NZRDA - New Zealand Resident Doctors' Association

29/07/2026

NZRDA members have voted to ratify the new collective agreement with Health New Zealand.

The agreement includes salary increases and as well as improved protections around protected teaching time, medical education leave, the RMO to SMO transition, Schedule 10 rostering provisions, and rural hospital rotations, among other improvements.

A huge thank you to the resident doctors on the bargaining team, who contributed significant time and practical experience alongside their clinical and training commitments.

Our work now moves to implementation, making sure the agreement is applied properly and consistently across workplaces.

Thank you to everyone who completed the claims survey, followed the updates, asked questions and voted.

23/06/2026

Happy Resident Doctors' Day to our RMOs across the motu.

Today is a chance to recognise the care, judgement and support you bring to patients, whānau and colleagues every day.

Leave a message of support for your fellow RMOs here: residentdoctorsday.org.nz

Pictured: Auckland City Hospital’s Wheel of Fortune prize wheel for RMOs to spin, which was so popular that they ran out of prizes!

22/06/2026

Happy Resident Doctors’ Day to our members and all resident doctors across Aotearoa.

Happy Resident Doctors' Day!

Today we celebrate resident doctors and recognise their dedication, skill and commitment to caring for communities across Aotearoa.

Thank you for all that you do.

16/06/2026

Health Minister Simeon Brown’s decision to remove the leadership of the Medical Council over a so-called “ideological agenda” is a troubling example of political interference in what should be independent health regulation.

The Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act exists to protect the health and safety of the public by ensuring practitioners are competent and fit to practise. The Medical Council’s role is to register doctors, set professional standards, and protect patients and the public. It is not responsible for fixing the government’s failures on access to care, workforce shortages, health system performance or further the political interests of the government of the day.

Read the full press release here: nzrda.org.nz/media-release/ministers-interference-with-medical-council-independence-is-the-real-political-agenda/

11/06/2026

Know a resident doctor who deserves a shout-out?

In the lead-up to Resident Doctors' Day, we're collecting Messages of Support from colleagues, friends, whānau and communities.

Leave your message at residentdoctorsday.org.nz

26/05/2026

"If we don't have enough medical staffing in the EDs or up on the wards, then patients don't get seen.

Our health workers love working in our rural and community hospitals. They report it's a great place to work, they get a real sense of community, of doing good work.

But that would change unless they were supported.

We need to move away from on-call rosters and start working seven days a week."

— Dr Deborah Powell, NZRDA National Secretary

Read the full article here:

"If we don't have enough medical staffing in the EDs or up on the wards, then patients don't get seen," says a healthcare worker union.

26/05/2026

A new report from the health unions APEX and NZRDA on the state of New Zealand’s rural and community hospital system has found many are operating well below capacity, even as demand for emergency medical care and diagnostic services rapidly increases.

The report ‘A Great Little Hospital’- Inside New Zealand’s Rural and Community Hospital System, highlights the need for leadership of Te Whatu Ora – Health New Zealand to pay careful attention to how making better use of capacity in rural hospitals could improve care for rural patients and decompress overcrowded metropolitan hospitals.

Read the report here: nzrda.org.nz/a-great-little-hospital

21/05/2026

Save the date, Resident Doctors' Day is on 23 June!

Our resident doctors care for patients in hospitals and communities across Aotearoa every day, and Resident Doctors’ Day is a chance to recognise and celebrate the incredible work they do.

You can get involved by:

✔️ leaving a message of support on residentdoctorsday.org.nz
✔️ planning a celebration to recognise the day in your workplace
✔️ helping spread the word online using , along with one of the social media frames available on the website.

Visit residentdoctorsday.org.nz to learn more.

14/05/2026

The NZRDA 2026 Annual Hospital Review is here.

This year’s edition includes glowing praise for some hospitals, horror stories from others, and some enlightening reviews of the meals on offer around the country in particular.

Grab a cuppa & have a read: https://nzrda.org.nz/resources/for-rmos/hospital-review-2026/

22/02/2026

"There's no role they claim to perform that we don't already have a workforce performing here in New Zealand..."

Dr Deborah Powell discussing some of the concerns NZRDA has around the proposed clinical assistant regulation with Ryan Bridge earlier today.

Link in comments.