September 19th, 2024
The New Zealand government announced the addition of 32 new health sector roles to the Straight to Residence pathway of the Green List, as part of their plan to prepare the health system for the upcoming winter season. Immigration Minister Michael Wood and Health Minister Dr. Ayesha Verrall made the announcement on 11 April.
Michael Wood highlighted the importance of making New Zealand's immigration settings competitive to attract health workers amid the current global health worker shortage. "We need more qualified people to help us deliver on our record health investments and help improve access to good healthcare in New Zealand," Wood said.
Dr. Verrall stated that workforce development is one of her top priorities as Health Minister. The 32 health roles added to the Green List cover a wide range of professions, including enrolled nurses, nurse practitioners, dentists, dental technicians, MRI scanning technologists, paramedics, optometrists, pharmacists, and counselling.
With these changes, the Green List now includes a total of 48 health roles, all of which are nationally important and fall under the Straight to Residence pathway. Last month, nearly 900 overseas nurses applied to register to work in New Zealand, following the addition of midwives and registered nurses to the Green List in December.
Dr. Verrall emphasised that the updated immigration settings, along with improved wages for nurses and immigration support, will make New Zealand's offer among the most competitive in the world. "We want to train and retain as many local health workers as possible, but we have immediate shortages we need to address and today's changes, alongside improvements to pay, will go some way to removing barriers to working in New Zealand," Dr. Verrall said.
The Green List also features roles essential to the wellbeing of Kiwi families, including those in social services, education, and justice, which contribute to health service delivery in the country.
In addition, Immigration Minister Michael Wood confirmed that skippers and deckhands will be added to the transport sector agreement. Final details of this agreement are set to be confirmed soon, with implementation expected to begin from late May.
Addiction practitioner/alcohol & drug clinician
Audiometrist
Chiropractor
Clinical dental technician
Clinical physiologists (sleep, renal, exercise, respiratory, neurology, and cardiac)
Counsellor
Dental specialists
Dental technician
Dental therapist
Dentist
Dietician
Dispensing optician
Drug and alcohol counsellor
Enrolled nurse
Genetic counsellor
Medical laboratory pre-analytical technician
Medical resonance imaging technologist
Nuclear medicine technologist
Nurse practitioner
Optometrist
Oral health therapist
Orthotic and prosthetic technician
Orthotist/prosthetist
Osteopath
Paramedic/emergency medical technician
Perfusionist (cardiac)
Pharmacist
Physiotherapist
Play therapist (hospital)
Social worker
Speech language therapist
Sterile processing technician
Anaesthetic Technician
Audiologist
Medical imaging technologist
Medical laboratory technician
Medical radiation therapist
Occupational therapist.
Podiatrist
Sonographer
Clinical Psychologists
Medical laboratory scientist
Medical practitioners (doctors)
Midwife
Orthoptist
Physicist (Medical)
Psychologists
Registered Nurse
Eligible people will be able to apply from May 29 2023.