The Ministry of Health will not renew New Zealand’s FluTracking contract, saying other respiratory surveillance tools provide similar information and are sufficient for monitoring influenza and related illnesses.

Deputy Director-General of the Public Health Agency, Dr Andrew Old, said New Zealand’s respiratory surveillance system “is comprehensive, uses multiple sources, and adheres to international best practices,” and that the system retains the capacity to identify and respond to outbreaks.

FluTracking is an online, volunteer survey that asks participants to report symptoms such as fever, cough and sore throat, along with testing and vaccination status. It launched in Australia in 2006 and expanded to New Zealand in 2018 as a joint initiative of the Ministry, PHF Science and Hunter New England Local Health District in NSW.

The Ministry said the contract cost was set to rise significantly in the 2025–26 financial year. It extended the agreement to 31 December to assess the impact of ending FluTracking before making a final decision. “Extending FluTracking further would have required budget reprioritisation, which could have impacted other surveillance activities,” Dr Old said.

Officials say Healthline call data and clinical information from GP clinics and hospitals deliver comparable insights, including for people with flu-like symptoms who do not seek in-person care. The Respiratory Illness Dashboard, run by the New Zealand Institute for Public Health and Forensic Science (PHF Science), will continue to be updated with those data sources.

FluTracking drew steady public participation this year, with an average of 29,300 responses a week and about 42,000 people completing at least one survey. The Ministry and PHF Science thanked participants for their contributions.

The Ministry did not disclose the size of the projected cost increase or whether any elements unique to FluTracking—such as self-reported vaccination status—will be captured in the same way by other tools. Officials maintain the remaining surveillance network will continue to support health service planning and response.