Strengthening our health workforce

New Zealand’s health system is under significant pressure. This is partly because we are not training enough doctors to meet the needs of our population, and partly because we are not doing enough to retain those who enter the system—whether trained locally or abroad.

Despite increasing registration numbers, doctor retention remains a critical weakness. Just 28.7% of overseas-trained doctors remain in the country after five years, compared to 84.9% of locally trained doctors.

This high level of turnover places pressure on clinical teams, fragments continuity of care, and weakens long-term workforce resilience. This is not a question of where doctors come from. It’s about whether they are supported to stay.

Medical workforce planning must therefore shift from a focus on recruitment alone to a focus on career development, retention, and long-term contribution.

We are not short of talent. We are short of incentives to keep that talent here.

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