The National Leadership Coordination Service Programme
The Refugee Health National Leadership Coordination Service (NLCS) was commissioned by Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora (Health NZ) in 2023 and is delivered by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE).
Purpose and priorities
The NLCS is a function of Immigration New Zealand (INZ) within the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE). Its purpose is to improve service access and outcomes for former refugees and their families.
Key priorities of the NLCS:
- improve coordination, networking, and workforce development across health services in New Zealand,
- support the implementation of the national refugee health work programme, and
- support the delivery of refugee health services across the country.
Background
The NLCS fulfils a key recommendation of the review of refugee health contracts undertaken by the Ministry of Health (MOH) from July to November 2021.
The review was conducted within the context of health system reforms and responds to New Zealand’s increase in the refugee quota from 1,000 to 1,500 per annum from 1 July 2020.
To support the quota increase, MBIE and MOH created a new quota refugee health model. The model is in place to ensure a range of services for quota refugee arrivals: from offshore to onshore, and resettlement in the community.
The role of Immigration New Zealand and the Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment
The NLCS was established within INZ as it builds on MBIE’s role in:
- Leading the cross-agency implementation of the Refugee Resettlement Strategy.
- The delivery of New Zealand’s Refugee Quota Programme.
- Coordinating the services at the Māngere Refugee Resettlement Centre | Te Āhuru Mōwai o Aotearoa.
The NLCS works closely with Health NZ and MOH to coordinate efforts in providing refugee health services and improving refugee resettlement outcomes.
The NLCS’s strategic direction and activities are set by a governance group, made up of representatives from MBIE, Health NZ, MOH and New Zealand’s Refugee Advisory Panel.
The National Leadership and Coordination Service’s work programme
The work of the NLCS includes coordination of the refugee health sector through the Refugee Health Community of Practice and through an annual programme of work.
For 2024/25, the NLCS is focusing on the following 3 workstreams:
- Building pathways for former refugees to connect them to health roles in the community.
- Developing training to strengthen capability and cultural competency in the refugee health and resettlement sectors.
- Improving access to refugee health resources for the refugee health workforce and wider community.
Refugee Health Community of Practice
The NLCS coordinates the Refugee Health Community of Practice. The Community of Practice consists of representatives from healthcare providers, refugee resettlement providers, government agencies and non-governmental organisations from across New Zealand.
The Community of Practice provides a platform for members across the country to share good practice, resolve issues and develop ideas for service improvement.
The Community of Practice meets virtually every 6 weeks and in-person once a year. These meetings strengthen working relationships and increase collaboration to support national alignment of refugee health services across the country.
Refugee Health Forum Report 2024 PDF 1MB
Contact
If you would like to know more about the National Leadership Coordination Service, email the NLCS.
This page will be updated regularly as work progresses.