1 July 2025
Dr AO
[email address]
Tēnā koe
Your request for official information, reference: HNZ00087184
Thank you for your request transferred on 19 May 2025 by the Minister of Health to Health New
Zealand | Te Whatu Ora for the following under the Official Information Act 1982 (the OIA):
“This request is submitted by on behalf of some of the future doctors of Aotearoa -
graduates from the University of Auckland and the University of Otago (Classes of 2020 -
2024), who are current junior doctors and, with a more sustainable and responsive health
system, future senior doctors of New Zealand.
We are agreeable for certain parts of this request to be transferred to the Ministry of Health,
Medical Council of New Zealand (MCNZ), University of Auckland, and University of Otago,
if these organisations are better placed to respond to specific questions. For any transfer of
this request, we ask that this be done within the initial 20 working day timeframe.
We do not consent for this OIA to be responded to as general correspondence. This
request must be answered within the provisions of the Official Information Act. We are
agreeable to an extension of the standard 20 working day timeframe (as per guidance from
the Ombudsman) to a maximum of 3 months from the date of this initial email being sent to
you - Minister of Health Simeon Brown - in line with the resignation notice period under
NZRDA and STONZ contracts. This applies to all agencies receiving or responding to this
request, except in the case of MCNZ, which is not subject to the Official Information Act.
We still welcome their cooperation and request that they respond in good faith within a
reasonable timeframe.
Under the Official Information Act, please provide:
1/ The total number of RMOs (House Officers and Registrars) currently employed by Health
New Zealand.
2/ Of these RMOs, the total number who are New Zealand medical graduates, with
breakdown by:
- University of graduation (University of Auckland and University of Otago)
- Graduating year (2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024)
- The total size of each graduating medical cohort from the University of Auckland and the -
University of Otago for the classes of 2020 - 2024.
2/ For each graduating year (2020 - 2024), the attrition rate during medical school, broken
down by the specific medical school year students left.
3/ The total number of resignations of RMOs received by Health New Zealand from
graduates of the classes of 2020 - 2024, including breakdown by:
- Graduating year
- University of graduation
- Stage of junior doctor journey at resignation (PGY1, PGY2, PGY3, PGY4, PGY5)
- Job title at resignation (House Officer, Senior House Officer, Non-training Registrar,
Training Registrar)
- For Registrars, their field of specialty
4/ For each graduating year (2020 - 2024) and university (Auckland and Otago), the median
and mean cost per medical student, including both tuition fees paid by the student and the
government subsidy or funding provided per place.
6/ What is the current business plan or strategy - if any - held by Health New Zealand, the
Ministry of Health, MCNZ, the University of Auckland, or the University of Otago regarding
the long-term retention and sustainability of the junior doctor workforce? Please include any
modelling or estimates on the cost of losing junior doctors to roles outside of Health New
Zealand (e.g. private sector, overseas, or non-clinical roles).
Please note: For the graduating classes of 2021 and 2022, due to COVID-19 disruptions, a
number of doctors formally graduated in 2022. In these cases, we request that the data be
categorised by the date of graduation ceremony rather than graduation year.”
Response
Please note, Health NZ is addressing questions 1, 2, 3 and part of question 6. For the sake of
clarity, I will address each question in turn.
1/ The total number of RMOs (House Officers and Registrars) currently employed by Health
New Zealand.
Page 7 of the
Health NZ Workforce Quarterly Report 01 October to 31 December 2024, provides
employee count and full-time equivalent by District and occupation group. You can this information
on the Health NZ website at
tewhatuora.govt.nz/assets/Publications/Workforce/Health-New-
Zealand-Employed-Workforce-Quarterly-Report-2024-25-Quarter-Two.pdf.
2/ Of these RMOs, the total number who are New Zealand medical graduates, with
breakdown by:
- University of graduation (University of Auckland and University of Otago)
- Graduating year (2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024)
- The total size of each graduating medical cohort from the University of Auckland and the -
University of Otago for the classes of 2020 - 2024.
