Primary health — general practice, community nursing, PHOs, and community health workers — is the front line of New Zealand's health system. Grants fund primary health workforce development, health promotion, chronic disease management, rural health, and health equity. This guide covers the key funding sources.
Te Whatu Ora is the primary funder of primary health:
- PHO capitation funding: Per-person funding for enrolled patients
- Very High Need: Additional funding for high-deprivation patients
- Rural health: Rural general practice additional funding
- Health promotion: Community health promotion funding
- Vaccination: Immunisation programme funding
PHOs coordinate primary health in their regions:
- Health improvement practitioners: Embedded mental health in general practice
- Health coaches: Lifestyle and chronic disease management
- Community health workers: CHWs for priority populations
- Care coordination: Complex chronic disease management
CHW funding as equity intervention:
- Te Whatu Ora: Community health worker investment
- PHOs: CHW in high-deprivation communities
- Gaming trusts: Community health worker programmes
Community health workers reduce ED presentations and improve chronic disease management.
Rural health funding:
- Rural health formula: Additional funding for rural practices
- Rural nurse practitioners: Extended role nursing in rural areas
- Telehealth: Remote consultation funding
- Rural Recruitment and Retention: Workforce support for rural areas
Advanced nursing roles:
- Nurse practitioners: Extended prescribing and assessment roles
- Nursing Council of NZ: NP registration
- Te Whatu Ora: NP funding in primary health
- PHOs: Nurse-led clinics in community
Health promotion:
- Health Promotion Agency: National health promotion
- Healthy Families NZ: Community health promotion
- PHOs: Health promotion within primary health
Equity primary health:
- Māori health providers: Kaupapa Māori primary health
- Pacific health providers: Pacific community primary health
- Whānau Ora: Whānau-centred primary health
- Kia Ora Hauora: Māori and Pacific health workforce
Gaming trusts fund community health:
- Four Winds Foundation: Community health programmes
- Grassroots Trust: Community health and wellbeing
- Pub Charity: Community health
- Lion Foundation: Community health initiatives
Gaming trust primary health applications:
- Community health worker funding
- Health education resources
- Transport to GP appointments
- Interpreter services for primary health
Mental health integration:
- Health improvement practitioners: DHB-funded in general practice
- IAPT: Increasing access to psychological therapies
- Wellbeing support: Short-term primary mental health
Strong applications demonstrate:
- Population enrolled: Patients enrolled by age, ethnicity, and deprivation
- Equity: Prioritising Māori, Pacific, and high-deprivation communities
- Chronic disease: Diabetes, cardiovascular, COPD management outcomes
- Prevention: Vaccination rates, screening rates, preventive activity
- Workforce: Nurse practitioners, CHWs, and team-based care
- Rural: Rural access and health workforce sustainability
- Mental health integration: Mental health embedded in primary care
- Cultural competency: Culturally appropriate primary health services
Tahua's grants management platform helps PHOs and primary health organisations manage grant applications across Te Whatu Ora, gaming trusts, health foundations, and community funders, tracking health outcomes, equity, and primary health workforce development.