New Zealand · Rural Southland · One practice

A GP role in rural Southland — and the life that comes with it.

Fifteen-minute consults. Twenty to twenty-two patients a day. Daily admin time that is protected in the roster rather than promised in an interview. A 24/7 emergency department a minute from the front door — and gin-clear trout rivers minutes from your own.

Permanent or locum. GP-owned, Cornerstone accredited, supervision on site for internationally trained doctors, and a straight-to-residence pathway built into the role. Direct from the practice — no agency in the middle.

15 min: Standard consult
20–22: Patients a day
$210–217k: NZD, indicative
5 weeks: Annual leave
1 min: To a 24/7 ED
8,200: Enrolled patients

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What interests you? *

First name *

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Where are you now? *

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Where are you up to?

Earliest realistic start

Anything you want to ask?

Can we pass your details to the practice? *

Either way the role lands in your app inbox. Say no and the practice never hears your name — you message them yourself, anonymously, until you apply.

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The doctors already there

Nobody tells you what a practice is like better than the doctors in it.

“I came here to do my GP training and loved it so much I’m staying. It’s a very supportive team with lots of learning opportunities and a great rural, family feel.”

GDr G. · GPTrained at the practice and stayed

“This workplace has become like family to me. We value continuity of care — patients see the same doctor — but the team ensures no one is ever left without support.”

WDr W. · GP Director11 years at the practice

“I found the practice to be very open in terms of accommodating what I wanted to do — specifically skin surgery. It’s a pleasure to work here. Southland is probably the most beautiful part of NZ.”

MDr M. · GPTrained in Zimbabwe and the UK

“I came here to do my GP training and loved it so much I’m staying. It’s a very supportive team with lots of learning opportunities and a great rural, family feel.”

GDr G. · GPTrained at the practice and stayed

“This workplace has become like family to me. We value continuity of care — patients see the same doctor — but the team ensures no one is ever left without support.”

WDr W. · GP Director11 years at the practice

“I found the practice to be very open in terms of accommodating what I wanted to do — specifically skin surgery. It’s a pleasure to work here. Southland is probably the most beautiful part of NZ.”

MDr M. · GPTrained in Zimbabwe and the UK

“I came here to do my GP training and loved it so much I’m staying. It’s a very supportive team with lots of learning opportunities and a great rural, family feel.”

GDr G. · GPTrained at the practice and stayed

“This workplace has become like family to me. We value continuity of care — patients see the same doctor — but the team ensures no one is ever left without support.”

WDr W. · GP Director11 years at the practice

“I found the practice to be very open in terms of accommodating what I wanted to do — specifically skin surgery. It’s a pleasure to work here. Southland is probably the most beautiful part of NZ.”

MDr M. · GPTrained in Zimbabwe and the UK

“I came here to do my GP training and loved it so much I’m staying. It’s a very supportive team with lots of learning opportunities and a great rural, family feel.”

GDr G. · GPTrained at the practice and stayed

“This workplace has become like family to me. We value continuity of care — patients see the same doctor — but the team ensures no one is ever left without support.”

WDr W. · GP Director11 years at the practice

“I found the practice to be very open in terms of accommodating what I wanted to do — specifically skin surgery. It’s a pleasure to work here. Southland is probably the most beautiful part of NZ.”

MDr M. · GPTrained in Zimbabwe and the UK

In the practice's own words

“All GPs have allocated daily admin time that is protected.”

Practice Manager

Most clinics say it. This one wrote it down, unprompted, as the one thing it wanted a doctor to know — and every GP here has that time blocked in the roster.

The working day, precisely

What an ordinary Tuesday actually looks like.

Specifics beat adjectives. Everything here comes from the practice’s own answers, not from a brochure.

A laptop and a cup of coffee on a desk in warm afternoon light

Protected admin time

Every GP has allocated daily admin time and nothing is rostered over it. This is the practice’s own line, not ours — and it is the single thing doctors tell us they stopped believing when a clinic says it.

A defibrillator, its controls and paddles ready on the unit

Acute appointments, every day

Acute appointments are rostered daily, so a chest pain at 11am doesn’t detonate the rest of your book. Consults are 15 minutes, typically 20–22 patients, on Indici.

A hand holding the dial of an analogue blood pressure cuff, needle mid-reading

Ten nurses and a wider team

Ten practice nurses, three health care assistants, a Health Improvement Practitioner and a health coach. On-site lab collection every morning until 12.30pm.

An empty, clean hospital ward with made-up beds and monitoring equipment

A 24/7 ED one minute away

The local hospital is about a minute from the front door — a 24/7 emergency department with an HDU, inpatient beds, maternity and radiology. The regional base hospital is about an hour on.

A stethoscope, notebook and glasses laid out on a wooden desk

GP-owned, not corporate

Seven GPs including two hands-on GP Directors, plus a Practice Manager and Finance Officer. Cornerstone accredited, and an RNZCGP accredited teaching practice.

A magnifier held close over the skin of a forearm, examining it

Any special interest welcome

Skin, women’s health, mental health, musculoskeletal, aged care — the practice has accommodated special interests before and will again. Nine GP consulting rooms, a minor surgery suite, ECG, spirometry and bedside ultrasound on site.

