Take action for safe staffing

  1. Make sure staffing shortages are documented. Use the escalation pathway relevant to your worksite to formally report staffing shortages.
  2. Get your workmates involved.
  3. Contact your organiser if you need support.
  4. Get your workmates together to create, take a photo and share your #thenurseweneed

Take action for safe staffing in Aged Care

Click here for more about taking action for safe staffing in aged care.

CCDM Survey - Have your say

Care Capacity Demand Management (CCDM) could deliver safer care — but only if it’s properly implemented.
Right now, nurses are left out of decision-making, and patients are missing out.NZNO Tōpūtanga Tapuhi Kaitiaki o Aotearoa wants to ensure the CCDM Programme is adapted for the specific context of Aotearoa NZ taking into account the cultural needs of staff, patients and whānau and recognising Te Tiriti responsibilities towards Māori in its design, implementation and outcomes.
We'd like to know your thoughts. Please fill out the survey below before 12am (midnight) on Friday, 25 July 2025.

Support the legal action for safe staffing at Te Whatu Ora

In November last year, NZNO filed a lawsuit against Health New Zealand arguing that the provision of safe staffing and a safe and healthy workplace is a right for all employees under our collective agreement and that Health New Zealand has breached the agreement by not providing a sufficient number of experienced staff in our hospitals.

We are now asking members around the motu that are also experiencing chronic short staffing to get involved in raising additional legal actions for each hospital. This will contribute to our ongoing collective bargaining campaign to secure enforceable, culturally appropriate nurse-to-patient ratios by enforcing our right to safe staffing under our collective agreement. 

We have created an online form where members can draft their own powerful impact statements. These impact statements will form the basis of future legal actions which NZNO can file against Health New Zealand.

Te Whatu Ora safe staffing forms

Use other Health and Safety forms and guides

  1. H&S Guideline #01-Electing an Health and Safety Representative 
    Form for Guideline #01-Request for HSR election
  2. H&S Guideline #02-Requesting work health and safety information 
    Form for Guideline #02-Request information
  3. H&S Guideline #03-Submitting a work health and safety recommendation 
    Form for Guideline #03(a)-Make a recommendation (single HSR)
    Form for Guideline #03(b)-Make a recommendation (collective action)
  4. H&S Guideline #04-Requesting help from a HSR in another work group 
    Form for Guideline #04-Request other HSR assistance
  5. H&S Guideline #05-Adverse conduct towards a worker or HSR 
    Form for Guideline #05-Report adverse conduct
  6. H&S Guideline #06-Raising a mentally heathy work issue
    This Guideline will direct you to WorkSafe forms.
  7. H&S Guideline #07-Issuing a Provisional Improvement Notice 
    Form for Guideline #07-Issue a Provisional Improvement Notice
  8. H&S Guideline #08-Requesting WorkSafe assistance for a Health and Safety matter
    This Guideline will direct you to WorkSafe forms.
  9. H&S Guideline #09-Cessation of unsafe work 
    Form for Guideline #09(a)-Worker notification of cessation of work
    Form for Guideline #09(b)-Work team notification of cessation of work
  10. H&S Guideline #10-Directing a cessation of work 
    Form for Guideline #10-HSR direct a cessation of work
  11. H&S Guideline #11-Requesting assistance from WorkSafe relating to cessation of work
    This Guideline will direct you to WorkSafe forms.

Build community support to create pressure on employers and the government to sustainably fix staffing shortages.

  1. Run informational pickets in your community to let the public know about staffing shortages in their local hospital or health care service.
  2. Run a market or community stall in your community to provide information both about shortages and our solutions or fixes. Let members of the public know how they can show support. This could include using the template to create and share #thenurseweneed
  3. Download the NZNO Guide: How to run a Safe Staffing public action (informational picket or stall)

Learn how other NZNO members have taken action for health and safety

Find out how NZNO members have been taking action for safe staffing.

  9