NZ inNumbers

Cancer care NZ

87.0% received cancer treatment within 31 days of the decision to treat, up from 86.3% a year earlier (Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora, Jun 2026 qtr).

Updated

Results for the five government health targets in the April–June quarter of each year for the last decade: faster cancer treatment, childhood immunisation, emergency department stays under six hours, first specialist assessment within four months, and elective treatment within four months.

The share of eligible people screened through New Zealand's national programmes for breast cancer (women 50–69), cervical cancer (women 20–69) and bowel cancer (people 50–74), as reported to the OECD.

One quarter per year (April–June), so seasonal effects are held constant but within-year changes are not shown. Childhood immunisation figures changed source in 2021/22 (National Immunisation Register to the Aotearoa Immunisation Register), which counts more eligible children; the drop partly reflects that.

A percentage meeting a health target describes the group covered by that target. Its definition tells you which patients are counted and when their waiting clock starts and ends.

Read the period beside each number before comparing it with another figure. A monthly observation, a quarterly result and a financial year cover different spans of time. The latest release can also revise earlier observations. The chart and downloads keep the published periods so you can check which figures are being compared. A change in cancer care describes what happened during that period; it does not by itself explain why it happened or identify the effect of a government policy. Definitions and coverage matter as much as the size of a change.

Sources: Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora; OECD. Last retrieved 10 October 2026.

Cancer care, Health targets: cancer treatment, immunisation, ED and waiting times: %, Jun 2017 qtr to Jun 2026 qtr

Cancer care. Faster cancer treatment: % treated within 31 days of the decision to treat, Jun 2017 qtr to Jun 2026 qtr, latest 87.0%.0%20%40%60%80%100%Jun 2017 qtr: 90.1%201720192021202320252026
Show the figures
PeriodFaster cancer treatment: % treated within 31 days of the decision to treat (%)
Jun 2026 qtr87.0%
Jun 2025 qtr86.3%
Jun 2024 qtr84.2%
Jun 2023 qtr84.2%
Jun 2022 qtr86.9%
Jun 2021 qtr86.3%
Jun 2020 qtr90.2%
Jun 2019 qtr86.2%
Jun 2018 qtr88.6%
Jun 2017 qtr90.1%
Full data: health targets
June 2026 quarterFaster cancer treatment: % treated within 31 days of the decision to treat 87.0%

Results for the five government health targets in the April–June quarter of each year for the last decade: faster cancer treatment, childhood immunisation, emergency department stays under six hours, first specialist assessment within four months, and elective treatment within four months.

Cancer care. Faster cancer treatment: % treated within 31 days of the decision to treat: 87.0% in Jun 2026 qtr.

Each measure retains its own definition and period. Lines break at changes in basis and missing periods. Choose a measure to see its note and readout.

Cancer care: definitions

Health targets: cancer treatment, immunisation, ED and waiting times

Results for the five government health targets in the April–June quarter of each year for the last decade: faster cancer treatment, childhood immunisation, emergency department stays under six hours, first specialist assessment within four months, and elective treatment within four months.

Cancer screening rates in NZ

The share of eligible people screened through New Zealand's national programmes for breast cancer (women 50–69), cervical cancer (women 20–69) and bowel cancer (people 50–74), as reported to the OECD.

Breast screening rates: NZ and other countries

The share of women aged 50–69 screened for breast cancer through national programmes, from OECD Health Statistics.

Cancer care: comparison limits

These affect how far the figures can be compared.

Health targets: cancer treatment, immunisation, ED and waiting times

  • One quarter per year (April–June), so seasonal effects are held constant but within-year changes are not shown.
  • Childhood immunisation figures changed source in 2021/22 (National Immunisation Register to the Aotearoa Immunisation Register), which counts more eligible children; the drop partly reflects that.
  • COVID-19 disrupted hospital services in 2020–2022; waiting-time results for those years reflect that disruption.
  • Point-in-time snapshots as first published; they can differ from other Health NZ statistics.

Cancer screening rates in NZ

  • Programme data: the share screened within each programme's interval (e.g. two years for breast screening).
  • The bowel screening programme rolled out region by region from 2017 and its age range is changing; the OECD series starts in 2023.
  • National averages hide large differences by ethnicity and region.

Breast screening rates: NZ and other countries

  • Programme intervals and eligibility differ between countries.

Cancer care by NZ government

The last published observation before each term began and ended. The current term uses the latest observation.Change since a government took office is not the same as its effect.

Prime ministersIn officeStartEndChange
Key, EnglishNov 2008 to Oct 2017Not available90.1% (Jun 2017 qtr)Not available
Ardern, HipkinsOct 2017 to Nov 202390.1% (Jun 2017 qtr)84.2% (Jun 2023 qtr)A fall of 5.9 percentage points
LuxonNov 2023 to now84.2% (Jun 2023 qtr)87.0% (Jun 2026 qtr, latest)A rise of 2.8 points so far
Compare governments on any measure

Cancer care: data by period

The latest ten published periods for up to six series in each dataset. The downloads contain every observation.

