Key points
- The three Auckland health districts hold 34.5% of New Zealand's population and 32.2% of its GP full time equivalents, per the Medical Council's 2025 survey.3
- Auckland is the country's most diverse region, with 31.3% of residents of Asian ethnicity and 16.6% Pacific in the 2023 Census.1
- Since 1 May 2026, rule 3A of the Health Information Privacy Code requires clinics to tell patients when their health information is collected from someone else.56
- The Medical Council's March 2026 guidance requires informed consent before an AI scribe records, and forbids using AI to impersonate a doctor.4
- wai drafts, a person at the clinic approves and sends, and the doctor signs every note.
Summary
An Auckland clinic can use AI to draft notes and patient replies today, with informed consent before recording, a doctor signing every note and records held in New Zealand. The rules that matter are the Health Information Privacy Code 2020 as amended in 2026, the Medical Council's guidance on AI in patient care and the Code of Health and Disability Services Consumers' Rights.
Auckland clinics now answer the overnight queue before the first appointment, and doctors sign every note before they leave. wai drafts the replies and the notes, a person at the clinic approves or signs each one, and the records stay in New Zealand.
Part of the Ngā Paerewa hub, with the framework explained, a readiness checklist and 7 guides.
See it in your clinicThirty minutes on your own patients and doctors.
Request a demoSee an overnight enquiry from Manukau drafted for your reception team to approve, and a consult note written while the GP talks, in fifteen minutes.
| Body or law | Rule | What to ask | How wai meets it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Medical Council of New Zealand, March 2026 guidance | Consent before AI recording, check AI output, no AI impersonating a doctor | Who signs and who sends | Doctor signs every note, a person approves every message |
| Health Information Privacy Code, rule 3A | Tell patients when information is collected from someone else | How are referral notices sent | Drafted notice in the patient's thread for the team to approve |
| Health Information Privacy Code, rules 5 and 12 | Safeguards with service providers, limits on disclosure abroad | Where are records hosted, and by whom | Records hosted in New Zealand, subprocessors named |
| Health and Disability Commissioner, Code of Rights 5 and 7 | Effective communication and informed consent | Can patients write in their own language | Any language understood, every draft approved |
| Office of the Privacy Commissioner | Issues and amends the health code | Which version of the code applies | Hosting and patient notices set up with your clinic under the current code |
The private care market in Auckland
The Medical Council's 2025 workforce survey counts 20,530 practising doctors in New Zealand.3 Across Auckland's three districts it records 1,802.0 doctor full time equivalents in Waitematā, 3,904.8 in Auckland and 1,873.5 in Counties Manukau, serving 1,824,500 people.3
General practice is thinner on the city's edges. The wider Auckland region holds 34.5% of the population and 32.2% of GP full time equivalents, with Waitematā under its population share by 4.0 percentage points and Counties Manukau by 3.9.3 Clinics there gain the most from a desk that answers overnight and a doctor who writes no notes after hours.
The rules a clinic in Auckland works under
The Health Information Privacy Code 2020 replaces the general privacy principles for the health sector and covers doctors, nurses, dentists, pharmacists and health insurers.5 The Privacy Commissioner amended it in March 2026 for the new rule 3A, in force from 1 May 2026.5
Rule 3A applies when a clinic collects health information about a patient from someone other than the patient, such as a referral or a family member's message, and requires reasonable steps to make the patient aware of the collection, its purpose and their rights of access.6 Rule 5 requires security safeguards, including when information goes to a service provider that stores or processes it.6 Rule 12 allows disclosure to a foreign entity only on listed grounds, such as comparable safeguards or the patient's express authorisation.6
The Medical Council's guidance on AI in patient care was approved on 17 February 2026 and published on 10 March 2026. It requires informed consent when an AI tool records the consultation, asks doctors to check the accuracy of AI output before it enters the record, and says a doctor must not use AI to impersonate themselves, including through chatbots.4 Every message wai drafts goes out under a person's approval, and every note under the doctor's signature.
The Code of Health and Disability Services Consumers' Rights gives every patient the right to effective communication in a language they understand, including a competent interpreter where necessary, and the right to make an informed choice and give informed consent.7
wai hosts each clinic's records in its own country, under that country's rules. We set this up with your clinic. wai is compliant with these rules and built for clinics in Auckland.
