Auckland Regional Public Health Service - Refugee Health Service

New Zealand accepts 750 ‘quota’ refugees annually, who arrive in groups of 125 six times each year. Additionally up to 1800 asylum seekers annually seek refugee status in New Zealand. The ‘Quota’ refugees are taken to Mangere Refugee Resettlement Centre (MRRC) on arrival and stay there for 6 weeks. The MRRC has been receiving ‘Quota’ refugees since 1979 and detained asylum seekers since 2001.

The Auckland Regional Public Health Service (ARPHS) is a mainstream provider of public health services in the Auckland region. ARPHS itself is sited within the Auckland District Health Board (ADHB) organisation. ARPHS provides a range of Refugee Health Services in the Auckland region. This includes a medical clinic at MRRC, which provides a medical screening and referral service for ‘quota’ refugees and asylum seekers detained at MRRC. They also provide medical screening for those asylum seekers not detained and living in the community. There is a part time general practitioner at the centre providing primary care during their stay at MRRC.

There are five different organisations on the MRRC site.

• Refugee Branch of the New Zealand Immigration Service: This owns and runs MRRC, selects the ‘quota’ refugees, and provides them with appropriate documentation.

• Refugee and Migrant Service (RMS): This NGO provides social services for the ‘quota’ refugees only, arranging such things as housing and banking, with the assistance of a trained volunteer support group.

• Refugees as Survivors (RAS): A torture/trauma counselling service, available to ‘quota’ refugees and detained asylum seekers.

• The School of Refugee Studies of the Auckland University of Technology: This provide education and orientation programme.

• Medical clinic: medical screening for ‘quota’ refugees and all asylum seekers and also primary care for ‘quota’ refugees and asylum seekers detained at MRRC.

The medical screening involves history, physical examination and investigations such as urine, stool, blood tests, Mantoux and Chest X-Ray. The Refugee Health Service (RHS) screening tool has evolved over time in response to developments in medical knowledge, expert advice and changes in the prevalence of certain conditions amongst refugee populations. Additional tests are done when needed. The doctors at the medical clinic treat what they can and refer others to the specialist clinics.

ARPHS has funded a project for evaluation of the current RHS screening tool. The project will include a literature review and interviews with key stakeholders and medical experts to deliver a screening tool according to best available evidence and resources.


Click here for the screening flow chart along with the list of investigations. (pdf 14kb)