Notice Title

Appointment of Directors of Area Addiction Services

Pursuant to section 88(1) of the Substance Addiction (Compulsory Assessment and Treatment) Act 2017, I, Dr John Crawshaw, Director of Addiction Services:

  1. revoke all previous notices appointing the Directors of Area Addiction Services made by the Director of Addiction Services pursuant to section 88(1) of the Substance Addiction (Compulsory Assessment and Treatment) Act 2017 (“Act”); and
  2. appoint the persons set out in Schedule 1 of this notice as Directors of Area Addiction Services for the areas specified below pursuant to section 88(1) of the Act.

Schedule 1

Directors of Area Addiction Services

Area of Responsibility

Person Appointed

Northern – Te Tai Tokerau Region

Dr Emma Schwarcz, psychiatrist and clinical director, of Waitematā

Tairāwhiti District

Jeff Hammond, registered nurse, of Wellington

Lakes District

Dr Matira Taikato, clinical director, of Rotorua

Bay of Plenty District

Dr Branka Mijatovich, consultant psychiatrist, of Papamoa

Waikato District

Dr Andrew Darby, consultant psychiatrist, of Hamilton

Taranaki District

Dr Denise Greene, consultant psychiatrist, of Rotorua

Hawke’s Bay; Whanganui; MidCentral Districts

Jeff Hammond, registered nurse, of Wellington

Wairarapa; Capital, Coast and Hutt Valley Districts

Dr Samuel Vincent McBride, consultant psychiatrist, of Wellington

South Island – Te Waipounamu Region

Dr Alfred Dell’Ario, clinical director, of Canterbury and West Coast


Dated at Wellington this 30th day of January 2025.

Dr JOHN CRAWSHAW, Director of Addiction Services, Ministry of Health.