Nurses Society of New Zealand

29/05/2026

COLLECTIVE AGREEMENT BETWEEN HEALTH NZ | TE WHATU & THE NURSES SOCIETY OF NEW ZEALAND SETTLED

Nurses Society of New Zealand (NSNZ) members employed by Te Whatu Ora | Health NZ have voted to accept the terms of settlement for a collective agreement signed by the parties last month. This follows a ratification vote.

Nurses Society director David Wills says it seems that most members who voted recognised the offer was the best that could realistically be achieved given current health funding.

Plus, the settlement for NSNZ members is essentially the same as the offer for nursing staff represented by other unions.

The new base pay rates for registered nurses, enrolled nurses, senior designated nurses, midwives, nurse practitioners, as well health care assistants and mental health assistants have a 2.5% increase this year and a further 2.0% next year.

The full terms of settlement, the new CA and the pay rates can be viewed on the news section of our main website: https://nursessociety.org.nz/

18/05/2026

TE WHATU ORA - NURSES SOCIETY COLLECTIVE AGREEMENT

Subject to a ratification vote, the Nurses Society of New Zealand (NSNZ)/Te Uniana o NSNZ and Te Whatu Ora | Health New Zealand have now reached agreement on a collective agreement. The terms of settlement are now available on our main website, with links:
https://nursessociety.org.nz/

The settlement includes a 2.5% pay increase this year and 2.0% pay increase in 2027. A 1,300 lump sum for Senior Designated Nurse or Senior Designated Midwife pay scales and $1,000 FTE lump sum for all other nursing staff.

Other changes include: Nurse Practitioner professional development allowance increased to $6,000 annually, which may be accrued for up to three years (to $18,000), $2,000 flat rate increase for step 5 of the enrolled nurse scale (in additional to the general 2.5% pay increase), a tikanga Māori pūtea allowance, $3,500 annual allowance for Duly Authorised Officers and $3,500 annual allowance for Authorised Officers.

Provision for NSNZ invited to participate in the safe-staffing programmes and o Te Whatu Ora | Health NZ commits to maximise ongoing recruitment of new graduates.

The pay increases mean base rates for RNs this year range from $77,667 for new graduates to $166,872 for senior nurses, and next year from $79,221 to $170,209.

Step 7 (the base scale most RNs are on) increases to $109,407 this year and $111,596 next year. The full, base pay rates can be viewed here.

Full rate details for all nursing staff have a link on our main website,

17/04/2026

https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/on-air/early-edition-with-ryan-bridge/audio/david-wills-nurses-society-director-on-the-increasing-reports-of-abuse-towards-healthcare-staff/

Increasing reports of horrendous abuse directed towards staff at emergency departments.

24/03/2026

https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/590457/government-says-it-s-improved-on-all-five-of-its-health-targets

Director of the Nurses Society of NZ, David Wills said the data had shown a lot of good work was being done by nurses and others across Health NZ, but the system is under constant pressure.

"There is still unmet need and Health NZ still requires increased funding and resources. Hopefully that will be in the next budget."

The Health Minister says the improvements included shorter stays in emergency departments and shorter waits for specialists.

10/03/2026

The Royal Commission into the COVID-19 response confirms that Aotearoa New Zealand’s management was one of the best in the world.

Moreover, it finds, on balance, that the then government’s decision to adopt a vaccine strategy early on in the pandemic was “appropriate, and consistent with overwhelming scientific advice”.

The Commission concluded that decision makers “carefully balanced the benefits of COVID-19 vaccines ... against any potential risks”.

It reviewed Medsafe’s process of approving the vaccines – and praised it.

The Commission report says, “Medsafe was agile and adaptive in its regulation of COVID-19 vaccines during the pandemic. This allowed rapid approval of a vaccine without taking short cuts”.

Nurses Society Director David Wills says it is good to get further confirmation that Aotearoa New Zealand did better than most.

Also, it is obvious with hindsight that there are some lessons for being better prepared for similar events in the future.

The Commission also recognised that misinformation on social media was a major problem.

Royal commission says response led by Jacinda Ardern was broadly ‘appropriate’, in a wide-ranging report featuring recommendations for future pandemics

02/12/2025

Hopefully this legal challenge to the coalition government puberty blocker regulations is successful.

Decisions on such matters should be made by health regulators, not politicians. Likewise, they should be evidence-based and not driven by political ideology. Treatment decisions should be made by clinicians with patients and/or their whānau.

PATHA is asking for an urgent judicial review on the grounds that the incoming regulation is "illegal and unethical".

21/09/2025

Extra funding is needed for health services not just moving funds from one part of the health service to another.

The $100 million 'announced' yesterday for planned maintenance and upgrades, and the $20 million for EDs is existing funding. None of this is extra funding - all of this of this funding was already announced in the last budget.

An emergency doctor is concerned the $20 million funding injection could mean cuts to other areas of Health New Zealand.

17/09/2025

To mark Te Wiki o te reo Māori / Māori language week - a brief explanation of the te reo Māori name for the Nurses Society and the name of our union arm.

o There are multiple transliterations for the word nurse in te reo Māori. Some years ago when a te reo Māori name was being selected, two options for nurse that were considered were nēhi and nāhi. However, experts advised that some Māori speakers dislike both, preferring more traditional words.

o There are also regional dialectal differences. Nāhi is apparently popular in the north, while nēhi is used on the East Coast and West Coast.

o Tapuhi, as a verb, means to nurse and tend to the sick and those in distress. As a noun, it means a nurse.

o It is notable that The Nursing Council of New Zealand (Te Kaunihera Tapuhi o Aotearoa) uses tapuhi.

o Rōpū was considered for the word Society. As a noun, it means a party of people, company, gang, association, entourage, committee, organisation or category. However, in the end kāhui was selected, as it is used for groups with a shared interest and arguably it has more gravitas than rōpū.

o Hence our te reo Māori name Te Kāhui Tapuhi o Aotearoa was adopted.

o The official name of our registered union arm is Te Uniana o NSNZ, which literally translates as “the union of NSNZ”. It has no English name and never has.

A PDF version is available on our main NURSES SOCIETY OF NEW ZEALAND Te Kāhui Tapuhi o Aotearoa & Te Uniana o NSNZ website.

26/08/2025

Contracting some public hospital planned care to private surgical hospitals in the short term is arguably helpful, but if done long-term it will seriously undermine funding to the public sector and by implication undermine services.

Suggestions of PPPs and 10 year contracts are very concerning. Private surgical hospitals have a significant role to play, but not at the expense of the main provider, i.e. the public system.

A move to an American-style healthcare system would be an absolute disaster. It would be excessively expensive, inefficient, and highly inequitable.

The public deserve answers says a hospital trust chair says, as Health NZ refuses to say how much it's paying.

12/08/2025

Powerful speech calling out the failure of the government to act with courage and to recognise Palestinian Statehood now. Aotearoa New Zealand is normally a leader on issues not an outlier.

Greens co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick has been ejected from Parliament's debating chamber and told to leave for the rest of the week after a fiery speech about th...