Research – Shock survey result – one in four public service workers thinking of leaving NZ – PSA

– 27% of public service workers are thinking of leaving NZ for better pay

– Nearly half (49%) of workers under 25 are considering leaving – rising to 44% for those aged 25-34

– Health sector and public service department workers most likely to be looking to leave (29%); Auckland workers highest at 33%

Shocking new findings from a major PSA survey show more than one in four public service workers are thinking about leaving New Zealand for better pay – with the figure rising to nearly half of all workers under 25.

“These figures are a damning indictment of this Government’s relentless attacks on public service workers. We are staring down the barrel of losing an entire generation of the skilled workers New Zealand needs to deliver the services our communities depend on,” said Fleur Fitzsimons, National Secretary for the Public Service Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi.

The 7,600 members who responded were asked whether they either agreed or strongly agreed that they were thinking about leaving the country for better pay.

“Nearly half of workers under 25 are thinking about packing their bags. These are the nurses, social workers, corrections officers and home support workers who should be the future of our public services – instead they’re looking to Australia where they’ll be paid thousands more and treated with respect.

“A mental health nurse starting on $77,000 in New Zealand can earn the equivalent of $93,000 in Melbourne. A prison officer starting on $70,000-$80,000 here can earn the equivalent of $97,000 in Victoria.

“We represent 8,000 home support workers who look after our most vulnerable people who were crushed when the Government betrayed them and cancelled their pay equity claim. About a quarter of them are thinking about leaving for Australia, where they would earn between $6 and $10 more per hour for the same work, with better conditions and allowances.

“It’s no wonder people are voting with their feet.

“The Coalition Government has launched attack after attack on workers’ rights, pay and conditions. The cuts to thousands of public service jobs have left public service workers fearing for their job security. Taken together, these attacks amount to the most comprehensive assault on working people in a generation:

– Slashing public sector spending, axing thousands of jobs and gutting the services New Zealanders rely on

– Ripping up pay equity rules, denying more than 180,000 mainly female workers the pay they deserve and making it harder to lodge claims in the future

– The Employment Leave Bill, which will cut sick leave and holiday pay for part-time and irregular workers – hitting women and low-paid workers hardest

– Weakening personal grievance protections through the Employment Relations Amendment Act, making fire-at-will a reality for every worker

– Changing the Health and Safety at Work Act that will water down employers’ safety obligations and put workers at greater risk of injury, illness and death

– Axing Fair Pay Agreements and reinstating 90-day fire-at-will trials

– Suppressing the minimum wage while handing tax breaks to landlords, business and tobacco companies

“Behind these survey numbers sit thousands of stories of lost potential. These are people educated in New Zealand who have developed critical skills and experience – scientists, care workers, meat inspectors, health professionals, corrections staff. Once they’re gone, that expertise walks out the door and may never come back.

“We used to tell ourselves it didn’t matter because most people came back. That’s no longer true. The pay gap with Australia is so large, and conditions here are deteriorating so fast, that people are making permanent moves.

“The Government cannot plug these gaps by recruiting from overseas when our pay rates are so far behind. You can’t underpay your own workforce and then expect to attract talent from abroad.

“This Government’s priorities are crystal clear – tax breaks for big tobacco, landlords and businesses while the workers who keep our hospitals running, protect vulnerable children and deliver frontline services are left feeling they have no future here.

“ACT, NZ First and National have systematically come after working New Zealanders. These survey results and talent drain are the consequence. The Government needs to wake up before it’s too late – you cannot build a prosperous country by driving away the people who make it work.”

The PSA represents over 98,000 workers across New Zealand’s public sector, local government and community organisations.

The survey was conducted in March 2026 with 7,600 PSA members responding. Key findings:

• Across the full spread of public and community services, 27 % of those

who responded said that they either agreed or strongly agreed that they

were thinking about leaving the country for better pay.

• People working in the health sector (29%), for public service

departments (29%) and in the State services (28%) were slightly more

likely to agree or strongly agree with this than people working for local

government (23%) or community providers (25%).

• Of those living in the most populous regions, people living in

Auckland were the most likely to agree with this (33%)

• Younger people were significantly more likely to agree with this than

older people (49% of those under 25, 44% of those 25 – 34, compared with

25% of 45 – 54 year olds 17% of 55 – 64 year olds and 9% of those over

65).

• There was no significant difference by gender that was not a factor of

age.

The Public Service Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi is Aotearoa New Zealand’s largest trade union, representing and supporting more than 95,000 workers across central government, state-owned enterprises, local councils, health boards and community groups.