$19 million underspend revealed as general practices slow to sign up nurse graduates

Announced last year by Minister of Health Simeon Brown as part of a wider PHC boost, the plan was to funnel 400 registered nursing (RN) graduates a year to “where they were desperately needed” in general practice, aged-care and community support. Hard-to-staff rural providers get $20,000 a year for taking on a graduate, and urban providers $15,000.

But employers have been slow to sign up since applications opened last May, with just 250 graduates taking up roles in the first year to April 1 —  62 per cent of the 400 places available, Budget figures reveal.

It is part of a four-year $641 million primary care “tactical action plan (PCTAP)” to boost patient access by getting more GPs (from overseas and local schools) nurse practitioners (NPs) and nurses in an under-staffed sector.

GPs, too, have been slow to sign up with just 49 of the 100 supported-training places available taken up by overseas-trained doctors to date.

‘Our new grads are a wonderful resource but they also are brand new to it, so do need that support.’

Overall, Budget papers reveal a $19.167 million underspend on the PCTAP for the 2025/26 year — money that is now being transferred to the 2026/27 financial year.

GPs told Kaitiaki that low staff turnover in the current economic climate meant there were few nursing jobs available — hence the slow signup.

Last year’s survey by general practice owners association GenPro showed nurse vacancy rates had dropped by 20 per cent in the past two years to 23 per cent.

Primary health — a place for new nurses?

Primary health was touted as a good option for graduate nurses after a budget-constrained HNZ turned hundreds away last year.

But new nurse Bianca Grimmer warned it could be a mixed bag for new graduates, with some practices great and others “not-so-great” in terms of mentoring.

“That can lead to massive pressure on the new graduate . . . which is a big risk to them and their safe practice,” the former NZNO student leader told Kaitiaki.

Senior practice nurses  were often “stretched too thin” to provide proper mentoring — or moving across the ditch for higher pay.

“Our new grads are a wonderful resource but they also are brand new to it, so do need that support.”

HNZ last year replaced its nurse entry to practice programme with a ‘supported first year of practice’ scheme which reduced the minimum employment hours from 0.8 to 0.6 full-time-equivalent and cut back mentoring and study hours.

A ‘positive start’?

HNZ living well director Martin Hefford told Kaitiaki it was a “positive start” reflecting growing interest from both graduates and employers.

“As awareness grows and more employers are ready to participate, we expect uptake to continue and increase.”

He said the initiative was employer-led and relied on the availability of suitable roles within primary and community,  as well as graduates choosing to take up those opportunities.

Since April, funding for another 31 graduate RNs has been approved across 177 PHC providers, HNZ said.

Another 165 PHC employers had also been approved but may not have yet recruited, a spokesperson said.

And while there is an overspend in some PHC areas, others are still waiting to hear how much they will get.

Plunket ‘one of 60’ child health providers — Minister

Minister of Health Simeon Brown said Whānau Āwhina Plunket funding was being negotiated alongside other Well Child / Tamariki Ora providers.

Plunket nurse Hannah Cook called on the Government to keep its Coalition promise to fund Plunket enough to run properly, after no Plunket-specific funding was announced in the May Budget.

But a spokesperson for Brown said Plunket was one of more than 60 Well Child Tamariki Ora providers, whose funding was now being negotiated as part of HNZ’s $1.37 billion-a-year Budget 2026 increase.