About Us

Our programmes help more Nurse Practitioners (NPs) and Enrolled Nurses (ENs) to deliver care in our communities where they are most needed.

Why more NPs and ENs are needed

NPs and ENs, with their different scopes of practice, deliver healthcare services that promote hauora (health and wellbeing) across our diverse communities in Aotearoa New Zealand. We need more of their skills and experience to focus on achieving health equity for Māori and Pacific peoples. Enabling the establishment of NP and EN roles offers considerable opportunity for the health sector to deliver integrated models of care that improve physical, mental, and community hauora.

Our two main programmes

There are two main programmes we run across our mahi:

The Nurse Practitioner Training Programme (NPTP)

  • Te Whatu Ora (Health New Zealand) currently funds the NPTP as a national programme, with 50 places available each year. Note the number of places and universities delivering the programme will increase to 100 places in 2024.
  • Three providers – the University of Auckland, the University of Otago, and Victoria University of Wellington – currently deliver the NPTP across Aotearoa New Zealand. Nurse Practitioner training is provided through a coordinated programme between the partner universities.
  • The NPTP aligns NP preparation, registration, and employment into a seamless pathway. All NP trainees will apply for registration as an NP with the NCNZ by the end of the NPTP practicum year.
  • There are priority areas for developing the NP workforce. These include primary health care, community and residential care settings, mental health and addiction, Māori health, Pacific health, populations with high health needs, rural and hard to reach areas communities and areas with high deprivation.
  • An overarching goal of the NPTP is to increase the number of Māori NPs, and the number of Pacific NPs. Ultimately, the aim is to improve equity through access to NP-led services.

Our Service Establishment Programme

  • The Service Establishment Programme is part of a wider Te Whatu Ora funded programme (previously funded by the Ministry of Health) to deliver a national Nurse Practitioner Training Programme (NPTP) and to support the establishment of both NPs and ENs in primary health care and community settings, where they deliver (substantively) mental health and addiction services.
  • The Programme is funded through to December 2024.
  • There are two Service Establishment Programmes:
    • Enrolled Nurse
    • Nurse Practitioner.

Find out more about our team on our contact us page here.