NZ Index · Health

Better

Are planned care waits getting shorter?

In Q4 2025/26, 66.1% of people waited under four months for a first specialist assessment (62.0% in the same quarter a year earlier) and 72.6% for elective treatment (63.9% a year earlier). Both national series sit below the 95% target.

Verdict Better is derived from the official series · Data as of 30 Jun 2026

First specialist assessment within 4 months

66.1 %

Target 95%

Health NZ / Te Whatu Ora (opens in a new tab) · Health targets — 5 and 10 years of results · Data as of 30 Jun 2026

Other official series

Gaps — raw and official adjusted

region

First specialist assessment — share waiting under 120 days

Canterbury (30 June 2026) compared with Counties Manukau (30 June 2026). Period 2026-06-30.

Raw gap

18.8 percentage points lower

57.7 vs 76.5 percentage points

Official adjusted gap

Not published

An explained share is not published — CivicNZ does not invent one.

Official NBRS waitlist extract, aggregated by district. Health NZ notes the extract may differ from published factsheet snapshots. Ethnicity is not available for the FSA waitlist. No official NZDep-, rurality-, or access-adjusted district residual is published.

Measured factors

  • Not published

    Age structure (age-standardised rates)

    Waitlist extract is not age-standardised.

  • Not published

    Neighbourhood deprivation (NZDep)

    Not in the FSA waitlist extract.

  • Not published

    Obesity prevalence

    Not an adjuster of wait times.

  • Not published

    Daily smoking prevalence

    Not an adjuster of wait times.

  • Not published

    Diabetes prevalence

    Not an adjuster of wait times.

  • Not published

    Rurality (Geographic Classification for Health)

    Rurality is in an image factsheet, not this extract.

  • Not published

    GP enrolment

    Not used to adjust the waitlist.

  • Not published

    GP visits

    Not published.

  • Not published

    Travel time to care

    Not published.

FSA share waiting under 120 days, selected districts, 30 June 2026

DistrictUnder 120 days
Counties Manukau76.5%
Auckland68.0%
Canterbury57.7%
Southern55.5%
National factsheet Q4 25/2666.1%

District rows are the NBRS extract. The national 66.1% is the official Q4 factsheet.

Official source (opens in a new tab) · Data as of 30 Jun 2026

ethnicity

Elective treatment — share waiting under 120 days

Māori (30 June 2026) compared with European/Other (30 June 2026). Period 2026-06-30.

Raw gap

1.7 percentage points lower

71.3 vs 73 percentage points

Official adjusted gap

Not published

An explained share is not published — CivicNZ does not invent one.

Official NBRS elective waitlist extract, aggregated by prioritised ethnicity. No official age-, NZDep-, or rurality-adjusted residual is published.

Measured factors

  • Not published

    Age structure (age-standardised rates)

    Not age-standardised.

  • Not published

    Neighbourhood deprivation (NZDep)

    Not in the extract.

  • Not published

    Obesity prevalence

    Not an adjuster.

  • Not published

    Daily smoking prevalence

    Not an adjuster.

  • Not published

    Diabetes prevalence

    Not an adjuster.

  • Not published

    Rurality (Geographic Classification for Health)

    Not in the extract.

  • Not published

    GP enrolment

    Not used to adjust the waitlist.

  • Not published

    GP visits

    Not published.

  • Not published

    Travel time to care

    Not published.

Elective share waiting under 120 days by ethnicity, 30 June 2026

GroupUnder 120 days
Asian74.2%
European/Other73.0%
Māori71.3%
Pacific70.4%

NBRS extract. The national official Q4 factsheet result is 72.6%.

Official source (opens in a new tab) · Data as of 30 Jun 2026

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CivicNZ · Are we getting healthier?

Better

Are planned care waits getting shorter?

In Q4 2025/26, 66.1% of people waited under four months for a first specialist assessment (62.0% in the same quarter a year earlier) and 72.6% for elective treatment (63.9% a year earlier). Both national series sit below the 95% target.

civicnz.org/health · Official sources · Not a causal claim

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