Information for Rural Primary Health Care Providers

How NZLocums will help you meet your recruitment needs

NZLocums is a recruitment and placement service offered by the New Zealand Rural General Practice Network Inc. The Network is the only nationwide organisation in New Zealand established specifically to represent the interests of rural health and is funded by the New Zealand government to provide the NZLocums service.

The aims of NZLocums are to:

• recruit sufficient locums to provide eligible rural General Practitioners throughout New Zealand with a minimum of two weeks cover per full time equivalent position each year
• source long term and permanent General Practitioner and Nurse Practitioner candidates for rural primary health care practices.

The NZLocums recruitment team consists of experienced medical recruiters with national and international experience, including previous work on the Medical Council of New Zealand registration team.

Eligibility to use the NZLocums service

You are eligible for NZLocums assistance if you score 35 points or more on the rural ranking scale.

Types of placement

If a candidate is engaged under a short term contract (with a maximum of 30 days in any one practice) he or she is employed directly by NZLocums. NZLocums invoices the practice for reimbursement of payment.

In the case of long term and permanent engagements (31 days or longer), the contract is generally direct with the practice and the role of NZLocums is to provide suitable candidates. The GP, practice, DHB, PHO or Trust bears the responsibility of ensuring that they set in place an appropriate remuneration package and support system to retain the eligible practitioners.

How do you register your recruitment needs?

NZLocums has a unique data capture and information database, which includes all the information necessary for both recruitment and placement, and has enabled a comprehensive profile of each practice to be developed.

If you require a locum, you need to contact NZLocums (phone 04 472 3901, fax 04 472 0904, email enquiries@nzlocums.com) to request a form. A Locum Request Form will be faxed or emailed to you and your replies recorded in NZLocum's database. The replies are prioritised according to the date they are received to accommodate forward planning and scheduling arrangements. When a locum becomes available you will be contacted to determine whether or not you still need a locum for this period.

If you have a long term or permanent vacancy, you need contact NZLocums (phone 04 472 3901, fax 04 472 0904, email enquiries@nzlocums.com) to request a form. Once your request has been received, a website listing for your vacancy will be prepared free of charge and the recruitment team will begin matching your request with potential candidates.

Short term locum assistance

Anyone who has had to recruit a locum or find a new General Practitioner will know how expensive this can be. NZLocums assists rural general practices by carrying all the costs associated with recruitment, including orientation and upskilling, and manages all aspects of the locum's placement.

Locums are engaged as independent contractors by NZLocums, and placement details, including on-call and accommodation, are contained in a contract between the practice and NZLocums.

The cost to a practice of employing an NZLocum is ($400.00 + GST) per session. Sessions are defined as:

Weekday/weeknight (including lunch)
8.00 am - 1.00 pm
1.00 pm 6.00 pm
6.00 pm - 8.00 am

Weekend (Saturday and Sunday)
8.00 am - 1.00 pm
1.00 pm - 8.00 pm
8.00 pm - 8.00 am

NZLocums pays the locum direct and invoices the practice for reimbursement of the payment. Payment is required within 14 days of receipt of invoice.

This cost structure has been determined by a group of currently practicing rural General Practitioners to ensure that the NZLocums scheme is both attractive to candidates and fair to those requesting assistance. It takes into account the special government funding available to General Practitioners who work in rural general practices, as well as the true cost to NZLocums of recruiting a locum.

NZLocums provides locums with additional benefits. Please click here for details of these.

Long term locum or permanent recruitment assistance

NZLocums actively recruits General Practitioners for New Zealand rural general practices. We do this by advertising in New Zealand as well as overseas medical journals, attending key medical conferences and promoting our website to potential candidates. We hold a list of candidates interested in coming to New Zealand to work in a rural environment and have a process for matching candidates to the most suitable environment.