New Zealand’s retirement villages are overwhelmingly white while family caregivers from other cultures support elders at home
New Zealand's residential aged care system shows stark ethnic disparities, with Pacific, Asian and Māori families more likely to provide home care despite facing barriers to facility access.
Retirement villages in New Zealand are 96.9% European, while Pacific residents make up just 0.4%, according to the 2023 census. A Health NZ review found that Māori, Pacific and Asian individuals with high care needs are significantly less likely to be admitted to aged residential care facilities than Europeans. Many families from these communities care for elderly relatives at home due to cultural expectations, language needs and a preference to support elders within family settings, effectively saving the government substantial costs while straining individual carers.
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The Spinoff
NZ’s retirement village population is almost entirely white. Where is everyone else?
Caring for family elders is an ingrained cultural expectation for many New Zealanders. Madeleine Chapman speaks to members of this invisible workforce who have taken on the ‘privilege and burden’, saving the government millions. H elena* is on her lunch…