New Zealand's health system has a feature you won't find anywhere else: ACC, which covers everyone (including you) for accidental injury, no matter your visa. But for illness, most working holidaymakers are not covered by the public system and need insurance, and for some nationalities insurance is a visa condition. This guide explains exactly who gets what.
ACC automatically covers you for accidental injury from the day you arrive, free, whatever your nationality. It does not cover illness. For non-accident healthcare (a chest infection, an ongoing condition), most working holidaymakers are not eligible for free public care, because that generally requires a visa of two years or more. So you should hold travel or medical insurance. For UK, Ireland, Japan and Malaysia citizens, insurance is in fact a condition of the visa.
ACC is the Accident Compensation Corporation, New Zealand's no-fault accident scheme. If you're injured in an accident in New Zealand, ACC helps pay for your treatment and recovery, and this applies to everyone in the country including visitors and temporary visa holders (ACC). You don't enrol; you're covered automatically. A small earners' levy comes out of your wages to fund it (see our tax guide).
The trade-off, and the thing that surprises people: because ACC covers accidents on a no-fault basis, you generally cannot sue anyone for compensatory damages for a personal injury in New Zealand. If you're hurt in a car crash, a fall at work or a hiking accident, ACC is the system that responds, not a lawsuit.
What ACC does not cover is just as important:
For non-accident care, mostly no. New Zealand funds public health services for "eligible" people, and a temporary work visa only makes you eligible if it entitles you to stay two years or more (Te Whatu Ora). A standard 12-month working holiday visa does not meet that threshold.
In practice that means if you get sick (not injured), you generally pay for your own GP visits, prescriptions and any non-accident hospital care, unless a reciprocal agreement or your insurance covers it. This is the single most important thing to understand about healthcare here, and it's why insurance matters even though ACC has the accident side handled.
One nuance: UK citizens on the longer (up to 36-month) UK working holiday visa may cross the two-year line and become eligible. If that's you, check your eligibility against the official guidance rather than assuming.
New Zealand has reciprocal health agreements with two countries relevant to working holidaymakers: the United Kingdom and Australia (Te Whatu Ora).
These agreements are a safety net for urgent, can't-wait care. They are not full health cover and they don't replace insurance. Routine GP visits, ongoing treatment and anything elective still fall to you or your insurer.
For most New Zealand working holiday schemes, holding acceptable medical and comprehensive hospitalisation insurance for your whole stay is a condition of the visa. The schemes that are exempt from this requirement are the ones for citizens of the United Kingdom, Ireland, Japan and Malaysia (Immigration New Zealand).
Even where insurance is not a strict visa condition (UK, Ireland, Japan, Malaysia), you should still hold cover, because the public system won't fund your non-accident care on a 12-month visa.
Whether insurance is mandatory for you or strongly advised, look for:
Insurers offering long-stay and working-holiday policies include SafetyWing and Cover-More, both of which can be bought from abroad or extended mid-trip. Compare what's excluded, not just the headline price.
For everyday illness you see a GP (general practitioner) at a local medical centre. As a temporary visa holder you'll usually be a "casual" patient (not enrolled), so you pay the full, non-subsidised fee, often somewhere around NZD 50 to 100 a visit (indicative, third party). Book online or by phone, or walk in. Keep the receipt to claim on your insurance.
For free health advice any time of day, call Healthline on 0800 611 116 (info.health.nz). Pharmacists can also advise on minor ailments and provide some treatments without a doctor's visit.
Call 111 for ambulance, fire or police. In a genuine emergency, go straight to a public hospital emergency department; you'll be treated. If your emergency is an accident, ACC covers the treatment. If it's an illness and you're not covered by the public system or a reciprocal agreement, you'll be billed, which is what your insurance is for. Keep every document for the claim.
Accident injuries are covered free by ACC for everyone. Non-accident care (illness) is generally not free on a 12-month working holiday visa, so you need insurance.
ACC is New Zealand's no-fault accident scheme. It covers everyone in the country for accidental injury automatically; you don't enrol. A small levy comes out of your wages to fund it.
Yes for most nationalities, and it's a visa condition unless you're a citizen of the UK, Ireland, Japan or Malaysia. Even then, you should hold cover because the public system won't fund your non-accident care.
ACC covers the treatment of accidental injury in New Zealand, but not illness, repatriation, or things that happen outside the country. Good travel insurance fills those gaps, so keep it even though ACC exists.
Generally no. Because ACC compensates accidental injury on a no-fault basis, the right to sue for compensatory personal-injury damages is removed.
Visit any GP medical centre as a casual patient and pay the fee (often around NZD 50 to 100), then claim on your insurance. For advice, call Healthline free on 0800 611 116. For emergencies, call 111.
Sources: acc.co.nz · tewhatuora.govt.nz · immigration.govt.nz · info.health.nz · safetywing.com · covermore.co.nz. Last verified 2026-06-11.