Notifying an incident under section 31

Section 31(5) of the Health and Disability Services (Safety) Act 2001 requires certified providers to notify the Director-General of Health about any:

  • health and safety risk to residents or a situation that puts (or could potentially put) the health and safety of people at risk
  • Police investigation into any aspects of the service
  • death reported to the Coroner of a person to whom you have provided services or that occurred in any premises in which services are provided.

Reporting of these incidents enables providers and the health system to review and learn from adverse events. This knowledge helps everyone to provide safe and quality services.

If you are an aged residential care provider, hospice or provide maternity services, please use the Notification of an incident under section 31 form (Word, 87 KB) to advise HealthCERT of these incidents.

The Section 31 Reporting Guidelines (Word, 68 KB) provide more information about what incidents should be reported and things to consider when reporting an incident.

COVID-19 (novel coronavirus capable of causing severe respiratory illness) has been added to Section B of Part 1 of Schedule 1 of the Health Act 1956 and is now a notifiable disease. Cases or outbreaks of COVID-19 do not require notification to HealthCERT under Section 31. For information on COVID-19 reporting, please see updated advice for health professionals on the Ministry's COVID-19 website. 

Registered nurse workforce availability in aged residential care

In response to ongoing concern about Registered Nurse (RN) shortages which were heightened by the COVID-19 pandemic, HealthCERT introduced a specific RN shortage section 31 notification form for aged residential care providers in April 2022.  This form was designed to collect crucial information for HealthCERT to assess the risks and mitigations related to RN shortages, as well as to share relevant data with working groups addressing the national RN shortage.

In light of feedback and changing circumstances within the healthcare sector, as of the 1st of April, 2024, HealthCERT has updated the Notification of Registered Nurse Shortage Form. The main goal of this update is to enhance the accuracy, consistency, and relevance of the data collected, thereby enabling informed strategic decisions and more effective responses to RN shortages.

The revised form continues to be an essential tool for aged residential care providers to notify HealthCERT of any instances where a lack of sufficient RNs poses a health and safety risk to residents, or when contractual requirements concerning RN oversight are not met.

Aged residential care providers shall use the updated form:

Please submit this form as a Word document (avoid converting to a pdf document, or handwritten forms).

Pressure injuries

Currently HealthCERT requires aged residential care providers, hospices and maternity services to report all pressure injuries at stage 3 and above on a separate form. That is:

Mucosal pressure injuries occur within a body opening, such as a nostril or the mouth. They are usually associated with pressure from a device, for example, an endotracheal or nasogastric tube.

Although mucosal pressure injuries fall outside the current cutaneous staging system, they are significant as can increase the risk of pain, infection and other problems in a vulnerable person.

For pressure injuries use Notification of a pressure injury form (Word, 94 KB). Reporting is required irrespective of where the pressure injury was acquired.

From December 2020, the notification form has been updated to include mucosal pressure injuries.

Advising Te Whatu Ora

If you hold a contract with Te Whatu Ora, you should also send a copy of the completed notification form to your usual contact at Te Whatu Ora.

Further information

If you have any questions, please contact HealthCERT on 0800 113 813 or at [email protected].

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