Health targets: cancer treatment, immunisation, ED and waiting times

Results for the five government health targets in the April–June quarter of each year for the last decade: faster cancer treatment, childhood immunisation, emergency department stays under six hours, first specialist assessment within four months, and elective treatment within four months.

PeriodFaster cancer treatment: % treated within 31 days of the decision to treat
Jun 2026 qtr87.0%
Jun 2025 qtr86.3%
Jun 2024 qtr84.2%
Jun 2023 qtr84.2%
Jun 2022 qtr86.9%
Jun 2021 qtr86.3%
Jun 2020 qtr90.2%
Jun 2019 qtr86.2%
Jun 2018 qtr88.6%
Jun 2017 qtr90.1%

Cancer screening rates in NZ

The share of eligible people screened through New Zealand's national programmes for breast cancer (women 50–69), cervical cancer (women 20–69) and bowel cancer (people 50–74), as reported to the OECD.

PeriodBreast screening, women 50–69Cervical screening, women 20–69Bowel screening, people 50–74
202567.7%75.3%Not available
202469.5%72.6%57.9%
202368.2%68.0%57.3%
202266.1%67.4%Not available
202164.7%69.0%Not available
202068.0%69.7%Not available
201971.6%71.3%Not available
201872.2%73.4%Not available
201771.7%74.0%Not available
201671.9%75.2%Not available

Breast screening rates: NZ and other countries

The share of women aged 50–69 screened for breast cancer through national programmes, from OECD Health Statistics.

PeriodNew ZealandAustraliaCanadaUnited Kingdom
202567.7%Not availableNot availableNot available
202469.5%52.0%Not available70.0%
202368.2%51.3%Not available66.4%
202266.1%49.7%Not available65.3%
202164.7%47.1%Not available64.2%
202068.0%49.4%Not available74.2%
201971.6%54.4%59.7%75.1%
201872.2%54.6%62.0%75.2%
201771.7%55.0%61.8%75.1%
201671.9%55.2%61.7%75.4%

Cancer care: questions for your AI

Download the files, attach them in the assistant you use, then paste the prompt. Its answer is its own reading of the data.

  1. 1Download health-targets.csv
  2. 2Attach it in ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini or another assistant
  3. 3
    Paste this prompt

    The attached CSV is health targets: cancer treatment, immunisation, ed and waiting times, from Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora. Describe how each measure has changed, naming its unit and period. Treat changes in basis and missing periods as breaks. Do not infer causation from government terms. Read the limits before comparing. Supporting datasets: health-targets, cancer-screening, screening-international.

Questions about cancer care in NZ

Short answers with their definitions, sources and limits.

Related NZ data

These topics put cancer care alongside other measures.

Cancer care: sources

The source publication, licence and snapshot used to build this page.

Organisation
Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora, Health targets: 10 years of quarter four results
Licence
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0). Source: Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora, health target results, licensed under CC BY 4.0. Figures compiled by NZ in Numbers.
Reuse limits
Photographs, illustrations and logos are not covered.
Snapshot
data/raw/healthnz-targets/2026-10-10_7c5bf3a1253b.docx
SHA256
7c5bf3a1253be26bf675fce50c192f5b7eacff346910bc859e9aa960200fae3e
Retrieved
10 October 2026

Cancer care: sources

The source publication, licence and snapshot used to build this page.

Organisation
OECD, Cancer screening rates
Licence
OECD Terms and Conditions (Data), reuse including commercial with citation. OECD (2026), Cancer screening rates, OECD Data Explorer, https://data-explorer.oecd.org/ (accessed on 10 October 2026). Figures selected and transformed by NZ in Numbers. Anyone reusing these figures must keep this OECD citation.
Reuse limits
Some OECD datasets include third-party material with its own terms; check the OECD terms page before monetising.
Snapshot
data/raw/oecd-screening/2026-10-10_fb4f91036adc.csv
SHA256
fb4f91036adc3540c1f49d03e62f6fc7687865326b5c0c8361f8a35a798e7bbc
Retrieved
10 October 2026

Cancer care: sources

The source publication, licence and snapshot used to build this page.

Organisation
OECD, Cancer screening rates
Licence
OECD Terms and Conditions (Data), reuse including commercial with citation. OECD (2026), Cancer screening rates, OECD Data Explorer, https://data-explorer.oecd.org/ (accessed on 10 October 2026). Figures selected and transformed by NZ in Numbers. Anyone reusing these figures must keep this OECD citation.
Reuse limits
Some OECD datasets include third-party material with its own terms; check the OECD terms page before monetising.
Snapshot
data/raw/oecd-screening/2026-10-10_fb4f91036adc.csv
SHA256
fb4f91036adc3540c1f49d03e62f6fc7687865326b5c0c8361f8a35a798e7bbc
Retrieved
10 October 2026