2/ For each graduating year (2020 - 2024), the attrition rate during medical school, broken
down by the specific medical school year students left.
Please find attached,
Appendix One. This information is supplied to Health NZ by the University of
Auckland and University of Otago. It includes data on NZ medical graduates broken down by
university, graduating year, occupational level-2, total medical graduates who obtained provisional
general registration and number of Medical graduates working in Health NZ.
3/ The total number of resignations of RMOs received by Health New Zealand from
graduates of the classes of 2020 - 2024, including breakdown by:
- Graduating year
- University of graduation
- Stage of junior doctor journey at resignation (PGY1, PGY2, PGY3, PGY4, PGY5)
- Job title at resignation (House Officer, Senior House Officer, Non-training Registrar,
Training Registrar)
- For Registrars, their field of specialty
Appendix One shows the number of New Zealand medical graduates who are no longer
employed by Health NZ. Historical provisional general registration data has been individually
matched to the March 2025 Health NZ payroll records, providing an indicative measure of the scale
of resignations. This provides an indicator for estimating the scale of resignations.
However, Health NZ does not hold direct resignation data, therefore I am refusing your request
under section 18(g) of the Act as the information you have requested is not held by Health NZ | Te
Whatu Ora and we have no grounds to believe that the information is held by another entity subject
to the Act.
6/ What is the current business plan or strategy - if any - held by Health New Zealand, the
Ministry of Health, MCNZ, the University of Auckland, or the University of Otago regarding
the long-term retention and sustainability of the junior doctor workforce? Please include any
modelling or estimates on the cost of losing junior doctors to roles outside of Health New
Zealand (e.g. private sector, overseas, or non-clinical roles).
The current business plan is to support a highly skilled, competent well trained medical workforce
now and into the future. The purpose of Resident Doctors Support Service (RDSS) is to support
the wellbeing, professional development and seamless integration of Resident Medical Officers
(RMOs) into the Aotearoa/ New Zealand healthcare system. This will be achieved through
collaboration and partnership with RMOs, unions, SMO supervisors, operational leads, colleges
and other key stakeholders. The vision is that the outcome of improved retention will be achieved
through a multi-pronged approach:
1. Improving the balance of training, education and employment
2. Better pathways for RMO wellbeing, locally, regionally and nationally
3. Stronger voice for RMOs so that they are part of decision making, locally and nationally
4. Strong and effective clinical leadership in the RMO support and training space
RDSS is developing a framework to maximise retention of New Zealand trained RMOs in the
health system by supporting their progression into Senior Medical Officer (SMO) roles.
This framework will focus on four key areas:
• Structured Career Pathways: Providing RMOs with accurate up-to-date SMO vacancies
nationally and regionally, along with training requirements, professional development and
personal skills required to be an SMO.
• Mentorship and Support: Connecting RMOs with SMOs for career guidance in each
location.
• Early contracting: Recruiting RMOs early for anticipated vacancies, facilitating crossover
periods to allow mentorship of new SMOs and improving local service delivery by reducing
barriers for approval and contracting.
• Building a fair process: Ensure all RMOs have access to employment opportunities and
foster a culture of clinical excellence and staff wellbeing.
The RDSS has a work programme that is focussed entirely on RMO wellbeing, retention, improving
training pathways and the medical pipeline within Aotearoa/New Zealand
Your request for estimates on the cost of losing junior doctors to roles outside of Health New
Zealand is refused under section 18(e) of the Act as this information does not exist.
How to get in touch
If you have any questions, you can contact us at
[email address].
If you are not happy with this response, you have the right to make a complaint to the
Ombudsman. Information about how to do this is available at
www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or
by phoning 0800 802 602.
As this information may be of interest to other members of the public, Health NZ may proactively
release a copy of this response on our website. All requester data, including your name and
contact details, will be removed prior to release.
Nāku iti noa, nā
Sasha Wood
Head of Government Services
Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora
TeWhatuOra.govt.nz
Health NZ, PO Box 793,
Wellington 6140, New Zealand
Document Outline
