Supervision capacity is becoming an issue that may restrict the ability of universities to meet eligible students' needs. Although there has been considerable research into the methods of supervision and the supervisor-student relationship, at this time there is little specific research into reasons why qualified academics choose or otherwise to put their names forward to be doctoral supervisors. This research explores the facilitating factors and barriers to supervision as viewed by academics in the Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, The University of Auckland. The research was carried out via face-to-face semi-structured interviews with academics eligible to supervise doctoral candidates. Four themes were identified from the interview data, namely workload agreements, time pressures, quality of students and recognition of the supervisor's contribution. The results provide a platform for more research into this area as well as identify possible ways to enhance the facilitators and alleviate the barriers.