New Zealand's first emissions reduction plan sets out goals to achieve Net Zero for all GHG and a 24–47% reduction in biogenic methane by 2050. Buildings contribute to 10–15% of overall domestic emissions in New Zealand (NZ). Reducing operational emissions and embodied carbon of buildings is crucial to achieving the sector's Net Zero goals. Social housing poses a particular challenge among all housing stocks during the process of decarbonisation. Low carbon building standards, especially Passivhaus (PH), have been gaining popularity in continental Europe and the UK. Larger scale social housing scheme designed to achieve PH or Near Passivhaus (NPH) standard has proven to be especially beneficial in reducing carbon emissions. However, NZ buildings designed and constructed based on the PH standard are perceived to be more expensive, making them less likely to be adopted. This paper reviews New Zealand social housing and PH development literature to summarise barriers, challenges and opportunities, and reports successful case studies from the UK to provide lessons learned that can inform New Zealand PH social housing development. The outcomes of this paper provide preliminary recommendations for stakeholders in New Zealand when considering adopting the PH methodology for social housing development whilst calling for more research into the Post Occupancy Evaluation (POE) of PH or NPH housing in New Zealand to understand the applicability of PH standard and to maximise the benefit of the PH methodology.