Te Whatu Ora
Health New Zealand – Te Whatu Ora is the primary publicly funded healthcare system of New Zealand. It was established by the New Zealand Government to replace the country's 20 district health boards on 1 July 2022. Health New Zealand is charged with working alongside the Public Health Agency to manage the provision of healthcare services in New Zealand.
Mandate and responsibilities
Health New Zealand is responsible for the planning and commissioning of health services as well as the functions of the 20 former district health boards. The Ministry of Health remains responsible for setting health policy, strategy and regulation.As of 2022, the agency is New Zealand's largest employer, consolidating the DHBs' combined work force of 80,000, with an estimated annual operating budget of NZ$20 billion and an asset base of about NZ$24 billion.
Health New Zealand is responsible for funding Healthline New Zealand a free over-the-phone health service that operates 24/7. The telephone is used for non-emergency health advice from nurses and paramedics. The telephone service is not to be confused with the 111 emergency telephone number which handles emergency medical events.
Leadership and structure
As of July 2025, Health New Zealand – Te Whatu Ora is headed by a governance board led by chair Professor Lester Levy. Other board members include deputy chair Dr Andrew Connolly, Roger Jarrold, Dr Frances Hughes, Parekawhia McLean, Peter McCardle, and Terry Moore. In addition, Hamiora Bowkett was appointed as Crown Observer to support and monitor the public health service. In addition, Health NZ is led by an infrastructure committee led by chair Dr Margaret Wilsher. Its first Chief Executive is Dale Bramley.Health New Zealand consists of four regional divisions, with regional commissioning boards overseeing the provisioning of primary and community health services. These four regional divisions consist of:
- Northern: Northland, Waitematā, Auckland and Counties Manukau;
- Te Manawa Taki: Waikato, Lakes, Bay of Plenty, Tairāwhiti, Taranaki;
- Central: MidCentral, Whanganui, Capital & Coast/Hutt Valley, Hawke's Bay, Wairarapa;
- Te Waipounamu: Canterbury Region, West Coast Region, Nelson Marlborough, Southern, and South Canterbury.
History
Announcement
On 21 April 2021, Minister of Health Andrew Little announced plans to replace the country's 20 district health boards with a new public health agency called "Health New Zealand", which would be modelled after the United Kingdom's National Health Service. Health New Zealand would work alongside a new Māori Health Authority, which was to be responsible for setting Māori health policies and overseeing the provision of Māori health services. In addition, a Public Health Authority was established to centralise public health work.The National Party's health spokesperson Shane Reti criticised the government's plan to replace the district health boards with a new centralised agency. He claimed that centralisation took away autonomy from local regions and suggested that the government instead explore the consolidation of some functions such as asset management across the DHBs rather than abolishing them entirely. Reti claimed that the public was unaware of the cost of the government's planned restructuring and the potential disruption it would cause.
Formation
In mid-September 2021, the government announced the interim board members of Health New Zealand. The agency was chaired by the economist Rob Campbell. Other board members included Sharon Shea, former National MP Amy Adams, chartered accountant and lawyer Cassandra Crowley, former Labour MP Mark Gosche, former Director General of Health Karen Poutasi, senior executive Vanessa Stoddart, and general practitioner, kidney specialist and Medical Council of New Zealand chair Curtis Walker. In December 2021, Margie Apa was appointed chief executive of Te Whatu Ora; she resigned from the role in February 2025.In October 2021, the government introduced a bill to formally entrench various health reforms including the replacement of the district health board system with Health New Zealand. The bill passed on 7 June 2022 and became the Pae Ora Act 2022.
On 19 May 2022, the government allocated NZ$13.2 billion from the 2022 New Zealand budget to facilitate the establishment of the Health New Zealand and the Māori Health Authority over the next four years. This amount included $11.1 billion to address the cost pressures of the previous district health board system and $2.1 billion to set up the two new health entities.
On 1 July 2022, Health New Zealand formally launched as Te Whatu Ora, with the new entity assuming responsibility for all hospitals and health services formerly run by the district health boards. In addition, the 12 public health units, which operated within the DHBs, and the former Health Promotion Agency were transferred into Te Whatu Ora. The new entity also assumed the commissioning functions of the Health Ministry and the commissioning and delivery functions of the DHBs.
