Abstract
New Zealand has a history of the assessment of projects for
their potential impact on health in the context of the New
Zealand Resource Management Act 1991. Health impact
assessment (HIA) at policy level is very new, and focuses
on high-level policies from outside the health sector. It
has largely developed since the Public Health Advisory
Committee published its guidance to policy makers in
20041, followed by intensive promotion, capacity building
and support to agencies undertaking HIA. (The Public
Health Advisory Committee was established under the
New Zealand Health and Disability Act 2000 to provide
the Minister of Health with independent public health
advice.) It is ‘work in progress’ and, as such, the Committee
has not yet published any results. The Committee is also
collaborating with the Wellington School of Medicine
and Health Sciences, and Quigley and Watts Ltd, with
advice and support from Deakin University, to deliver HIA
training and to support agencies that undertake an HIA.
The Committee will review uptake in the second quarter of
2006, the reasons for agencies choosing (or not choosing)
to undertake HIA and what changed as a result.
