The Government is delivering on reducing wait times and growing the frontline mental health and addiction workforce, one year on from the country’s first dedicated workforce plan, Minister for Mental Health Matt Doocey says.
“From day one, I’ve been clear that the biggest barrier to timely support is workforce shortages. That’s why publishing New Zealand’s first Mental Health and Addiction Workforce Plan in this Government’s first year was so important, and we are already seeing results,” Mr Doocey says.
“Over the past year, the frontline Health NZ workforce has grown by around 10 per cent. Overall vacancy rates and wait times are down, and we’ve seen strong growth in key areas. This includes:
- 349 extra frontline mental health and addiction workers beginning training in clinical professions in semester one alone
- New peer support roles expanding into eating disorder services, emergency departments, and Crisis Recovery Cafes
- Approval of a new psychology assistant role, with training to begin in 2026
- Universities have opened more clinical places on mental health training programmes
“Budget 2025 provided increased funding for psychology internships and stage one psychiatry registrars, and we’re already seeing the impact. We set a goal of 60 new clinical psychology interns in 2025, we have surpassed that with 74 now employed, delivering on our commitment to double the number of clinical internship places.
“We have also made it a priority to grow the number of stage one psychiatrist registrar training positions available each year, it has gone from 33 in 2024 to 54 in 2026.
“It’s fitting to be releasing the updated plan at the Addiction Leadership Day today. Two weeks ago, the Government announced its plan to combat meth harm, allocating $30 million to increase the number of available services, including $6 million to grow the frontline addiction workforce.
“At the one-year mark, it’s appropriate that Health NZ is updating the Plan. This gives us the opportunity to acknowledge early gains, introduce new actions, and target workforce pressures.
“The updated plan continues the Government’s focus on faster access to support, more frontline workers, and a stronger crisis response.
“When someone takes the brave step of reaching out for help, workforce should never be a barrier. Whether it’s you, your child, a friend, or a family member, this Government is committed to making sure support is there.”