Nursing workforce – Kaitiaki Nursing New Zealand

March 2025

I love my country, but it doesn’t want me

By Sarah Elisaia

March 19, 2025

A young New Zealand nurse explains why she left for Australia — her childhood dream of nursing had rapidly turned to burnout.

January 2025

Internationally-qualified nurses behind 12,000-surge to Australia

By Mary Longmore

December 20, 2024

The number of nurses leaving to work in Australia has soared to nearly 12,000 in the past year — a 53 per cent rise, figures from the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation agency (Ahpra) show.

January 2025

Papers reveal directors of nursing fighting for graduate employment

By Mary Longmore

December 19, 2024

No pause? Fear, confusion and ‘murky waters’ as directors of nursing (DONs) say they were not permitted to hire mid-year graduates.

December 2024

Hundreds of nursing graduates miss out on Te Whatu Ora jobs

By Mary Longmore

November 27, 2024

Te Whatu Ora is being accused of failing in its most basic duty — protecting the future nursing workforce of New Zealand.

September 2024

Nurses — have we gone from hero to zero?

By Anita Cook

August 26, 2024

A Wellington nurse laments the way nurses are being treated lately after putting their lives on the line during the COVID-19 pandemic.

September 2024

Left out in the cold: Is it really about health budget constraints?

By Pipi Barton

August 13, 2024

In an urgent call to better support New Zealand-trained nurses, senior Māori nursing lecturer at NorthTec, Pipi Barton (Ngāti Hikairo ki Kāwhia) recalls being an out-of-work nursing graduate in the 1990s.

September 2023

Schools of nursing unite in urgent call to protect ‘at risk’ nurse educators

By Mary Longmore

August 23, 2023

Academics from across Aotearoa’s 20 nursing schools are speaking up in an unprecedented and “urgent” call to protect what they say is an at-risk but crucial part of the nursing workforce.

September 2023

Fast-track door to nursing in Aotearoa opens for Pacific nurses

By Mary Longmore

August 7, 2023

A grandmother of seven is among 40 ākonga (students) who have signed up for a new diploma to support Pacific-trained nurses into the New Zealand workforce.

September 2023

Victoria University’s nursing staff escape cuts but midwifery remains in sights

By Mary Longmore

August 3, 2023

Nursing staff at Te Herenga Waka Victoria University of Wellington (VUW)’s school of nursing and midwifery are breathing a sigh of relief today after finding out there would be no cuts to its nursing programme staff.

August 2023

Nursing schools fight ‘significant’ proposed staff cuts

By Mary Longmore

July 20, 2023

Proposed cuts to more than a quarter of Te Herenga Waka, Victoria University of Wellington (VUW)’s school of nursing and midwifery staff have been paused after a $128 million Government tertiary education rescue package.

December 2022

Maranga Mai! Immigration — what needs to change?

By Mary Longmore

November 17, 2022

Maranga Mai! — NZNO’s campaign to fix the nursing crisis –calls for immigration rules that will increase the recruitment and retention of migrant nurses. But after being left off the fast-track to residency here amid a global nursing shortage, migrant nurses are eyeing other countries with fewer barriers. What needs to change?

December 2022

‘We have given until we’ve bled’ — the importance of a shared struggle

By NZNO chief executive Paul Goulter

November 7, 2022

You may have noticed I’ve been talking a lot lately about the power of the collective and NZNO members — whether nurses, kaiāwhina or health-care assistants — turning up for each other, no matter where or what part of the health sector you work in.

December 2022

Minister looking at paid third-year placements, but no sign of more fees-free

By co-editors Mary Longmore and Cate Macintosh

November 6, 2022

Paid clinical placements ‘a nod in the right direction’, but free nursing study for all is the goal, say student nursing leaders.

November 2022

Maranga Mai! Registration — what needs to change?

By Mary Longmore

September 23, 2022

As Aotearoa New Zealand faces down a nursing shortfall of thousands, changes are afoot to how overseas nurses are registered here. In the second part of a series exploring Maranga Mai!, NZNO’s campaign to fix the nursing crisis, Kaitiaki looks at what needs to change in the registration process.

September 2022

The Aussies are doing it — can we train nurses for free here?

By Mary Longmore

September 1, 2022

Nursing students say they would welcome free training in New Zealand, after the Australian state of Victoria this week announced a $270 million investment to train 10,000 nurses and midwives over the next two years.

October 2022

Te wero, our challenge, to grow our own workforce

By Sue Adams and Josephine Davis

August 31, 2022

The COVID-19 surge workforce — of unregulated health workers — could be an important source of new nurses.

September 2022

NZNO puts out call for Pasifika nurses at Southland Polyfest

By Mary Longmore

August 30, 2022

“What could be better than our rangatahi meeting proud Māori and Pasifika nurses?” NZNO students reach out to Pasifika community

September 2022

Maranga Mai! Education — what needs to change?

By Mary Longmore

August 24, 2022

About a third of Aotearoa’s nursing workforce is comprised of overseas-trained nurses, nurse vacancies are into the thousands and an estimated one in three nursing students are dropping out — with even higher rates for Māori and Pacific1. In the first of a series exploring Maranga Mai!, NZNO’s campaign to fix the nursing crisis, Kaitiaki looks at what needs to change in nursing education.

