Tu Te Akaaka Roa NZ National Office

The National Office in Aotearoa New Zealand shares its Māori name with the New Zealand National Committee – also known as Tu Te Akaaka Roa.
The Aotearoa New Zealand staff provide administrative support to Tu Te Akaaka Roa – The New Zealand National Committee (NZNC), the New Zealand Training Committee, as well as the wider range of Aotearoa New Zealand Faculty and Section Committees and the Vocational Education Advisory Body (VEAB).
Support provided to Aotearoa New Zealand-based Committees encompasses external relations, internal and external policy, internal and external Aotearoa New Zealand communications, and strategic directions.
Tu Te Akaaka Roa is committed to the Treaty of Waitangi; this commitment is reflected in this Committee’s and each member’s practice as well as through in the wider mahi (work) undertaken in Aotearoa. The Te Kaunihera (Māori Health Committee) works alongside the Tu Te Akaaka Roa in these efforts. Supported by staff in Melbourne with input from the NZ National Office, Te Kaunihera, also benefits from the experience, wisdom and leadership of Kaumātua, Ms Moe Milne.
Updates and news
Aotearoa New Zealand Election 2023 | RANZCP
At the most recent Membership Advisory Council (MAC) meeting, held in Perth on the 27th of May, we welcomed our new College President, Elizabeth Moore. Elizabeth will be joining us in Rotorua later this year, so please welcome her. On the College Board with Elizabeth are our very own New Zealanders Sue Mackersey and Mark Lawrence. Unsurprisingly, a large portion of the MAC meeting was spent discussing OSCEs. Also discussed were member engagement and the RANZCP Gender Equity Plan.
The Chair of Tu Te Akaaka Roa, met with the Ministry of Health (now located in Te Whatu Ora) to discuss the potential to increase the number of psychiatry trainees to help strengthen the pipeline of New Zealand trained clinicians. The result is an undertaking to increase the numbers by 5% over a three-year period. Additionally, Tu Te Akaaka Roa and VEAB have articulated to key stakeholders that the overreliance on overseas trained psychiatrists to meet demand for clinicians poses a range of issues for the college and its stakeholders.
A suite of eight work streams have been designed for the 2023/24 years, in alignment with the RANZCP’s Strategic Plan. Members and College support were assigned to each group at the Tu Te Akaara Roa – NZ National Council meeting,
The workstreams are:
- Workforce Development – led by Mr Arran Culver
- Cultural Competence and Safety - a joint piece of work with Te Kaunihera, co-led by Dr Mark Lawrence and Dr Claire Paterson
- Engagement with Primary Care - led by Dr David Codyre
- Preparation for the new Mental Health Act (2024) - led by Dr Oliver Hansby
- Affiliate Engagement - in conjunction with the Overseas Trained Psychiatrists Committee, led by DrAlison Masters
- Communication – led by Dr Hiran Thabrew
