The Ministry of Health, in consultation with partners the National Public Health Service and PHF Science, has decided to not renew its contract for FluTracking New Zealand because New Zealand has other surveillance tools for respiratory illnesses that provide similar information.
“New Zealand’s respiratory surveillance system is comprehensive, uses multiple sources, and adheres to international best practices,” says Dr Andrew Old, Deputy Director-General, Public Health Agency in the Ministry of Health.
“We retain the capacity to identify, evaluate, and address outbreaks or other public health threats, including influenza.”
FluTracking is an online, survey-based surveillance tool that uses voluntary participants to self-report symptoms (like fever, cough and sore throat) along with testing and vaccination status.
Other respiratory surveillance tools, such as Healthline data, provide a similar level of information to FluTracking, including about people with flu-like symptoms who have not received medical care. These tools will continue to inform any public health response to influenza.
The New Zealand Respiratory Illness Dashboard, maintained by the New Zealand Institute for Public Health and Forensic Science (PHF Science), will continue to be updated with respiratory illness information, including data from GP clinics, hospitals and calls to Healthline.
FluTracking New Zealand is part of an initiative originally launched in Australia in 2006 and extended to New Zealand in 2018. It has been a joint initiative of the Ministry of Health, PHF Science, and Hunter New England Local Health District, NSW, Australia.
At the last contract renewal in 2025, the Ministry was informed the cost of the contract would increase significantly in the 2025-26 financial year. The Ministry extended the contract to 31 December to allow time to assess the impact on overall respiratory disease surveillance of ending the FluTracking contract.
“Extending FluTracking further would have required budget reprioritisation, which could have impacted other surveillance activities,” Dr Old says.
“Taking that time to assess the impact of ending FluTracking gave us the confidence that we had other surveillance tools available that would do a similar job and continue to effectively support health service delivery.”
The Ministry of Health and PHF Science thank the tens of thousands of New Zealanders who have participated in FluTracking New Zealand.
In 2025, in New Zealand, there was an average of 29,300 responses per week. Approximately 42,000 participants completed at least one survey.
