Budget 2023: College of Midwives Says "Let's Keep Moving Forward"

The College of Midwives says the increase across the health budget (pre-committed at Budget 2022 within the multi-year budget) is a welcome change for community midwives, who have never had the certainty of regular cost of living adjustments to their pay. This is a move in the right direction and should be acknowledged as such.

College Chief Executive, Alison Eddy, says the 5% pay increase which they assume will apply across all maternity funding, is positive and they look forward to confirming and negotiating the finer details with Te Whatu Ora.

 “We look forward to working with Te Whatu Ora to negotiate how the increase in funding will be applied,” she says.

Ms Eddy adds that the legislative mechanism by which community midwives are paid - *Section 88 – will clearly need to benefit from the 5% increase in across the board funding.

“Let’s just say it’s a good start and we’re confident we can negotiate with Te Whatu Ora to ensure this funding is applied in the way it should be; to help achieve the best outcomes for the women, babies and whanau who midwives provide care to” she says.

The College has been very clear about the need for a strategic approach to workforce retention and the need to be as focused on keeping midwives in the profession as recruiting new midwives.

“We have a very qualified and experienced workforce of midwives here in Aotearoa New Zealand who must be supported and encouraged to work here instead of either leaving the profession completely or heading overseas. We encourage Te Whatu Ora not to lose sight of that and in fact increase its focus on keeping these maternity health professionals in New Zealand. Why would we not?” asks Ms Eddy. “The College would like to see a dedicated and resourced programme of workforce development and support, aimed at retaining midwives” she adds.

The College is still considering the budget announcement today after which they will be in a better position to make further comment.

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* Section 88 Maternity Services Notice

LMC Midwives work under Section 88 of the New Zealand Public Health and Disability Act (2000). The Section 88 notice sets out the terms and conditions under which LMCs are paid by Government and details the minimum service specifications to which all LMCs must work.