We’re pleased to share that Hon Michael Wood Minister of Immigration and Hon Dr Ayesha Verrall Minister of Health issued a media statement on 11 April announcing the addition of physiotherapists on the immigration Green List Straight to Residence pathway.
With physiotherapists having been previously excluded from this list, PNZ has been strongly advocating for their inclusion. Thank you to all members who have supported this advocacy. While our profession should have always been on this list, we’re glad to see this amended. Please our statement below followed by the announcement from parliament.
At last Physiotherapists are back on Green List
12 April 2023
Physiotherapy New Zealand (PNZ) welcomes the Cabinet decision to reinstate physiotherapists on the immigration Green List. This long-awaited revision improves access to critical healthcare for New Zealanders, making it easier for employers to hire and attract overseas professionals.
PNZ President Mark Quinn says it has been absurd that physiotherapists were on the skills shortage list for many years, but not included in the immigration changes announced in May 2022. This decision has impacted both the public and private health sectors at a time when New Zealand has a high number of vacancies.
“Yesterday’s announcement, coupled with recent changes to registration announced by the Physiotherapy Board of New Zealand, should help us recruit physiotherapists from the United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada and South Africa.”
“It came as a complete shock that physiotherapists had been left off the original list, recognising we don’t train enough physiotherapists in New Zealand to meet demand. International borders opened last year and we have a number of New Zealand physios who have headed overseas. We need to attract physiotherapists to New Zealand.
“We have been desperately short of physios for some time, and their workloads have been growing. They are seeing more and more patients as a result of injuries, treatment to prevent falls, and children with disabilities.
“This is also about cost effectiveness. There is so much evidence that treatments by physiotherapists keep New Zealanders healthier and more active.”
Thirty-two new health sector roles added to Green List Straight to Residence pathway
11 April 2023
The Government has added 32 new health sector roles to the Straight to Residence pathway of the Green List to help prepare our health system for the coming winter, Immigration Minister Michael Wood and Health Minister Dr Ayesha Verrall announced today.
“The world is currently facing a global health worker shortage, so it is vital that New Zealand’s immigration settings present a competitive offer to attract health workers to our shores,” Michael Wood said.
“We need more qualified people to help us deliver on our record health investments and help improve access to good healthcare in New Zealand.
“We’ve listened to the health sector and these changes ensure that immigration settings are as helpful and competitive as possible,” Michael Wood said.
“When I became Health Minister I said workforce was one of my three key areas of priority and today’s announcement is a significant step in attracting more people to come and work in our health system,” Dr Ayesha Verrall said.
“The 32 health roles being added to the Green List’s Straight to Residence pathway span across the wider health sector from enrolled nurses, nurse practitioners, dentists and dental technicians, MRI scanning technologists, paramedics, optometrists and pharmacists to counselling.
“The Green List now has a total of 48 health roles, all of which are nationally important and all of which will be on the Straight to Residence pathway.
“The list already includes midwives and registered nurses, which were added to the Green List in December. Last month alone we saw almost 900 overseas nurses apply to register to work in New Zealand.
“These immigration settings will be among the most competitive in the world, and are yet another positive step, along with better wages for nurses and immigration support, to influence the number of health workers who come to New Zealand.
“These changes are in addition to the steps we have taken to make pay fairer for nurses working in our health sector, some of whom saw up to a 15% increase to their base pay last month.
“We want to train and retain as many local health workers as possible but we have immediate shortages we need to address and today’s changes alongside improvements to pay will go some way to removing barriers to working in New Zealand,” Dr Ayesha Verrall said.
The Green List also includes roles that contribute to the wellbeing of Kiwi families, including social services, education, justice, and are critical to health service delivery in New Zealand.
Transport sector agreement to be extended to skippers and deck hands
“In our seaside cities, ferries form an essential part of the public transport system, so it is critical that ferry service operators have access to key workers to enhance the reliability of these services,” Michael Wood said.
“Following discussion with the sector I can confirm that skippers and deckhands will be added to the transport sector agreement.
“The market rate for skippers is already above the median wage. Operators will need to continue to pay migrant worker skippers the market rate and migrant worker deckhands will need to be paid at least the median wage to utilise this sector agreement.
“The Government is providing a time limited pathway to residence for skippers piloting boats essential to public transport routes, our supply chain, along with tourism operators and other operators who use skippers and deckhands.
“Final details of the transport sector agreement will be confirmed shortly, with implementation expected to begin from late May,” Michael Wood said.
List of health sector roles going on the Green List:
- Addiction practitioner/alcohol & drug clinician
- Audiometrist
- Chiropractor
- Clinical dental technician
- Clinical physiologists (sleep, renal, exercise, respiratory, neurology, and cardiac)
- Counsellor
- Dental specialists
- Dental technician
- Dental therapist
- Dentist
- Dietician
- Dispensing optician
- Drug and alcohol counsellor
- Enrolled nurse
- Genetic counsellor
- Medical laboratory pre-analytical technician
- Medical resonance imaging technologist
- Nuclear medicine technologist
- Nurse practitioner
- Optometrist
- Oral health therapist
- Orthotic and prosthetic technician
- Orthotist/prosthetist
- Osteopath
- Paramedic/emergency medical technician
- Perfusionist (cardiac)
- Pharmacist
- Physiotherapist
- Play therapist (hospital)
- Social worker
- Speech language therapist
- Sterile processing technician
Existing roles on Green List Work to Residence pathway moving to Straight to Residence pathway:
- Anaesthetic Technician
- Audiologist
- Medical imaging technologist
- Medical laboratory technician
- Medical radiation therapist
- Occupational therapist.
- Podiatrist
- Sonographer
Existing roles on Green List Straight to Residence pathway:
- Clinical Psychologists
- Medical laboratory scientist
- Medical practitioners (doctors)
- Midwife
- Orthoptist
- Physicist (Medical)
- Psychologists
- Registered Nurse
Eligible people will be able to apply from 29 May 2023.
Before an applicant can apply for residence, they must meet the requirements as set out in the Green List. For example, if registration is required, this must be obtained before submitting a residence application. More information will be available on the Immigration New Zealand website.
Care and support workers are not covered by these changes as they already have a two year work to residence pathway which is tied to the pay legislation under the Care Workforce Sector Agreement.
Page updated April 2023