NSNZ Nurses Ratify 24-Month Agreement as Health Wage Bill Grows
Health Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed the ratification of a new 24-month collective agreement for about 1,000 members of the Nurses Society of New Zealand, featuring a 2.5 per cent pay rise in year one and 2 per cent in year two.
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Health Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed the ratification of a new 24-month collective agreement for about 1,000 members of the Nurses Society of New Zealand, featuring a 2.5 per cent pay rise in year one and 2 per cent in year two.
"I am pleased for the approximately 1,000 nurses who will benefit from this agreement. Nurses are central to delivering care in our hospitals and communities, and I want to acknowledge the exceptional work they do in supporting people at some of their most vulnerable moments, along with their ongoing commitment to putting patients at the centre of everything they do." — Health Minister Simeon Brown
The deal also includes a $2,000 salary adjustment for those at the top of the Enrolled Nurses scale, lump-sum payments of $1,300 for Senior Designated Nurses and Nurse Practitioners plus $1,000 for other staff, and an increase in the Nurse Practitioner Professional Development Allowance from $5,000 to $6,000 per year.
"I want to acknowledge NZNZ and Health New Zealand for their constructive engagement in reaching this agreement, which provides certainty for staff and helps ensure New Zealanders can continue to receive the care they need." — Health Minister Simeon Brown
This settlement follows a 24-month agreement ratified earlier in 2026 for PSA Public and Mental Health Nurses (around 3,500 members), and a separate 20-month agreement for NZNO nurses, midwives and healthcare assistants (around 35,000 members). All three agreements feature the same core percentage increases — 2.5 per cent in year one and 2 per cent in year two — alongside targeted adjustments, though the NZNO deal runs for 20 months rather than 24.
The combined coverage reaches roughly 39,500 public-sector nurses and related staff. These deals add to Health New Zealand personnel costs at a time when Budget 2025 provided $1.78 billion in new operational health spending over four years, net of reprioritisation.
Middlemore Hospital, South Auckland — a major Health New Zealand facility whose nursing workforce falls under the wave of collective agreements ratified in 2026. Ingolfson · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Tight fiscal headroom as baseline costs mount
Treasury analysis in the Budget showed an assessed annual requirement of about $1.37 billion simply to cover demographic growth and inflation. The new funding leaves limited headroom once baseline costs are met.
According to BERL analysis of Budget 2025 health spending, health expenditure has risen from $18.2 billion in 2018/19 to $29.6 billion in 2024/25. Much of the recent growth has funded prior pay equity settlements and demand pressures rather than expanded capacity.
~35,000 members; 20 months; 2.5% then 2%; similar lump sums and Enrolled Nurse adjustments
Key terms across the three largest nurse-related settlements ratified in 2026.
Source: Beehive.govt.nz releases and Health NZ announcements
Cumulative wage pressure on Crown accounts
The cumulative wage pressure will appear in Health NZ's quarterly workforce reports and ultimately feed into the Crown's operating balance before gains and losses. Treasury will incorporate the costs in its next Half Year Economic and Fiscal Update.
According to Health NZ pay equity pages, previous pay equity processes delivered larger backdated lump sums of $10,000 to $25,000 per nurse and base-rate increases of 4.5 to 6.5 per cent. The current round, by comparison, delivers annualised rises of around 2 to 2.5 per cent — a more restrained outcome relative to the inflation-era settlements that preceded it.
According to OECD Health at a Glance 2025, New Zealand recorded 11.7 practising nurses per 1,000 population in 2023, well above the OECD average of 9.2 — itself up from 8.2 a decade earlier. Retention challenges persist, particularly in aged care.
Short-term certainty, longer-term questions
These agreements provide short-term staffing certainty but do not resolve underlying recruitment shortfalls. Taxpayers fund the increases through general taxation and Crown borrowing. The deals compete with other priorities such as hospital capital works and primary-care expansion.
Health NZ's employed workforce reports will show the precise FTE and remuneration impacts in coming quarters. Treasury modelling for the 2026–2028 period will reflect the ongoing personnel cost trajectory.
