# Source Brief: NZNO Care in Crisis Report (2025)

- **Title:** Care in Crisis / Manaaki i te Raru — NZNO Aged Care Staffing Report
- **Publisher:** New Zealand Nurses Organisation (NZNO)
- **Date:** 2025
- **Format:** PDF (3.1 MB)
- **Source URL:** https://assets.nationbuilder.com/nzno/pages/2263/attachments/original/1760561748/Care_in_Crisis_Manaaki_i_te_Raru_Report_-_NZNO.pdf?1760561748
- **File location:** `11_Market_and_Industry_Reports/2025 - NZNO - Care in Crisis Aged Care Staffing Report.pdf`

## Summary

This report from the New Zealand Nurses Organisation (NZNO) investigates staffing levels and working conditions in aged residential care (ARC) facilities across New Zealand. It documents systemic failures in the aged care sector driven by chronic under-resourcing and an outdated funding model.

## Key Findings

- **Chronic understaffing** — ARC facilities consistently operate below safe staffing thresholds, with insufficient registered nurses (RNs) on duty to meet resident acuity levels.
- **Missed care** — Essential clinical and personal care tasks are routinely missed or delayed due to staffing shortages, compromising resident safety and dignity.
- **Reliance on unregulated caregivers** — A growing proportion of the care workforce comprises unregulated caregivers working without adequate RN supervision, creating clinical risk.
- **Lack of RNs on site** — Many facilities, particularly in rural areas, lack 24/7 RN coverage, contravening best-practice models for aged residential care.
- **Funding model failure** — The current funding and reimbursement model (DRS and Care Capacity Resource Management) is inadequate to meet the needs of residents or provide fair wages and conditions for workers.

## Political Relevance

- Directly feeds into the **Aged Residential Care (ARC) Funding Review** currently underway via Health NZ.
- Relevant to **Health Workforce Strategy** — addresses nurse shortages, retention, and training pipeline.
- Subject of **Health Select Committee inquiries** into aged care quality and safety.
- Intersects with **Fair Pay Agreements** and sector-wide industrial relations in healthcare.

## Cross-References

| Portfolio                         | Minister              | Relevance                                                                         |
| --------------------------------- | --------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Health                            | Hon Simeon Brown      | Direct responsibility for ARC policy, funding, and Health NZ oversight            |
| Social Development and Employment | Hon Louise Upston     | Workforce issues, caregiver training and support, income support for older people |
| Workplace Relations and Safety    | Hon Brooke van Velden | Employment standards, fair pay agreements in aged care                            |

## Related Issue Briefs & Reports

- `02_Aged_Residential_Care/2024 - Health NZ - The Health of Older People and Aged Care in NZ.pdf`
- `02_Aged_Residential_Care/2024 - ACA - Future-Focussed Approaches Rest-Home Providers.pdf`
- `02_Aged_Residential_Care/2025 - Ombudsman - OPCAT Aged Care Monitoring Report.pdf`
- `02_Aged_Residential_Care/2026 - Health NZ - Web Capture - Aged Care Funding Review Status.md`
- `05_Funding_and_Subsidies/` (various funding model documents)