Public Health Units

Public Health Units (PHUs)

Regional public health services are delivered by 12 District Health Board-owned public health units and various non-governmental organisations. DHB-based services and NGOs each deliver around half of these services.

Public health units focus on ‘core public health services’, as specified in the Public Health Services Handbook, including:

environmental health
communicable disease control
tobacco control
health promotion programmes.

Many of these services include a regulatory component performed by statutory officers appointed under statutes - mainly the Health Act 1956. These statutory officers are employed by DHBs but are personally accountable to the Director-General of Health.

Statutory officers and public health units also work with the Ministry of Health around ongoing technical, legislative and policy support, funding and co-ordination of services.

The Regional Public Health Units are:

Northland Primary and community health services
Auckland Regional Public Health Services
Waikato Public Health Unit
Toi Te Ora Public Health Unit (with offices in Tauranga, Whakatane and Rotorua covering Bay of Plenty and Lakes DHBs)
Tairawhiti Public Health Unit
Hawkes Bay Public Health Unit
Taranaki Public Health Unit
Mid Central Public Health Unit (covering both Mid Central and Whanganui DHBs)
Hutt Valley Regional Public Health (covering Wellington, Wairarapa and the Hutt Valley DHBs)
Nelson Public Health Unit (based in Nelson Marlborough DHB)
Christchurch community and public health (covering the West Coast, Canterbury and South Canterbury DHBs)
Public Health South (covering Otago and Southland DHBs)

More information

Contact details for all Public Health Units.

Public health units focus on ‘core public health services’, which are specified in the Public Health Services Handbook.