Promoting allied health professions
Election 2026: Where do the parties stand on allied health?
Allied health can play a much bigger role in keeping New Zealanders well, delivering care closer to home and easing pressure on hospitals and general practice. So AHANZ asked the political parties what they would actually do to better use and support this workforce. Seven parties responded. We’ve compared their answers against AHANZ’s key advocacy priorities and created an easy, at-a-glance guide showing where their policies address those priorities, where the detail is thinner, and one important gap that appears across the political spectrum.
Our Mission
Ensuring allied health professions are recognised and contribute to their full potential to enable New Zealanders to enjoy health and wellbeing.
Allied Health Aotearoa New Zealand
Collaboration, Cohesion, Coordination
Allied health professionals are qualified practitioners with specialised expertise in preventing, diagnosing and treating a range of conditions and illnesses. Allied health practitioners often work within a multidisciplinary health team to provide specialised support for different patient needs. They work in diverse settings including: primary care, secondary care, community health hubs, private health clinics, schools, correctional facilities, maraes, hospices, health promotion, health NGO’s, disability services, aged care facilities and sporting organisations.
Allied health professionals are a large, highly skilled, and underutilised component of Aotearoa New Zealand’s health workforce. Spanning over 40 distinct professions and around 30,000 practitioners, allied health plays a critical role across prevention, diagnosis, rehabilitation, mental health, and long-term condition management.
