About healthcare in New Zealand

New Zealand has both a public and private healthcare system, and both offer high standards of care.

In the public system, essential healthcare services are provided free for all New Zealanders and people in New Zealand on a work visa valid for two years or longer.

Alongside the public system, private healthcare offers access to private hospitals for the treatment of both urgent and non-urgent conditions (excluding Accident and Emergency Care).  The network of private hospitals and clinics provides a range of services that include recuperative care, elective procedures and a range of general surgical procedures. There are also private radiology clinics and testing laboratories.

Our wide-ranging healthcare system provides an equally wide range of work opportunities for healthcare professionals.

The public system

The government-funded public health system works on a community-oriented model, with three key sectors.

1. District Health Boards
   District Health Boards (DHBs) are funded by the government and are responsible for providing or funding health and disability services in their district. There are 21 DHBs in New Zealand and they typically run the public hospitals, providing acute medical and surgical services, and community, ambulatory and mental health services.
    
2. Primary Health Care
   Primary health care covers a broad range of out-of-hospital services, although not all of them are government funded. Primary health care includes first level services such as general practice, mobile nursing and community health services targeted especially for certain conditions (such as maternity, family planning and sexual health services, mental health services and dentistry, or those using particular therapies such as physiotherapy, chiropractic and osteopathy services)
   .
3. PHOs (Primary Health Organisations)
   PHOs are the local structures for delivering and co-ordinating primary health care services. PHOs bring together doctors, nurses and other health professionals (such as Maori health workers, health promotion workers, dieticians, pharmacists, physiotherapists, psychologists and midwives) in the community to serve the needs of their enrolled patients.

The private system

Private healthcare in New Zealand includes specialist services, primary care and private hospitals which provide non-urgent and elective treatments that complement the public health service's focus on urgent and essential treatments.

Private hospitals and clinics around the country provide a range of services, including recuperative care, elective procedures, general surgical procedures and private radiology clinics and testing laboratories.

There are also many private accident, emergency and medical clinics that operate in the private sector, often providing services outside the usual hours of doctors and clinics in the public system.

Accident insurance - ACC

Anyone in New Zealand – including visitors – who has had an accident or injury is usually covered by the government’s personal injury scheme known as ACC.

Run by the Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC), it covers the full range of personal injuries, whether they happen at home, work, or during sport or other leisure activities. It can also cover personal injury caused by a medical mistake, sexual assault or abuse, and some work-related conditions such as discomfort, pain and injury.

ACC helps pay for medical and treatment fees and rehabilitation costs or residential care that are caused by any accident or injury. There may be a part-charge for some treatments, but the cost of care following an accident or injury is largely covered by ACC.

It may also provide up to 80% of pre-tax weekly income if injury prevents a person from working. In cases where a person is permanently physically impaired, a lump-sum payment may be made by ACC.

However, in return for this public system, you are generally not able to sue anyone for compensatory damages if you are injured.

If you would like to find out more about ACC and how it works, click here.

FAQs

Can I work in either the public or private system?

Yes.  It’s up to you whether you work in the public or private system. But because the public system is the largest provider of healthcare services in New Zealand, that’s where most of the work is available.

Are there District Health Boards in all parts of the country?

Yes, and that means you can choose the kind of lifestyle you want – the great outdoors or city life. See our map for more details on what’s best about different parts of the country.

More information

• For more information about the public health system in New Zealand and for links to job vacancy sites at District Health Boards (DHBs) visit www.moh.govt.nz
• For more information about New Zealand’s ACC scheme, see www.acc.co.nz