent process Prototype feedback

Phase 3 — Next

Proper build on secure infrastructure

Using pilot learnings, build the production application with a live database, user authentication, email, and secure NZ hosting. Target: Supabase backend on Catalyst Cloud.

Database build (MySQL/Supabase) Authentication system Secure NZ hosting Privacy audit

Phase 4

Multi-organisation rollout

Expand to additional churches, community trusts, neighbourhood support groups, and social service organisations. Introduce a subscription model per organisation.

Multi-tenancy Subscription billing Onboarding workflow Funder reporting

Phase 5 — Vision

National platform for community elder care

Doorstep becomes the standard platform for community-based elder care in Aotearoa New Zealand — connecting hundreds of organisations, thousands of carers, and tens of thousands of clients and families.

DHB / Health NZ partnerships ACC integration National outcomes data

Founding partnership

We're looking for the right partner

This isn't a job listing. We're looking for someone who believes what we believe — that the way we treat our elders says everything about us as a community — and who wants to help build something that genuinely matters.

Shared values, not just shared skills

The right partner cares deeply about elderly people and community wellbeing. This is a mission-driven venture — commercial success follows from doing the right thing well.

Technical or operational strength

We're looking for someone who can either help build the technology (development, database, infrastructure) or help grow the organisation (partnerships, funding, operations).

NZ roots, community connections

Relationships with churches, community trusts, DHBs, or social service organisations would be invaluable. Doorstep grows through trust — and trust comes through community.

Patience and vision

This will not make anyone rich quickly. The pilot phase is about learning, not earning. The right partner understands that getting the foundation right creates something sustainable and significant.

Kia ora — let's talk

If this has sparked something in you, we'd love to hear from you. Share your thoughts, your questions, or your interest in getting involved.

✓ Thank you — we'll be in touch soon. Ngā mihi!

Your name *

Email address *

Organisation

Your interest

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Or email us directly at hello@doorstep.nz

Community care that puts people back at the centre