Welcome Winter!
15 May 2026
Winter is on the way, and with it usually comes the usual run of coughs, colds, and other bugs. Most practices will already have their usual measures in place but now is a good time to reinforce the basics and lead by example, particularly when it comes to staying home if you’re unwell. It is also a good time to check that expectations around leave, sick leave and wellbeing are clear heading into winter.
You may wish to advise staff of their leave balances, particularly if they are low on entitlements. This way you can help them plan if the unexpected happens. Consider options available within the practice to cover absences, and other practical solutions such as employing casual staff to fill in, if needed. A few reminders and pre-planning can go a long way toward keeping teams well and services running as smoothly as possible over the colder months.
May is also the month we aim to share the results of our annual GP Remuneration Survey. This year, we’ve also published the second edition of our Nurse Practitioner Remuneration Survey alongside it. They can be a useful reference point for practices reviewing pay settings or thinking ahead about recruitment and retention. One interesting statistic from the survey is the reduction in practices engaging staff on a contract for services basis, at 38% (down from 59.6% in the 2025 survey). If you would like to see the full report on how GP and Nurse Practitioner remuneration is tracking across practices around Aotearoa New Zealand, you will be able to view the reports once they are published here.
Alongside our remuneration surveys, we’ve also been planning opportunities to spend more time connecting with our subscribers in person, and we are keen to keep building on this throughout the year. We’ll be at the General Practice Conference & Medical Exhibition in Rotorua, and the Vet Association Conference in Auckland next month, where we look forward to catching up with many of our subscribers. If you’re attending, keep an eye out for Bonnie, Nicole, or Mychaela at the MAS stand, who will be there to talk through any HR or practice management questions you may have.
Before we sign off, we thought we’d publish a ‘Question of the Month’ for you to mull over (and respond to if you like), to be answered in next month’s newsletter. Let us know your thoughts:
Q: ‘If an employee is off sick during their 90-day trial period, can the trial period be extended?’
We look forward to hearing from you and staying connected with practices over the busy winter period. If there’s a topic you’d like us to cover in a future newsletter, we’d love to hear from you!
The HealthyPractice team
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Due to recent changes, this month we wish to remind you of the update to the Privacy Act 2020 with a new principle called the Information Privacy Principle 3A (IPP3A). For practices’, the new principle means there are additional notification obligations when receiving personal information about a patient from a third party. Under IPP3A, if your practice receives patient information from another provider (such as a lab, hospital, specialist, pharmacy or ACC), you must take reasonable steps to let the patient know their information has been collected. This change applies to any information collected on or after 1st May 2026.
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Easing fuel and living-cost pressures, in practice
While we cannot control the wider economic environment, making clear, practical decisions in response to the current economic pressures can ease the load on our practice and our staff. Rising fuel prices and the broader cost-of-living pressure are not only having financial implications, they are also impacting how we feel about normal day-to-day ‘necessities’, which may be affecting stress levels and causing rising anxiety for some. It is important to focus on what we can change – how we can make small adjustments to support staff, reduce avoidable stress and keep the practice functioning well. own.
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Major Changes to NZ Employment Law: What Employers Need to Know in 2026
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