The Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners
(the College) welcomes
the Minister’s announcement that Health New Zealand |
Te Whatu Ora (Health NZ) will become the direct employer for
General Practice Education Programme (GPEP) Year One
registrars from February 2027.
GPEP 1 registrars will
continue to be able to choose practice employment alongside
this new change.
The College and Health NZ have worked
together on this change to provide registrars with a
smoother transition into GPEP with pay, terms and conditions
aligned with other specialist vocational
programmes.
College CE, Toby Beaglehole says that the
announcement continues the positive momentum towards
investing in the future of primary care and ensuring it
remains sustainable.
“This announcement is a very
positive step forward in removing barriers for house
officers joining our GPEP programme, with the continuation
of their employment with Health NZ.”
“Alongside the
new Primary Care pathway for PGY2s, this is another step
forward that continues to build the attractiveness of being
a specialist General Practitioner, which will result in a
more sustainable primary care system in New Zealand. We know
specialist GPs are vital to the health of our communities in
New Zealand and are at the frontline of our health care
system.”
The 2022 Malatest report highlighted that
leaving the hospital-based system was the most significant
barrier for doctors entering GP training.
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“It’s great
that GPEP registrars can choose to be employed under Health
NZ, with the resultant benefits of continuity of employment
that come with this and hopefully enabling similar
conditions of employment to their hospital colleagues,” says
Dr Ella Barclay, Chair of the College’s Registrar
Chapter.
The College continues to aim to get 300
registrars into the GPEP training programme each year, with
a clear focus on strengthening New Zealand’s primary care
workforce by ensuring that we have more GPs and the
workforce pipeline remains sustainable.
With Health NZ
now becoming the employer of registrars who are not employed
by a private practice in their first year of GPEP training,
the College will retain its leadership over educational
content, training standards, quality assurance, and clinical
placements.
The option for registrars to be employed
by a private practice will remain a core component of the
GPEP training pathway and has not changed under this
agreement.
The College and Health NZ will work
together to ensure this process is seamless for new
registrars applying for GPEP in
2027.
Applications for the 2027 GPEP intake
will be open from Monday 9 March – Monday 13 April
2026. Find out more and apply on the College
website: Specialise
as a general practitioner |
RNZCGP
