en.Wedoany.com Reported - The New Zealand government has allocated over $400 million (NZ$680 million) in its 2026 budget for hospital infrastructure capital expenditure, as part of the next phase of the 10-year health infrastructure plan announced in April 2025.

Health Minister Simeon Brown stated that the funding is primarily allocated to multiple hospital construction projects. Whangārei Hospital will build a new 158-bed ward block and an approved acute services building, expected to be completed by 2031.

Funding for Tauranga, Hawke’s Bay, and Palmerston North hospitals will be used for site planning, design work, and early construction activities under the regional hospital rebuild program. The government has also committed funding for land acquisition in the Drury area south of Auckland to build a new hospital, addressing the growing population needs of South Auckland and North Waikato.

The upgrade of the Mason Clinic in Auckland will improve infrastructure for New Zealand’s largest forensic psychiatric service. The 2026 budget also supports earlier commitments, including the construction of a new inpatient building at Dunedin Hospital and establishment costs for the University of Waikato Medical School.

Health New Zealand (HNZ) will fund a temporary intensive care unit at Palmerston North Hospital and the refurbishment of an inpatient unit at Tauranga Hospital to alleviate current pressures during the rebuild. An additional $547.1 million (NZ$930 million) investment by HNZ will be used for mobile diagnostic equipment, radiology upgrades, and hospital renovations. This investment will also support planning and design work to expand linear accelerator capacity in Christchurch, South Auckland, and Nelson.

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