September 2022

Nursing Council eases written English test for overseas nurses

By Mary Longmore

August 19, 2022

The Nursing Council is easing standards on the written English test for overseas-trained nurses, in an effort to reduce barriers.

September 2022

Real nurses star in campaign to draw more Māori, Pasifika & men into nursing

By Mary Longmore

August 5, 2022

NZNO nurses from military to burns and plastic surgery feature in a new NZNO-Ministry of Health (MoH) recruitment drive to encourage more people into nursing — particularly Māori, Pasifika and men.

29 Apr	Taupō Hospital accredited to train next generation of rural doctors Taupō Hospital has become the first hospital in the North Island to receive accreditation to deliver Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine (ACRRM) training, Health Minister Simeon Brown and Associate Health Minister Matt Doocey have announced.
14 Apr	Rural Health Roadshow to hear from rural communities Associate Health Minister with responsibility for Rural Health and Minister for Mental Health Matt Doocey announced today he will be coming to 12 rural locations across the country on a Rural Health Roadshow, starting this week in Levin.
10 Apr	Expanded emergency department at Auckland City Hospital will see capacity increase Health Minister Simeon Brown has today officially opened Auckland City Hospital’s newly refurbished adult emergency department.
1 Apr	Health NZ wants your feedback on a Paediatric Adolescent and Young Adult Palliative Model of Care Health New Zealand \| Te Whatu Ora (Health NZ) is seeking feedback on potential options for national palliative care services for tamariki, rangatahi/children, young people and their whānau/families.
27 March	Bar still too high for small mental health providers Small mental health providers will still be locked out of co-funding from the Mental Health Innovation Fund despite a lower threshold.
25 March	ICN advocates for health system gender equity and women’s health The International Council of Nurses (ICN) brought the nursing voice to the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW69) which wrapped up on Friday. ICN participated in critical discussions on gender equity and women’s health throughout the event.
19 March	ICN warns of healthcare crisis as USAID funding cuts devastate nursing initiatives in the world’s most vulnerable regions The International Council of Nurses (ICN) has documented alarming firsthand evidence of widespread disruption and collapse of essential health care services following the sudden withdrawal of USAID and other funding.
19 March	New High Dependency Unit will expand critical care services in Wellington Health Minister Simeon Brown has today officially opened Wellington Regional Hospital’s first High Dependency Unit (HDU).
13 March	Pharmac to fund more cancer medicines Pharmac is funding six more medicines for cancers and one for antibiotic resistant infections.
28 Feb	Pharmac CE resigns The Board of Pharmac wishes to announce that its Chief Executive for the last 7 years, Sarah Fitt, has resigned effective from 30 May 2025.
25 Feb	ICN issues updated statement on health care in conflict, calling for peace and compliance with international humanitarian law In recent years, the world has witnessed a disturbing increase in conflicts and wars, placing immense strain on health systems and exacerbating human suffering. Nurses have been at the forefront of these crises, responding to emergencies, supporting recovery efforts, and providing essential care to those affected by violence and displacement.
21 Feb	ICN’s new guidance on integrating nurse leaders into heart of health workforce planning The International Council of Nurses (ICN) has published a practical guide to including nurses in workforce planning decisions.
17 Feb	ICN warns of effect of US withdrawal from WHO on nurse-led services The International Council of Nurses (ICN) warned that the withdrawal of the United States from WHO has already halted some nurse-led services, including vaccination programmes and care for people with HIV/AIDS.
17 Feb	Minister acknowledges outgoing Director-General Health Minister Simeon Brown has today acknowledged the resignation of Director-General of Health and Chief Executive of the Ministry of Health, Dr Diana Sarfati, and thanked her for her service.
12 Feb	Pharmac funds medicines for liver, ovarian, and neuroendocrine cancers People with liver, ovarian, and neuroendocrine cancers will have access to more medicines from 1 March 2025.
11 Feb	Consultation begins on work to improve patient access to medical devices Pharmac is continuing to improve the way medical devices are managed for New Zealanders, today opening consultation on its comprehensive list of medical devices used by public hospitals.
3 Feb	First Whānau Āwhina Plunket site in NZ delivering childhood vaccinations Childhood immunisations are now being delivered at a Whānau Āwhina Plunket site in Whāngarei, with other regions soon to also provide the new service.
29 Jan	Local access to specialist audiology services comes to Wairarapa A newly established out-patient clinic for ear, nose, and throat (ENT) and audiology appointments is providing Wairarapa patients with local access to specialist hearing services for the first time.
29 Jan	Pharmac reconsiders oestradiol patch options following community feedback Pharmac is reviewing and reconsidering its oestradiol patch options after considerable feedback was received when it announced a move to a single funded brand late last year.
22 Jan	Consultations for cancer and ADHD medicines close soon Pharmac is encouraging people to have their say on proposals to fund six more medicines and change the brand of one medicine before consultation closes on 27 January.