Two ways in

Stay for a season, or stay for good.

The practice is genuinely open to both — and plenty of locums here have turned into something longer.

Permanent

Make it your last move

Permanent, or a fixed term of twelve months or more. Around 0.8 FTE and negotiable, with a start date between January and March 2027 that is also negotiable — three to six months is workable for the practice.

Partnership or practice buy-in may be available
Structured to meet Green List Tier 1 — the straight-to-residence route
Active support towards FRNZCGP, with protected time and a fee contribution
The practice will help your family settle, not just you

Send me the permanent role

Locum

The assignment that feels like a working holiday

NZD $150 an hour, negotiable, flexible on sessions and start dates. The set-up cost of saying yes is close to nil — and you walk into a practice that is already organised.

NZD $150 an hour, negotiable
Temporary accommodation provided when you arrive
MCNZ registration and APC fees, indemnity and RNZCGP membership covered
Ten nurses and acute appointments rostered daily
A genuine path into a longer-term role if you don’t want to leave

Send me the locum option

Finish morning clinic. Go home for lunch. Fish gin-clear water before dinner.

Two hours to Central Otago, the Queenstown and Wanaka ski fields, Te Anau and Fiordland, the Catlins coast, Stewart Island and Dunedin.

For internationally trained GPs

The whole pathway is already in place here.

Most overseas listings leave you to solve registration, supervision and residence yourself. This one doesn’t — which is the entire reason it is worth a look even if New Zealand wasn’t on your list this morning.

Straight to residence

General practice sits on New Zealand's Green List Tier 1. The role is structured to meet all four conditions — permanent or a fixed term of twelve months or more, under an employment agreement, at thirty or more hours a week, paid at market rate. We'll walk you through each one honestly before you commit to anything.

Three supervisors, on site

The practice has three vocationally registered GPs ready to be nominated to the Medical Council, and takes one supervised doctor at a time. It is an RNZCGP accredited teaching practice and will support you towards FRNZCGP with protected time and a negotiable contribution to your fees. It asks for at least three years' post-registration experience and would ideally like a current ACLS certificate when you arrive.

Registration pathways the practice will support

Already vocationally registered

FRNZCGP, or FRACGP / FACRRM through the College’s reciprocal agreements. No supervision required — you can practise independently from day one.

UK, Ireland or Australia — VOC4

Provisional vocational registration. The practice supplies the supervisor, and has three vocationally registered GPs ready to be nominated to the Council.

USA, Canada or Singapore — VOC3 fast-track

The accelerated assessment route. Again, supervision comes from the practice rather than being something you have to go and find.

Comparable health system — general scope

The practice completes the REG4 and provides approved on-site supervision for around twelve months, then supports you towards Fellowship.

Not sure which one you're on

Genuinely the most common answer we get, and not a problem. Put “not sure” on the form and we will work out which pathway you are on with you — before you fill in a single piece of paperwork.

What you’re offered

NZD $210,000–$217,000, and what sits around it.

Indicative and negotiable, paid on a daily or sessional rate. A stated range beats “competitive” — you cannot compare a blank against three other countries.

MCNZ registration and APC fees paid
Medical indemnity paid
RNZCGP membership paid
CME allowance, scaled to your hours
Protected daily admin time
KiwiSaver employer contribution
Five weeks’ annual leave
Relocation contribution (negotiable)
Contribution towards your flights
Temporary accommodation when you land

Where you’d live

Rural city living — and a house you can actually buy.

Around NZD $475,000 to buy, roughly $550 a week to rent. Early childhood centres, four primary schools and two secondary schools, all an easy walk or drive. Partners find work at the hospital, the schools, the district council, local accountancy and law firms and across a large agricultural sector.

A fly fisher casting into a clear Southland river on a bright day

World-famous trout fishing

Gin-clear rivers, famous mayfly hatches and spinner falls, minutes from the front door. Several other rivers within an easy drive if your usual beat is busy.

A parent and small child riding bikes on a gravel river trail through green Southland farmland

A town you can walk across

A friendly district of around 13,000. No traffic lights. Mountain bike and walking tracks along the river, an award-winning sports complex with indoor pools and an ice rink, a proper cinema, a respected regional art gallery.

An avenue of beech trees in full autumn colour over a country lane

Four real seasons

Winters cold but often clear and crisp, snow perhaps once a year, summers genuinely warm, and autumn colour the locals will tell you about whether you ask or not.

Why doctors stay

Most GPs here arrived for a job. They stayed for a life.

One came to train and never left. One has been a Director for three years. One came from Zimbabwe by way of the UK and built a skin surgery list because he asked and the practice said yes. Nobody is counting down to somewhere else — which is the only review of a practice that really matters.

How this works

No CV, no recruiter, no fee — ever.

A recruitment agency charges a placement fee, and that fee comes out of the same pot as your package. There is none here. The practice pays us a flat subscription whether they hire you or not — so nothing is taken out of your rate, and nobody earns more by steering you somewhere you don’t want to go.

