- Government reveals first national long-term plan to upgrade New Zealand’s public health facilities
- More than $20 billion to be invested in new hospitals and infrastructure over several stages
- Dunedin Hospital’s next construction phase confirmed, with tendering underway for mid-year restart
New Zealand has released its first-ever long-term Health Infrastructure Plan, outlining how the government aims to modernise the country’s ageing health facilities over the coming decades. Health Minister Simeon Brown said the new plan would act as a clear roadmap for rebuilding and expanding the health system to meet growing needs.
“This is a first for New Zealand – a single, long-term plan that lays out a clear pipeline for health infrastructure,” Brown said.
He explained that the country’s health network of 1,274 buildings across 86 campuses was on average 47 years old, with many facilities facing serious issues. These include buildings needing urgent repairs, seismic risks, and outdated systems unable to support modern healthcare practices.
“The state of our health infrastructure is not a new challenge; it is a problem that has developed over multiple decades,” he said. “Addressing it requires a long-term plan to both renew existing capacity, and invest in new facilities, to meet future demand and ensure New Zealanders continue to receive high-quality care.”
The Health Infrastructure Plan identifies more than $20 billion in investment needed to meet future health demands. A key part of the strategy is a new delivery model called ‘Building Hospitals Better’. Rather than constructing large-scale hospitals all at once, this model will take a staged approach – delivering smaller, manageable facilities in phases. Brown said this would help ensure faster delivery of services and greater certainty around timelines and costs.
The plan includes major new builds and upgrades across the country. This covers acute services buildings, new inpatient units, expanded emergency departments, and better ward facilities. A new hospital in South Auckland is also part of the early planning and build phase.
It is backed by the National Clinical Service and Campus Plan, which aims to shift more services into communities to reduce pressure on hospitals. Brown said new ambulatory hubs in cities would allow treatments like dialysis, radiology, and oncology to be delivered closer to home, cutting down capital costs.
All projects will need a full business case and must go through standard Cabinet approval processes.
As part of the rollout, the minister also confirmed the next phase of work on the New Dunedin Hospital is moving ahead. A tender process has begun for the substructure of the inpatient building on the former Cadbury site.
“An Advance Notice will be published on GETS – the Government Electronic Tender Service – to complete the substructure for the building,” Brown said.
Work will start mid-year, beginning with pile capping, followed by constructing the basement perimeter and base isolators, then the frame of the hospital.
“Work continues to ensure the design of the inpatient building will deliver health services effectively for generations to come. While this continues, I look forward to seeing the physical progress of the hospital take its next steps from mid-year once the tender is awarded,” he added.