In July 2022, the Government rolled out a new NZ healthcare system. The reform focuses on amalgamating the 20 DHBs and 30 PHOs into one Health NZ to centralise the day-to-day running of healthcare around the country.
Along with an increase in the health budget for the next year, the Government is setting down changes to give the future of the system more continuity. Budgets will now be set for a three-year period rather than on an adjusted year-on-year basis.
With 1 million people estimated to be over 65 by 2028, the Government is planning for a future with the increasing level of our ageing population.
The New Zealand Health workforce faces many new challenges, from an aging population to skill shortages. With an aging population, an increase in care from health professionals is also expected. Older people are also more likely to have a disability and have more than one health condition.
Our health professionals are also aging, with 40% of doctors and 45% of nurses over 50.
General practitioners, for example, are estimated to see their workforce reduced by fifty per cent in the next ten years due to retirement. One in five nurses is also looking to retire in years. The lack of new graduates in this area is pushing New Zealand to look to international shores to fulfil their healthcare needs.
We rely heavily on a migrant workforce to support our healthcare system. Currently, 42% of our doctors, 32% of our midwives and 26% of our nurses are migrant workers. However, to ensure the health and expectations of caring for New Zealanders are met with the support of migrants, New Zealand needs to invest in training continually.
Generally, there has been a labour shortage in New Zealand for quite some time. This is because the healthcare workforce in New Zealand, prior to 2020, had been topped up with migrant workers entering on visas such as the skilled migrant visa NZ. However, due to the increased workload and pressure on healthcare workers over the pandemic, this problem has compounded for the New Zealand health system.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Government brought in 5700 critical healthcare workers despite global borders being closed.
Immigration NZ introduced the Green List to prioritise Medical professionals like nurses and doctors to grow the workforce alongside local graduates. However, this is not a quick road to recovery for our healthcare system.
There are several ways that the Government aims to improve the healthcare system and support New Zealand's growing and aging population.
All of the health reform changes are designed to reduce the pressure on specialist and hospital care.
Healthcare reform is shifting its approach to prioritise preventative care. For example, ensuring our population has access to their GPs and healthcare to treat ailments before they become larger issues.
"A shift to focussing on better, earlier care at GPs and local health centres will ensure New Zealand's health system can provide quality care, at the right time, and in the right place, while taking pressure off our hospitals," Andrew Little said.
The Government has designed a new health system to enable a holistic approach to planning and delivering services by condensing all DHBs and PHOs into one system, Health NZ. This should provide consistency and efficiency across the country.
Upgrading the national system backed with modern technology and more secure IT platforms aims to allow medical professionals to access all of a patient's medical information and streamline treatment and administration.
The Government has increased the budget for 3000 nurses and an additional 1000 healthcare places over a period of four years. They are also investing NZ$76 million to develop a primary healthcare workforce, including 1,500 training places for nursing, physiotherapy and pharmacy.
The Government is rebalancing New Zealand's immigration system by implementing a shift in the future migrant workforce to increase New Zealand's productivity and rebalance the skills gap to support our country's growth. The rebalance ensures New Zealand is an attractive destination for highly skilled workers in global shortage.
With record lows in NZ employment, overseas workers are in high demand by the NZ Healthcare system. The introduction of the Green list has opened up a list of highly skilled roles which can be pathways to residence for migrant workers.
There are currently over 40 healthcare roles on the Government's Green List of priority visa applications that will either grant the migrants a fast track to residency or allow for a work to residence.
The Work to residence visa nz and "Highly paid" pathways require workers to be on an Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV NZ), which is a visa offering NZ working rights for a select few if migrants meet a certain threshold. For more advice on securing your right to work in New Zealand, Malcolm Pacific can help answer questions and support you with your application.
NZ is providing support to recognise migrant health workers’ qualifications. By financially supporting doctors and other healthcare workers within their formative first months in New Zealand, the Government is hoping to attract more migrants.
To ensure that health professionals can get their qualifications recognised in New Zealand, they have introduced several opportunities:
Whether you're considering applying for a work-to-residence visa nz, planning a new way of life in New Zealand or becoming part of our healthcare system, Malcolm Pacific Immigration can help. Our licensed advisers assist you in understanding the visa process and take the stress away to let you focus on your business. We have an employer services team on standby and ready to help.
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Our highly experienced licensed Immigration team will take away the stress and worry of navigating the complicated world of New Zealand Immigration. All you need to do is get in touch. Our team is on standby, ready to help.
Our highly experienced licensed Immigration team will take away the stress and worry of navigating the complicated world of New Zealand Immigration. All you need to do is get in touch. Our employer team is on standby, ready to help.
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Today the government announced a pathway to residence for migrant workers who are living and working in New Zealand. Applications open on 1 December 2021 for the first wave who are eligible to apply. The second wave can apply from 1 March 2022. The deadline to lodge an application is 31 July 2022 or else they will miss out on this one off opportunity.
