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There is sentence structure that works like a passive, and is translated in a passive way, where the verb does not have a passive ending.
Instead, the sentence uses he mea... e...
On its own, he mea can be translated with a passive even through the verb does not have a passive suffix:
He mea kōrero.
It was spoken.
He mea waiata.
It was sung.
The subject of the sentence then follows:
He mea kōrero ngā kupu.
The words were spoken.
He mea waiata te waiata hou.
The new song was sung.
The agent - the person performing the action, is preceeded by e:
He mea kōrero ngā kupu e te kaiako.
The words were spoken by the teacher.
He mea waiata te waiata hou e ngā tamariki.
The new song was sung by the children.
This sentence structrure - called the psuedo-passive - is used for past events that have been completed (not for the present or future).
The meaning is the same as a normal passive sentence:
I kōrerotia ngā kupu e te kaiako.
He mea kōrero ngā kupu e te kaiako.
The words were spoken by the teacher.
I waiatatia te waiata hou e ngā tamariki.
He mea waiata te waiata hou e ngā tamariki.
The new song was sung by the children.
The agent can also be marked by nā instead of e:
He mea hanga te whare nā ngā tohunga.
He mea hanga te whare e ngā tohunga.
The house was built by the experts.
Ko te māhunga he mea tia ki te hou.
Their heads were adorned with feathers.He mea whāngai ia.
He was fostered.He mea hanga i roto i ngā roto i te ara haere atu i Waiuku ki Te Maioro.
[Some] were built in the lakes on the path going from Waiuku to Te Maioro.