The government has announced a multimillion-dollar funding increase for New Zealand’s ambulance services, expanding frontline staffing, improving facilities, and upgrading technology in response to growing demand.
Health Minister Simeon Brown and Associate Health Minister Casey Costello have announced $35 million over four years in Budget 2026 to improve road ambulance services, with additional funding increases from Health New Zealand and ACC still to be finalised.
The budget investment will fund two new ambulance hubs in Auckland, the rollout of an electronic patient record system, additional training for communications centre staff, and increased clinical welfare checks for patients.
“When New Zealanders call an ambulance, they need confidence that they will get the help they need quickly and that frontline crews have the support and resources they need to respond,” Brown said.
Costello said the funding increase comes amid rising demand on emergency ambulance services, with incidents expected to grow by 95,000 to an estimated 735,000 over the next four years.
The increased funding from Health NZ and ACC would support additional frontline ambulance crews and 111 call handlers and strengthened volunteer recruitment and retention with a focus on rural and high-deprivation areas.
An enhanced clinical hub will provide telephone clinical advice and support more patients in resolving their care needs without requiring an ambulance response.
“The enhanced clinical hub will help more patients access the right level of care sooner through clinical telephone advice and allow crews to focus on higher-acuity emergencies,” Costello said.
“The overall investment is expected to reduce avoidable emergency department transports by around 23,000 each year by 2029/30, while supporting the infrastructure needed to improve service delivery and meet future demand.”