| A&E | Accident and Emergency |
| ACART | Advisory Committee on Assisted Reproductive Technologies |
| AHMAC | Australian Health Ministers’ Advisory Council |
| AHMC | Australian Health Ministers’ Conference |
| AIMS | Ambulatory Inpatient Medical Service |
| ALAC | Alcohol Advisory Council of New Zealand |
| ALOS | Average Length of Stay |
| ASMS | Association of Salaried Medical Specialists |
| BSA | BreastScreen Aotearoa |
| BSI | Blood Stream Infection |
| CAMHS | Child and youth mental health and addiction services |
| CARM | Centre for Adverse Reactions Monitoring |
| CCC | Cancer Control Council |
| CCU | Coronary Care Unit |
| CEO | Chief Executive Officer |
| CFA | Crown Funding Agreement |
| CFO | Chief Financial Officer |
| CSD | Corporate Services Directorate |
| CTA | Clinical Training Agency |
| CYMRC | Child and Youth Mortality Review Committee |
| DAP | District Annual Planning |
| DHB/s | District Health Board/s |
| DHBNZ | District Health Boards New Zealand |
| DG | Director-General of Health |
| DDG | Deputy Director-General |
| DSP | District Strategic Plans |
| DSS | Disability Support Services |
| ECART | Ethics Committee on Assisted Reproductive Technology |
| ED | Emergency Department |
| EpiQual | National Health Epidemiology and Quality Assurance Advisory Committee (disbanded in 2007 and replaced with the Quality Improvement Committee (QIC)) |
| ELT
ECART | Executive Leadership Team of the Ministry of Health
Ethics Committee on Assisted Reproductive Technologies |
| ETP | Entry to Practice |
| FCTC | Framework Convention on Tobacco Control |
| FSANZ | Food Standards Australia New Zealand |
| FTE | Full Time Equivalent |
| GP | General Practitioner |
| HART Act | Human Assisted Reproductive Technology Act 2004 |
| HDECs | Regional Health and Disability Ethics Committees |
| HFA | Health Funding Authority (merged with the Ministry of Health in 2001 |
| HISAC | Health Information Strategy Action Committee |
| HIS-NZ | Health Information Strategy for New Zealand |
| HPCA | Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act 2003 |
| HPDT | Health Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal |
| HRC | Health Research Council of New Zealand |
| HSC | Health Sponsorship Council |
| HWAC | Health Workforce Advisory Committee (now disbanded) |
| HEHA | Healthy Eating - Health Action |
| HBI | Hospital Benchmarking Information |
| ICU | Intensive Care Unit |
| IDFs | Inter-district Flows |
| IMMP | Intensive Medicines Monitoring Programme |
| IDPs | Indicators of DHB Performance |
| IQ | Improving Quality |
| KPI | Key Performance Indicator (Framework |
| LMC | Lead Maternity Carer |
| MAAC | Medicines Assessment Advisory Committee |
| MACCAH | Ministerial Advisory Committee on Complementary and Alternative Health (now disbanded) |
| MAF | Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry |
| MARC | Medicines Adverse Reactions Committee |
| MCC | Medicines Classification Committee |
| MECA | Multi Employer Collective Agreement |
| Medsafe | New Zealand Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Authority |
| MFAT | Ministry for Foreign Affairs and Trade |
| MH(CAT)Act 1992 | Mental Health (Compulsory Assessment and Treatment) Act 1992 |
| MHINC | Mental Health Information National Collection |
| MLAC | Medical Licensing Advisory Committee |
| MMR | Measles, Mumps and Rubella |
| MoH | Ministry of Health |
| MSD | Ministry of Social Development |
| NASC | Needs Assessment Service Co-ordination |
| NCSP | National Cervical Screening Programme |
| NCSR | National Cancer Screening Register |
| NDSA | Northern DHB Support Agency Limited |
| NEAC | National Ethics Advisory Committee |
| NECAHR | National Ethics Committee on Assisted Human Reproduction |
| NGO | Non-governmental Organisation |
| NHC | National Health Committee |
| NPAC | New Prescribers Advisory Committee |
| NRL | National Radiation Laboratory |
| NSAC | National Screening Advisory Committee |
| NSU | National Screening Unit |
| NSTR | National Service and Technology Review sub-committee |
| NZBS | New Zealand Blood Service |
| NZCR | Mortality Cancer Registry |
| NZDS | New Zealand Disability Strategy |
| NZFSA | New Zealand Food Safety Authority |
| NZHS | New Zealand Health Strategy |
| NZHIS | New Zealand Health Information Service |
| NZNO | New Zealand Nurses Organisation |
| OAG | Office of the Controller and Auditor-General |
| OCC | Office of the Commissioner for Children |
| ODI | Office for Disability Issues |
| OECD | Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development |
| OIA | Official Information Act |
| OPC | Office of the Privacy Commissioner |
| OPF | Operating Policy Framework |
| OSH | Occupational Safety and Health |
| OT | Occupational Therapy |
| PAM | Performance Assessment and Management (Steering Group) |
| PBFF | Population Based Funding Formula |
| PHAC | Public Health Advisory Committee (subcommittee of the National Health Committee) |
| PHARMAC | Pharmaceutical Management Agency |
| PHCS | Primary Health Care Strategy |
| PHO | Primary Health Organisation |
| PHU | Public Health Unit |
| PMMRC | Perinatal and Maternal Mortality Review Committee |
| PTAC | Pharmacology and Therapeutics Advisory Committee |
| RANZCP | Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists |
| RDA | Resident Doctors Association |
| RFP | Request for Proposal |
| RHMU | Residual Health Management Unit |
| RPA | Radiation Protection Act 1965 |
| RPAC | Radiation Protection Advisory Council |
| SCS | Service Coverage Schedule |
| SIA | Services to Improve Access |
| SISSAL | South Island Shared Services Agency Limited |
| SMO | Senior Medical Officer |
| SMT | Senior Managment Team |
| SCI | Sector Capability and Innovation Directorate |
| SPINA | Service Planning and New Health Intervention Assessment (Framework) |
| TAS | Central Region Technical Advisory Services Limited |
| TEC | Tertiary Education Commission |
| The Act | The New Zealand Public Health and Disability Act 2000 |
| The Bill | The Health Practitioners’ Competence Assurance Bill |
| The Code | Code of Health and Disability Services Consumers’ Rights |
| The Commission | The Mental Health Commission |
| The Commissioner | The Health and Disability Commissioner |
| The Group | The National Kaitiaki Group |
| The Minister | The Minister of Health |
| The Ministry | The Ministry of Health |
| The Office | The Office of the Health and Disability Commissioner |
| The Sector | The New Zealand health and disability sector |
| UNHSAG | Universal Newborn Hearing Screening Advisory Group |
| WAVE | Working to Add Value through E-information |
| WHA | World Health Assembly |
| WHO | World Health Organization |