Recent primary care announcements

Recently, the Minister of Health, Hon Simeon Brown, made three announcements (involving eight specific initiatives) about primary care. These initiatives support the Government’s priority of providing timely access to quality health care for all New Zealanders. Better primary care supports the delivery of health targets.  

The investments include:

• 24/7 digital services to enable all New Zealanders to access online appointments
• initiatives to increase the GP workforce across the country
• initiatives to recruit, support and retain nurses in primary health care settings.

Additionally, the Minister announced that Health New Zealand would provide a $285 million funding boost for general practice over three years.  

The initiatives have been well received overall, with several key health sector leaders acknowledging them as positive steps for the primary and community health care. You can read more in the factsheets on the Ministry’s website.

Speech from Minister of Health

On 7 March, Minister Brown gave a speech which outlined a relentless, delivery-focused approach to improving healthcare with five specific targets:

• stabilising Health New Zealand’s governance and accountability allowing it to focus on delivering the basics
• reducing emergency department wait times
• delivering a boost in elective surgery volumes to get on top of the backlog and reduce waiting lists
• fixing primary care to ensure easier access
• providing clarity on the health infrastructure investment pipeline.

The Ministry of Health is well placed to support and monitor the delivery on these priorities.

Read the speech to the BusinessNZ Health Forum.

Opportunity to improve health workforce regulation

The workforce is our health system’s greatest asset and plays a vital role in improving health outcomes of New Zealanders. However, New Zealand faces challenges with shortages across a range of professions, and growing demand from an ageing population with more complex needs.

To meet our future needs, we must look at ways of doing things differently. Better regulation that is responsive, puts patients first and maximises the potential of our health workforce can help us to address these challenges.

As part of the review, a discussion document has been developed which outlines how workforce regulation could be improved and what this would mean for patients.

You can read the discussion document on our website.

This review is an opportunity to modernise and streamline New Zealand’s regulations. The Government wants to hear your views on:

• patient-centred regulation: faster wait times, better outcomes, and a system that truly puts patients first

• streamlined regulation: using resources and administering the rules in the most cost-effective way possible, ensuring value for money for taxpayers and better outcomes for patients 

• right-sized regulation: the level of regulation should depend on the level of risk to public safety involved

• future-proofed regulation: modernised and adaptive regulation that ensures patients receive the care they need while supporting the workforce to respond to the needs of all New Zealanders. 

Making your submission

The consultation is open until 11.59pm on Wednesday 30 April 2025. If you would like to make a submission, please use the online feedback form.

Please contact workforceregulation@health.govt.nz with any questions.

Bowel screening eligibility age lowered for all New Zealanders

New Zealanders will soon be eligible for bowel screening two years earlier as part of the free National Bowel Screening Programme, leading to more cancer detected and lives saved.

Lowering the bowel screening starting age from 60 to 58 will take place in two stages over the next two years. It is estimated that in the first year at least 122,000 more people will be eligible for bowel screening than would be the case under the current eligibility setting of 60 to 74-year-olds. This will result in preventing an estimated additional 771 bowel cancers and additional 566 bowel cancer deaths over the next 25 years.

At the moment, colonoscopy and other resourcing constraints prevent the starting screening age being lowered further than 58 years. But the Minister has indicated this change is a first step, with an expectation that bowel screening eligibility age will continue to be lowered further over time.

Mental Health work programme update

Mental health, addiction and suicide prevention continue to be a focal point for the Government and the health sector.

The Minister for Mental Health, Hon Matt Doocey has made a series of recent announcements to expand funding and improve access to services. He also committed to a refresh of the eating disorders strategy. You can read more about these on the Beehive website.

Other work underway at the Ministry includes:

• Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy
  The Pae Ora (Healthy Futures) (Improving Mental Health Outcomes) Amendment Act 2024 requires the Minister to develop a Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy by 24 October 2025. The Strategy will provide a long-term vision for mental health and addiction and a framework to guide health entities for the long-term improvement of mental health and addiction wellbeing outcomes. We expect public consultation around the middle of this year.
   
• Suicide Prevention Action Plan 2025-2029
  Following public consultation last year, the Ministry of Health is close to finalising the Suicide Prevention Action Plan 2025-2029. The Plan will be published in coming months and will guide our collective suicide prevention efforts for the next five years under Every Life Matters – He Tapu te Oranga o ia tangata: Suicide Prevention Strategy 2019-2029.
   
• Gambling Harm Prevention & Minimisation Strategy 2025/26-2027/28
  The Gambling Harm Prevention & Minimisation Strategy 2025/26-2027/28 will also be completed shortly. The Strategy, and new Problem Gambling Levy Regulations, will come into effect in July and are expected to improve access to gambling harm treatment services, help strengthen the gambling harm workforce, public health and early intervention, and provide more effective support systems to address gambling harm.  

Applications open for Health New Zealand Board

On behalf of Minister Brown, the Ministry of Health is seeking candidates for appointment to the Health New Zealand Board.

We are looking for candidates for the roles of Chair, Deputy Chair, and Board Member. If you are interested in applying, please submit your application by close of business on 11 April 2025.

This is only a small amount of the work happening here at the Ministry of Health. You can keep up to date with the Ministry’s work programme by signing up to receive our newsletter.

The Public Health Agency (within the Ministry of Health) has a new quarterly newsletter, Public Health Matters. The newsletter provides updates on how the Agency is working across the health system and beyond to improve the health of New Zealanders. You can subscribe and read previous editions here.