The first periodic Review of Certain Matters under the Contraception, Sterilisation, and Abortion Act 1977 is available now.
As the steward of the health system, the Ministry of Health – Manatū Hauora plays an important role in ensuring public safety and quality through our regulation and monitoring functions. This includes the administration of the Contraception, Sterilisation, and Abortion Act 1977 (the CSA Act).
This first review builds the foundations for the next periodic review and shows us where to prioritise our ongoing monitoring and regulation.
The review identifies that some good progress has occurred, however, there is work to do to improve access, especially for people living in rural communities and requiring surgical or follow-up health care. Cost, service consistency and access to counselling services also vary greatly across regions.
A range of perspectives have been considered within the review - from people accessing these services to health care providers and professionals.
The Ministry thanks the people who shared their experiences. Their input allows us to truly understand the challenges faced when navigating abortion healthcare services. We also thank providers for their continued efforts to ensure data integrity and for their dedication and honest feedback.
The Ministry is committed to creating an environment where all New Zealanders are supported to stay well and where all parts of the health system can operate at their best.
More information
- Health New Zealand – Te Whatu Ora (Health NZ) is responsible for abortion and sterilisation service provision and equitable service access. The report outlines several recommendations relating to Health NZ’s responsibilities under the CSA Act including addressing gaps in service consistency and access, workforce and recruitment and continued engagement with the Ministry around monitoring.
- If you have any questions about the review, you can contact the Ministry review team, email: [email protected].
- You can find out more about the CSA Act and the Ministry’s regulatory role on the Ministry website: Sterilisation services in the health system.
About the review
On 24 March 2020 changes were made to the law to decriminalise abortion, better align the regulation of abortion services with other health services and modernise the legal framework for abortion services in New Zealand. Key changes in the legislation can be found on the Ministry website: Abortion legislation.
This review is required by law every five years under the CSA Act. The scope of the review is set in the legislation and is focused on how the current law is working. The review does not consider eligibility rules, access to these services, or their status as publicly funded health services.
It examines whether there is timely and equitable access to:
- contraception services, sterilisation services and abortion services
- abortion services information and advisory and counselling services.
It also considers:
- relative costs throughout New Zealand for people accessing these services
- whether there is any evidence of abortions being sought solely because of a preference for the fetus to be of a particular sex.