The languages Auckland patients write in
Te reo Māori is the most widely spoken language in New Zealand after English, with 213,849 speakers at the 2023 Census. Samoan followed with 110,541, Northern Chinese, which includes Mandarin, with 107,412, and Hindi with 77,985.1
Auckland's five largest ethnic groups in 2023 were New Zealand European with 726,822 people, Māori with 203,544, Chinese with 194,484, Indian with 175,794 and Samoan with 135,708.1 Almost two thirds of New Zealand's Pacific peoples, 275,079 people, live in Auckland.2 wai works in any language, and the team approves every draft before it sends.8
What a demo shows in Auckland
A patient in Manukau sends a WhatsApp message at 10pm asking whether her son can be seen on Saturday. wai reads each doctor's busy times from Google Calendar, Outlook or Apple Calendar, offers an open slot and drafts the reply, and reception approves it at eight. A missed call to the Remuera rooms during a procedure becomes a drafted text in the same thread.
A specialist's letter lands in the patient's record, and wai drafts a short note telling the patient it arrived, which is the step rule 3A asks for, and the team approves it. In the consult the GP gets consent, wai drafts the note and the letter, and the GP signs both. A deposit in New Zealand dollars goes to the clinic's own Stripe account.
For health systems, governments and insurers in Auckland
Health districts, primary health organisations and insurers all fall under the same code, and an insurer is named in it directly.5 wai builds one pathway at a time with the organisation's own teams, on one record across services, with data, configuration and model rights agreed in the contract. See wai for health systems and governments.
Where to start
First, add the AI recording line to the consent form, with the alternative offered if a patient declines, as the Medical Council asks.4 Second, write the rule 3A notice for referrals and third-party messages.
Third, confirm in writing that records are hosted in New Zealand and list every subprocessor against rule 12. Fourth, pull a month of enquiries by language and hour. Book an Auckland demo and bring it.
Bring a week of Auckland enquiries, overnight ones included, and see the drafts your team would approve.
Frequently asked questions
Do Auckland doctors need consent before an AI scribe records?
Yes. The Medical Council's 2026 guidance lists recording the consultation with an AI tool as a situation that needs informed consent, documented in the patient's record.4
What does rule 3A change for a clinic?
From 1 May 2026, when a clinic collects a patient's health information from someone else, it must take reasonable steps to make the patient aware of the collection and their rights.6
Can patient records be stored overseas?
Rule 12 permits disclosure to a foreign entity only on listed grounds.6 wai hosts each clinic's records in New Zealand.
Can an AI chat with patients for the doctor?
The Medical Council says a doctor must not use AI to impersonate themselves.4 wai drafts and a person at the clinic approves before anything sends.
Do patients have a right to an interpreter?
Right 5 of the Code of Rights includes a competent interpreter where necessary and reasonably practicable.7
Which languages can patients use with wai?
wai works in any language.8 Bring your own messages to the demo and judge the drafts.
Sources
- 1Stats NZ, 2024Census results reflect Aotearoa New Zealand's diversity (archived copy read 15 Oct 2026)Read 15 October 2026Read source
- 2Stats NZ, 20242023 Census population, dwelling, and housing highlights (archived copy read 15 Oct 2026)Read 15 October 2026Read source
- 3Medical Council of New Zealand, 2026The New Zealand Medical Workforce in 2025, Workforce Survey ReportRead 15 October 2026Read source
- 4Medical Council of New Zealand, 2026Guidance on using artificial intelligence (AI) in patient careRead 15 October 2026Read source
- 5Office of the Privacy Commissioner, 2026Health Information Privacy Code 2020Read 15 October 2026Read source
- 6Office of the Privacy Commissioner, 2026Health Information Privacy Code 2020, rules 3A, 5 and 12 (in force 1 May 2026)Read 15 October 2026Read source
- 7Health and Disability Commissioner, 1996Code of Health and Disability Services Consumers' RightsRead 15 October 2026Read source
- 8wai, 2026wai changelog, intake answered by voice in any languageRead 15 October 2026Read source
Every Auckland enquiry answered by nine, every note signed by five.
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