Tell us you’re interested

Two minutes on the form above. That is all we need to route this role to you — with nothing committed on your side.

Create your free profile

Download the app and set yourself up. Our team attaches this role to your account, so it is sitting at the top of your listings rather than buried among hundreds of clinics.

Apply, and see who they are

The app checks the role against your registration, scope and right to work, so you know if you fit before you apply. When the clinic accepts, you see exactly who they are and talk to them directly — we step out.

Straight answers

The questions doctors actually ask us.

01How do I actually apply?

Through the Heart Bridge Health app, which is free for doctors and always will be. Leave your details on the form above and our team attaches this role to your account when you join, so it is sitting at the top of your listings rather than something you have to find among hundreds of clinics. The app checks the role against your registration, your scope and your right to work, so you know whether you fit before you apply rather than after a fortnight of emails. The form asks one question about this practice specifically: whether we may pass your details to them so they can contact you directly. Say no and they never hear your name — you message them yourself in the app, and you stay anonymous until you apply and they accept.

02Is this a permanent role or a locum?

Both are genuinely on the table. The practice will engage a doctor permanently, on a fixed term of twelve months or more, or as a locum at NZD $150 an hour, negotiable — and partnership or practice buy-in may be available for the right long-term doctor. Around 0.8 FTE is the starting point and it is negotiable, as are the sessions and the start date. Tell us which you want on the enquiry form and we will lead with that.

03What does it actually pay?

Permanent, indicatively NZD $210,000 to $217,000 and negotiable. Locum is paid hourly at NZD $150 an hour, also negotiable. On top of either: five weeks’ annual leave, KiwiSaver employer contributions, MCNZ registration and APC fees, medical indemnity, RNZCGP membership, a CME allowance, a relocation contribution, a contribution towards flights, and temporary accommodation when you arrive. There is no guaranteed minimum and no bonding beyond what is negotiated.

04I trained overseas. Can I actually work here?

Very probably. The practice will take doctors who are already vocationally registered (FRNZCGP, or FRACGP / FACRRM), doctors on VOC4 from the UK, Ireland or Australia, the VOC3 fast-track from the USA, Canada or Singapore, and doctors from comparable health systems working in a general scope with around twelve months of supervision. It asks for at least three years’ post-registration experience and would ideally like a current ACLS certificate on arrival.

05Who supervises me, and are they actually there?

On site, yes. The practice has three vocationally registered GPs ready to be nominated to the Medical Council as your supervisor, and takes one supervised doctor at a time so the supervision is real rather than nominal. It is an RNZCGP accredited teaching practice and will support you towards FRNZCGP, including protected time and a negotiable contribution to your fees.

06Does this role support residence?

The role is structured to meet the Green List Tier 1 conditions for general practitioners — permanent or a fixed term of twelve months or more, offered under an employment agreement, at thirty or more hours a week, paid at market rate for the role. That is the straight-to-residence route. It has to be a genuine offer meeting all four conditions, which is exactly why the hours and the engagement basis matter, and we will go through them with you honestly before you commit to anything.

07What about the visa itself?

The practice has held Immigration New Zealand accreditation before, renewed it without difficulty, and will renew it for the right doctor. A Job Check is lodged once a doctor is identified. Its most recent overseas doctor came in on a Specific Purpose Work Visa, which suits shorter hours; longer hours go through the Accredited Employer Work Visa. Visa fees are currently the doctor’s to cover and are negotiable.

08What is the after-hours commitment?

Currently a rostered share with the other local practice — and the practice expects that obligation to end entirely within about four to six months, at which point there is no after-hours or weekend on-call at all. Clinic hours are Monday to Friday, 8.30am to 5.00pm, with appointments from 9.00am to 4.45pm.

09Can I bring my family?

Yes, and the practice has said it will actively help them settle. There are early childhood centres, four primary schools and two secondary schools within an easy walk or drive. Housing is around NZD $475,000 to buy or roughly $550 a week to rent. Partners find work at the hospital, the schools, the district council, local accountancy and law firms, the supermarkets and across a large agricultural sector.

10What does Heart Bridge Health cost me?

Nothing, ever. And it costs you more than nothing at an agency — a placement fee comes out of the same pot your package is paid from, so what the agency takes, you do not get offered. There is no placement fee here. The practice pays us a flat subscription whether they hire you or not, which means nothing is taken out of your rate and nobody earns more by steering you somewhere you would rather not go. We introduce you to the practice and then get out of the way — you talk to them directly.

One practice, one vacancy

Roles this well organised don't sit open.

Applications run through the app — free forever, and it tells you how you match before you apply. Grab it below, and leave us your details so this role is waiting for you instead of buried among hundreds of clinics. You decide on the form whether the practice gets your details or you stay anonymous.

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Every figure on this page comes from the practice's own completed intake document and is indicative until confirmed in writing with them. Immigration and Medical Council of New Zealand requirements change — confirm your own position with MCNZ and Immigration New Zealand. Nothing here is immigration, financial or legal advice. See also our international waitlist if New Zealand isn't the only country you'd consider.