About NZSTM

Travel medicine specialises in preventing and managing health risks for travellers. It involves pre-travel assessments, provision of vaccinations, medicines and advice, and evaluation of any illness contracted during or after travel.

A comprehensive assessment is needed before travel to identify possible risks. This takes into account the person’s health and type of travel (including destination, duration and activities). The travel medicine provider can then recommend and provide appropriate vaccinations &/or medication and personalise advice to reduce the risks identified. The aim being for the traveller to be prepared, protected and stay healthy during their travel. 

Travel medicine therefore covers aspects of general practice, epidemiology, tropical medicine, environmental medicine, occupational medicine, sexual health and public health. 

This branch of medicine is not recognised as a distinct specialty here and is practised by several different types of healthcare professionals. The NZSTM is therefore working to get a regulatory system established in Aotearoa New Zealand to define the training, practice and ongoing education that are needed by those providing travel medicine services.

The NZSTM was established in May 1995 by Dr Larry Skiba of Christchurch with the aim of keeping New Zealanders safe while exploring the world. The idea came to Larry after he attended the International Society of Travel Medicine (ISTM) conference in Acapulco – and Larry was the driving force of the NZSTM for many years as secretary/convenor, organising teleconferences and the first logo. 

The inaugural teleconference took place on 20 June 1995 with three members online – Larry and fellow doctors Joan Ingram and David Murdoch. Early NZSTM members, led by Dr Ian St George, were instrumental in establishing academic travel medicine training at Otago University, where the diploma course started in 1998. The NZSTM also eventually created an executive to govern itself, following similar bylaws as the ISTM. 

The Society’s core aim is to promote travel medicine by circulating knowledge and providing networking opportunities for travel medicine providers. Towards this goal, we held our first conference in Auckland in 2009, which included the internationally renowned (and humorous) travel medicine guru the late Prof Jay Keystone. Subsequently, the Society has held annual conferences – apart from 2010 (the first Christchurch earthquake) and 2020 and 2021 (the COVID-19 pandemic). 

The NZSTM has been able to maintain educational activities through ongoing sponsorship from our partners in the vaccine industry. Generous sponsorship from Sanofi in 2009 allowed us to launch a website and hold the first conference, and Sanofi continues to provide annual conference sponsorship. Sponsorship from GSK enabled the Society to set up an Education Fund in 2018, which assists members to attend educational meetings – both our own conference and those overseas.  

Another key to our continued activities has been the Society’s longstanding association with international colleagues and travel medicine organisations. Early collaboration with the late Prof Peter Leggat resulted in our website initially being hosted by the Australasian College of Tropical Medicine and members receiving a joint newsletter published by the college. The Society has also been fortunate to have many prominent ISTM and Asia Pacific Travel Health Society (APTHS) members as key speakers at our conferences – including the late Prof Alan Magill and Professors David Shlim, David Hill, Colleen Lau and Mike Starr, to name a few. Many of our own members are also members of these international travel medicine organisations and several had/have roles in their governing bodies or subcommittees. 

Currently the NZSTM has over 300 members, who include doctors, nurses, pharmacists and other health providers from academia, public health and the private sector.

The NZSTM is governed by a committee of up to 12 officers and includes a President and Treasurer. Committee officers are elected members of the NZSTM and serve a 5-year term. This is except one non-member officer appointed by the committee, who provides the skills necessary to undertake key NZSTM activities.

The 2026 committee officers are:

• Nicky Burwood

• John Byron

• Briar Campbell

• Sue Chambers-Ross (Treasurer)

• Jayne Davies

• Tanya Grimstone (Appointed officer)

• Yvonne Partridge

• Lisa Scotland 

• Geraldine Trevella

• Jenny Visser

• Michelle Wilson (President)

• 2022 – 2025: Lisa Scotland

• 2018 – 2022: Robert Bester

• 2014 – 2018: Jenny Visser

• 2000 – 2014: Joan Ingram

In 2012, the NZSTM registered as an incorporated society under the Incorporated Societies Act 1908. In November 2024, members ratified a revised constitution, which modernised our bylaws and was necessary to be compliant with the new Incorporated Societies Act (2022). The NZSTM subsequently re-registered on 19th August 2025 and remains an incorporated society under the new Act.

Read our constitution here.