Labour says it will guarantee jobs for graduate nurses, increase recruitment subsidy

Author: NZ Herald,
Publish Date: Mon, 31 Aug 2026, 1:10pm

Labour health spokewoman Ayesha Verrall says there is a hiring freeze, something disputed by the minister. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Labour says it will guarantee every graduate nurse a job in the public health service and increase a recruitment subsidy if it is elected at the November election.

The new policy announced on Monday includes guaranteeing every eligible New Zealand-trained graduate nurse a job at graduation through existing employment schemes. That would mean all the roughly 2400 nurses who graduate each year get a job offer, the party says.

This will apply to graduates sitting their final examination from July 2026 onwards, meaning from 2027, eligible graduates will be offered roles at graduation.

A subsidy for primary care employers to recruit nurses would also be doubled, increasing the current rate for rural nurses from $20,000 to $40,000 and for nurses in urban areas from $15,000 to $30,000.

Labour estimates this policy will cost $525 million, to be “funded from health cost-pressure funding”.

The party’s health spokeswoman, Dr Ayesha Verrall, has claimed there is a “hiring freeze” in the system, limiting the number of new nurses being hired. She has said the net increase in fulltime equivalent nursing staff between March 2024 and March 2026 is 54.

“Graduate nurses have invested years in their training. They deserve certainty that there will be a job waiting for them when they qualify,” she said in a statement today.

“We need a strong and sustainable nursing workforce. Ensuring graduate nurses can progress into work is part of Labour’s plan to make healthcare more affordable, accessible and fit for the future.”

Health Minister Simeon Brown has disputed that there is a hiring freeze and said nursing roles are being advertised at Health New Zealand. He’s also said that since September 2024, there has been a net increase of 1640 fulltime equivalent nurses.

Looking at Health NZ workforce data shows at the end of September 2023, there were 27,818 nursing FTEs. In the most recent update, to the end of March, there were 29,458, an increase of 1640.

However, if the March 2024 to March 2026 period is considered, there has been an increase of just 54.