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Indian nurses lead international influx to New Zealand
Almost 50 percent of trained nurses who have registered to work in New Zealand since the country’s borders opened last year have relocated from India, according to latest statistics from Immigration New Zealand.
Statistics show that trained Indian nurses account for 3263 of the 6600 visas that were approved by the agency since July 2022.
Overseas nurses seeking to relocate to New Zealand are eligible to work if they receive an accredited employer work visa, skilled migrant visa, resident visa or straight-to-residence visa.
A total of 3531 accredited employer work visas have been issued since the scheme was launched on 4 July 2022, with 2324 Indian nurses receiving such a visa. Seven hundred and fifty-one Philippine nurses received an accredited employer work visa in the same period.
A total of 1761 straight-to-residence visas have been issued since 15 December 2022, with Indian nurses also topping the list at 923 approvals.
Thirty-seven skilled migrant visas have been issued since 11 November 2022, with Indian nurses accounting for 16 of these.
When New Zealand’s borders were closed from March 2020 to July 2022, 1271 nurses were granted approval to travel to New Zealand under a border exception to address health worker shortages in the country. During this period, 535 approvals were granted to nurses from the Philippines, with another 271 being issued to Indian nurses.
In July, the Labour government introduced a raft of measures to address the worker shortage, including increasing clinical placements for nursing students.
Additionally, nurses were added to Immigration New Zealand’s green list in April, which provides faster pathways for residencies to attract international healthcare workers to New Zealand.
“Over the last quarter – from 1 July to 30 September – 4505 new nurses have joined the New Zealand Register of Nurses,” says John Snook, Te Whatu Ora’s director of workforce planning and development.
“That’s a net increase of around 3000 nurses over the same period,” he says.
By comparison, only 2142 nurses joined the register in the same period the previous year.
Te Whatu Ora has witnessed a sharp increase in the number of nurses joining its workforce since mid-2022, mainly due to an increased flow of internationally qualified nurses into New Zealand.
“Joining the register does not guarantee that the nurse intends to practise in New Zealand but many of these people will be coming here to work,” Snook says.
Kerri Nuku is the New Zealand Nurses Organisation’s kaiwhakahaere. Photo: Nick Tapp
Significant vacancies
According to Te Whatu Ora, New Zealand faces a shortage of around 4800 nurses nationwide.
Similarly, New Zealand Nurses Organisation kaiwhakahaere (CEO) Kerri Nuku believes there are “about 4000 to 5000 nurse vacancies” across the country.
Nuku says the recent influx of internationally trained nurses can fill these positions.
“So, we definitely need more nurses and there is still a significant vacancy,” Nuku says.
She recognises the contribution of internationally qualified nurses to New Zealand’s workforce but underscores the challenge posed by retirements among existing nursing professionals.
Nuku calls for greater effort to retain and foster the growth of nurses within New Zealand.
“The Nursing Council’s regulatory body says that there are about 745,000 nurses with their annual practicing certificate, but every year about 6 percent of those nurses are not working in New Zealand,” she says.
This is partly due to nurses choosing to work in Australia due to the Transpacific agreement and broader support provided there.
Nuku says countries such as Australia typically offer more support and incentives for nurses, attracting talent away from New Zealand.
“I know students are opting to train as nurses in Australia due to initiatives like fee-free education, better pay and incentives upon starting work – factors that entice individuals to relocate across the ditch.”
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The chief executive of the Parliamentary Service is confident there will be enough room to accommodate the increased number of MPs and their staff coming into Parliament.
On current numbers, up to 131 MPs could be sitting in the Chamber following the election, brought on by a record overhang result.
Clerk of the House of Representatives Dr David Wilson told the Spinoff that currently the debating chamber had enough chairs to seat 124 MPs – including the Speaker of the House – and work was being done to accommodate more by altering the seating arrangement.
In a statement, Parliamentary Service chief executive Rafael Gonzalez-Montero said planning for a larger Parliament had been going for “some time”.
“Now that the election results have confirmed an increase to the number of members we are looking at several options.
“We are confident we will be able to accommodate all members within the Chamber.”
VNP / Phil Smith
Gonzalez-Montero said office accommodation for members and their staff would be “stretched” for a short time, but the new Members’ Building was only a few months away from “practical completion”.
That building – located behind Parliament – was due to be ready to occupy in April next year and had capacity to accommodate around 30 backbench MPs.
“All members should be in fit-for-purpose accommodation from that point,” Gonzalez-Montero said.
Following the 2023 election, 123 MPs sat in the Chamber – a record number at the time. That decreased to 122 following the resignation of National MP Judith Collins.
Collins held the seat of Papakura and stepped down in May and Parliament voted against holding a by-election because it was too close to the election.
The election result also meant high-ranking National Party MPs like Chris Bishop, Paul Goldsmith, Nicola Willis and Gerry Brownlee – Speaker of the House and an MP for 30 years – would likely not make it back into Parliament.
Only resigning or retiring MPs were permitted to give a valedictory speech meaning none of them would get the chance to give a valedictory statement.
Asked if their would be special allowances for valedictories, Wilson said in a statement that normally only MPs were allowed to speak in the House but the House could suspend its own rules or temporarily alter them.
“It could do so to allow former members to address the House.”
Wilson said no such arrangements could be made until the next Parliament opened and members sworn in.
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