Today the government announced a pathway to residence for people living and working in New Zealand. Applications open on 1 December 2021 for the first wave eligible to apply. The second wave can apply from 1 March 2022. The deadline to lodge an application is 31 July 2022 or else you miss the boat.
The government has moved the introduction of the new employer accreditation process across to mid-2022. At the same time, the Minister of Immigration announced new work visa rules for migrant workers who are already in New Zealand and working full time.
The government has increased the median wage to $27 per hour from 19 July. Any Skilled Migrant residence application lodged after this date will need to include a skilled job offer that pays at least $27 per hour. For some lower-skilled occupations, the minimum pay rate increases to $40.50 per hour.
From 19 July 2021
From 30 June 2021
Employers of migrant workers must become accredited from 1 November 2021 before work visa applications can be processed. Most employers are not accredited. Those that are accredited will have to roll into the new system when it goes live in late September.
From mid-2020 (delayed)
Skilled occupation "Dairy Cattle Farmer" spilt into three occupations. New occupations are: "Dairy Farm Manager", "Assistant Dairy Farm Manager" and "Dairy Herd Manager". Each sit at different skill levels, therefore, the award of points will depend on pay rates, job tasks and other requirements.
From 15 February 2021
The government has deferred the fortnightly selection of Expressions of Interest from the Skilled Migrant pool for six months (to be reviewed in April 2021). Invitations to Apply for Residence remain suspended. The last selection from the Skilled Migrant pool took place on 18/03/2020.
From 7 October 2020
The government added four new occupations that are now regarded as skilled employment and may qualify for job offer points under the Skilled Migrant Category. These are:
Aged or disabled carer, Bicycle mechanic, Driller and Nursing Support worker.
From 27 July 2020
Anyone invited by Immigration NZ to apply for residence under the Skilled Migrant Category where their invitation is dated between 1 November 2019 and 15 April 2020 (inclusive) has now been granted an additional six months to lodge their residence application.
From 27 May 2020
The government has deferred the fortnightly selection of Expressions of Interest from the Skilled Migrant pool. This means Invitations to Apply for Residence are also suspended. Malcolm Pacific Immigration does not anticipate selections to resume until after the general election held on 17 October 2020.
Immigration NZ is now prioritising Skilled Migrant Residence applications where the main (principal) applicant meets the criteria:
From 24 February 2020
From 7 October 2019
The government recently added more occupations that are now to be regarded as skilled employment and may qualify for job offer points under the Skilled Migrant Category. In order to qualify for points, the job must be paying at least the current median wage (or higher for certain occupations) at the time the residence application is lodged.
From 1 November 2021
From 1 November 2021 anyone who is not a NZ citizen must be fully vaccinated (unless exempt) before travelling to New Zealand. Fully vaccinated means your last dose of vaccine was given at least 14 days before travelling and it was an approved vaccine.
Applications for employer accreditation closed at the end of June 2021. Applications lodged before the closure date are still being processed. New applications for accreditation open on 9 May 2022. The process will be quite different to what employers have experienced in the past. Businesses will need to meet minimum standards.
Wednesday, 1 December is fast approaching and it is estimated that around 16,000 individuals and families can apply in the first wave for the 2021 Resident Visa opening next month. It is exciting for the thousands of people who have been waiting patiently to become residents that finally the finish line is in sight.
The first wave of applicants can apply from 1 December 2021. Around 16,000 applications are expected in this first wave. The second wave opens on 1 March 2022. In total, the government expects approximately 110,000 applications that will include about 165,000 people.
The second group of workers who can apply online for the 2021 Resident Visa that opens on 1 March 2022 are those who hold an eligible work visa and either meet "Settled", "Skilled" or "Scarce" as set out above. In total Immigration NZ estimate around 110,000 people will qualify to apply for this visa.
The first group of workers who can apply online for the 2021 Resident Visa that opens on 1 December 2021 are those that on 29/09/2021:
Is this the only requirement to qualify for residence? No. In addition to the eligible work visa criteria workers also need to be regarded as one of the following:
People who were lawfully in NZ (or in Australia when the travel bubble closed between April and July 2021) on 29/09/2021 need to meet the visa eligibility criteria:
The government has introduced a limited pathway to residence for people who are already living and working in New Zealand. Applications open on 1 December 2021 for the first wave of people eligible to apply. The second wave opens on 1 March 2022. The deadline to apply for the 2021 Resident Visa is 31 July 2022.
A small number of critical health workers (taking up jobs for six months or longer) or specialist workers (taking up jobs that are for longer than six months) who were granted border exemptions may also have eligibility for the 2021 Resident Visa. They will need to have arrived in NZ and lodge a 2021 Resident Visa application.
*Excludes high-risk countries.
*Excludes high-risk countries.
The work visa categories set to close are:
In order to address labour shortages in New Zealand's crucial industries the NZ government has implemented a "Green List" of sought-after high-skill occupations. This list offers a prioritised pathway to residency.
There are qualification and/or occupational registration requirements to meet. Occupations are broken down into two tiers:
The recent additions in May 2023 across many sectors on the Green List NZ can be found here