5 February 2026
Spencer Jones
[FYI request #32941 email]
Tēnā koe Spencer
Your request for official information, reference: HNZ00104070
Thank you for your request for information, transferred on 26 November 2025 from the Ministry of
Health to Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora, asking for information under the Official Information
Act 1982 (the OIA). Your request is attached as
Appendix One.
On 8 December 2025, we wrote to you seeking refinement of your request for information. You
replied on 9 December 2025, confirming you were wil ing to refine the request as set out in
Appendix One. This response addresses your refined request.
Response
To provide you with further context in terms of your request, please note that Health NZ continues
to face the ongoing challenge of recruiting suitably qualified healthcare professionals at a national
and international level. These challenges are not new as they are being faced by many countries
around the world, nor are they isolated to any particular role across New Zealand.
There are a number of reasons why recruitment may be timed carefully. This can include
accommodating new graduate intakes, pausing to avoid repeated unsuccessful recruitment
rounds, temporary staffing arrangements that meet short-term needs, or aligning
with organisational change processes. We also manage recruitment volumes to ensure our teams
can progress roles efficiently.
We are committed to strengthening our workforce and continue to actively recruit to vacancies. In
an organisation of around 90,000 people, it is normal to have a significant number of vacancies at
any given time, and we work continuously to ensure our services are safely and appropriately
staffed.
Information responding to parts 1.1, 5.1, and 5.2 of your request is provided in
Appendix Two.
Appendix Two is an Excel file containing multiple worksheets, including a notes sheet that explains
data sources, limitations, and how the information should be interpreted.
For the listed professions:
• Employee count, contracted FTE, and sick leave data is provided in
Appendix Two, Sheet
1.
• Vacancy rate data is provided in
Appendix Two, Sheet 2.
• Total leavers data is provided in
Appendix Two, Sheet 3.
• Medical Imaging Technologists data, including employee count, contracted FTE, sick leave,
and leavers, is provided separately in
Appendix Two, Sheet 4, due to data source
differences.
Individual counts of fewer than five have been aggregated and presented as >5 in order to protect
the privacy of individuals under section 9(2)(a) of the OIA. We have also considered any
countervailing public interests in the release of this information. We do not believe that the public
interests outweigh the need to withhold it in this instance.
Aggregated breakdowns of leavers (for example, resignation or retirement) are not captured in our
systems and are therefore unable to be provided.
In response to part 1.2 of your request, further information is provided in
Appendix Three. Please
refer to the caveats outlined in the notes sections of the first four Excel worksheets, which explain
data coverage and limitations relevant to workforce modelling and shortfall estimates.
Please note that the data provided is provisional data. This is data which has not undergone the
validation process that we use for published data. We recommend that caveats are consistently
used, underscoring that the data is provisional, not validated through a formal validation process,
and could be subject to change. If you have any questions about the information provided, please
do not hesitate to contact us.
How to get in touch
If you have any questions, you can contact us a
t [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. Al requester data, including your name and
contact details, wil be removed prior to release.
Nāku iti noa, nā
Sasha Wood
Head of Government Services
Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora
Appendix One
Request transferred to Health New Zealand 26 November 2025
1. Workforce totals and FTE shortages (2018–2025)
For each calendar year 2018–2025, please provide the following for:
• Radiologists
• Radiation oncologists
• Medical oncologists
• Haematologists
• Anatomical pathologists
• Clinical/pathology scientists (e.g., histology, cytology, haematology, microbiology)
• Medical imaging technologists (MITs)
• Sonographers
• Nuclear medicine technologists
1.1 Workforce numbers
• Total headcount
• Total employed FTE
• Total funded FTE
• Total vacant FTE
• Vacancy rate (%)
1.2 Workforce shortages
Please provide any national-level estimates or modelling describing the numerical shortfall (FTE
shortage) for each profession above.
If forecasting exists to 2030 or 2035, please include it.
5. Workforce attrition, il ness, and early retirement
For each profession listed in section 1:
5.1 Annual exits
Number of staff leaving the workforce, broken into:
• Resignation
• Retirement
• Medical retirement
• Relocation overseas
• Non-renewal or change of scope
• Internal transfer out of specialty due to workload or health reasons
5.2 Long-term sickness
Aggregated FTE lost to:
• Sick leave
• Long-term medical leave
• Occupational burnout
• ACC injuries (if applicable and non-identifiable)
T
eWhatuOra.govt.nz
Health NZ, PO Box 793,
Wellington 6140, New Zealand
Refined request 9 December 2025
I confirm I am happy to proceed with the offered data format for sections 1.1 and 5, as it wil
provide valuable insights into workforce pressures:
Biannual snapshots (30 June and 31 Dec, 2018–2025) for the listed professions.
Metrics: Total Headcount/Employee Count; Contracted FTE; Vacant FTE; Vacancy Rate (%); Sick
Leave Taken; Total Leavers.
This aligns closely with my public interest goals of mapping diagnostic bottlenecks in cancer care.
Regarding potential mismatches for certain professions, please flag these in your response with
brief explanations (e.g., data source limitations) to aid interpretation.
Two minor expansions to maximize utility without substantial additional collation:
If readily available, include "Total Funded FTE" alongside Contracted FTE—this would clarify
resourcing gaps vs. actual deployment, as referenced in your Health Workforce Plan 2024 (which I
have reviewed; it provides helpful high-level modeling but not profession-specific baselines).
For "Total Leavers," if aggregated breakdowns (e.g., resignation vs. retirement rates) exist in
summary form from HR dashboards, please include; otherwise, confirmation of non-availability
suffices.
For section 1.2 (national FTE shortfall estimates/modeling), the 2024 Plan partially satisfies my
request with its forecasts to 2035. However, to complete the picture, please provide any
supplementary internal estimates (e.g., from Te Whatu Ora's workforce analytics) that quantify
current shortfalls for the listed professions—ideally as simple FTE gap figures per year, if held. If
not, explicit confirmation is fine.
I request the data in Excel/CSV for tables (with PDF summaries if needed) to enable easy analysis.
No personal/identifiable info is sought.
