As part of preparations for our negotiations in 2022, we completed a survey of members who provided valuable feedback about their parental leave experiences. These responses were central to STONZ being able to progress the ‘Best Practice Guidelines’ which were agreed as part of our last negotiations.
In June 2025, STONZ conducted a follow-up to our 2021 Parental Leave Survey, aiming to assess progress and identify ongoing challenges faced by RMOs during parental leave.
The updated report reveals both encouraging improvements, such as small increases to flexibility and better breastfeeding support, but continues to highlight persistent issues like inconsistent communication and administrative hurdles.
These insights are driving our continued advocacy for fairer, more supportive parental leave policies across Te Whatu Ora | Health New Zealand. We hope the recent survey findings can be again used to influence key policy and SECA changes, as part of the upcoming 2026 bargaining round.
We encourage you to read the full report here.