News Ngā karere

The Mental Health Bill has passed its third reading in Parliament. The Bill repeals and replaces the Mental Health (Compulsory Assessment and Treatment) Act 1992.

The Ministry of Health has agreed to undertake an investigation into serious concerns raised about treatment, conditions and oversight at Ward 10A of Wakari Hospital following the Ombudsman’s call for an independent investigation.

The new expedited verification pathway is now in force, allowing Medsafe to accelerate medicine approvals while maintaining robust standards for safety, quality and effectiveness.

On 25 June, researchers behind an AUT study examining sand products containing asbestos shared some of their high-level results with the Ministry of Health and other agencies.

An inquiry commissioned by the Director of Mental Health found that essential safeguards were missed, resulting in an 11-year-old girl being mistaken for an adult mental health patient, then twice being restrained and injected without consent.

The Government has confirmed the alcohol levy for 2026/27, maintaining funding for services that reduce alcohol-related harm across Aotearoa New Zealand. 

Medsafe has today released a summary of its findings, as part of a broader system review, into a dispensing error which resulted in a tragic death in July last year.

Tighter controls on nitrous oxide come into force tomorrow, aimed at reducing the risk of serious harm from recreational inhalation.

The Ministry is strengthening cyber security across the health system following an independent review into the Manage My Health cyber incident. This includes new work to ensure key third‑party suppliers are independently assessed against required security standards.

The Ministry is working closely with the World Health Organization and other partner agencies to monitor the Ebola situation. However, the current risk to New Zealand is low.

Medsafe is today announcing a key step in providing quicker access to medicines.

New Zealand authorities have been supporting a New Zealand dual national, not normally resident in New Zealand, who has been exposed to hantavirus.  

Discussions are ongoing regarding options to repatriate a New Zealander on board the MV Hondius cruise ship, in collaboration with our international partners.

April 2026 update on work on the actions agreed in the report Hearing and Responding to the Stories of Survivors of Surgical Mesh.

New Zealand’s Cremation Regulations 1973 have been updated to better reflect modern clinical practice, reduce duplication and delays for families, and make it easier to complete paperwork where the circumstances of a death are low risk.