2023 dismissal of chair
In late February 2023, Te Whatu Ora's chair Rob Campbell criticised the National Party's proposal to scrap the Labour Government's Three Waters reform programme in a LinkedIn post and accused its leader Christopher Luxon of "dog whistling" on the issue of co-governance. Campbell's remarks were criticised by National MP Simeon Brown and ACT Party leader David Seymour, who accused him of breaching the Public Service Commission's policy requiring the directors of Crown entities to remain politically neutral. Campbell defended his remarks, stating that they were made in his capacity as a private citizen and denied violating the Commission's political impartiality policy.On 27 February, Prime Minister Chris Hipkins criticised Campbell's Three Waters remarks as "inappropriate." On 28 February, Health Minister Ayesha Verrall used her discretionary powers under section 36 of the Crown Entities Act 2004 to relieve Campbell of his position as head of Te Whatu Ora. Though Campbell had apologised to Luxon and Verrall, the latter had demanded that he resign by 10:30 am on 28 February. Campbell had refused to resign and defended his right to criticise National's Three Waters policy.
2023 Winter Health Plan
On 4 May 2023, Verrall announced that Te Whatu Ora would play a leading role in the Government's 2023 Winter Health Plan that would include 24 initiatives to support community care and reduce hospital demand. These initiatives include using telehealth services to support primary care, ambulances and paramedics, remote patient monitoring, equipping pharmacies to treat minor ailments, community radiology services, increasing primary options for acute care, incentives to support aged residential care, improving access to allied health and community response services, investing in mental health services, bivalent COVID-19 boosters, and influenza vaccination campaigns, recruiting international nurses and health professionals, and continuing to invest in COVID-19 monitoring, response, and services.2023 Crown observer
In mid December 2023, Health Minister Shane Reti appointed Ken Whelan as a Crown observer to Health New Zealand, citing ongoing challenges that the agency was facing following the previous Labour Government's 2022 health reforms.2024–2025 leadership changes
On 12 April 2024, Health NZ chair Dame Karen Poutasi resigned as chair and board member prior to the end of her 18-month term, effective immediately. Health Minister Shane Reti said that Poutasi had been asked to remain in the role until a successor could be appointed in May 2024.By 17 July 2024, three of Health NZ's board members, Amy Adams, Vanessa Stoddart and Dr Curtis Walker, had decided not to renew their terms while two others, Naomi Ferguson and Jeff Lowe, had resigned prior to the end of their terms. This left Lester Levy and Roger Jarrold as the two remaining board members. On 23 July, Health Minister Shane Reti and Prime Minister Christopher Luxon installed the last remaining board member Lester Levy as commissioner and chair of the organisation. According to Reti, these changes came amidst report that Health NZ was heading towards a NZ$1.4 billion deficit by the end of the financial year, with the agency spending $130 million a month. Luxon also criticised the organisation's lack of performance management, centralised and bloated bureaucracy, and financial mismanagement. The Sixth National Government also confirmed plans to split Health NZ into four regions, with each headed by a deputy chief executive.
On 7 July 2025, Health Minister Simeon Brown re-established Health NZ's leadership board. Levy was appointed as the board's chair for a period of 12 months. Other board members included deputy chair and senior surgeon Dr Andrew Connolly, Roger Jarrold, Dr Frances Hughes, Parekawhia McLean, Peter McCardle, and Terry Moore. In addition, Hamiora Bowkett was appointed as Crown Observer to the organisation. Brown also announced the formation of a new infrastructure committee responsible for delivering critical health projects. The infrastructure committee consists of chair Dr Margaret Wilsher, Mark Binns, James Christmas, Sarah Sinclair, Evan Davies, and Roger Jarrold.
Issues and controversies
Diversity and representation
In mid August 2022, Radio New Zealand reported that Health New Zealand lacked Asian members on the organisation's 51 leadership roles despite Asians making up 15% of New Zealand's population according to the 2018 New Zealand census. Population and migration researcher Dr Francis Collins advocated legislation ensuring greater minority representation in leadership and decision-making. Asian medical professionals Doctor Carlos Lam and Vishal Niwi of the Asian Network criticised the lack of Asian representation and input within Health New Zealand's leadership. In response, Health NZ's chief executive Margie Apa claimed that the organisation was committed to diversity in its workforce but admitted they had not set targets for representation on the grounds that its employees and management were required to serve all communities equitably.In March 2024, The New Zealand Herald reported that a Health NZ manager had instructed a staff member to stop using the Māori language greetings in emails after two patients objected. The staff member disagreed and shared her story in a Reddit post. In response, Health NZ's chief people officer, Andrew Slater, described the manager's response as an overreaction. Former Health NZ chair Rob Campbell criticised the agency for its lack of "cultural leadership" and for failing to address racism.