Rest home certification and audits

If you or a family member is planning to move to a rest home – or is currently living in one – you’ll want to be sure it provides the best quality care possible.

All rest homes and aged residential care facilities in New Zealand must be certified and audited to ensure they:

• provide safe and appropriate care for their residents
• meet the standards set out in the Health and Disability Services (Safety) Act 2001.

Audit reports

The Ministry of Health publishes audit reports for all rest homes. You can find these in our public database of certified rest home providers.

Types of audits

1. Certification and surveillance audits

   These occur every one to 4 years. The length of certification depends on how well the facility performs. Once the certification period ends, a new audit is required for renewal.

2. Surveillance (Spot) audits 

   Unannounced audits typically take place midway through a rest home’s certification period. They check whether previous issues have been addressed and that care standards are maintained. 

3. Provisional audits

   Conducted when a certified rest home is sold to a new provider.

4. Partial provisional audits 

   Required when a provider:

   • adds new services to their certificate (eg, a rest home adding hospital-level care)
   • builds a new rest home
   • adds capacity or reconfigures their services (eg, new wings or upgraded rooms). 

Other audits and inspections

• Ministry of Health inspections
  In the event of a serious complaint, rest homes may have unannounced inspections by the Ministry of Health under the Health and Disability Services (Safety) Act 2001.
• District issues-based audits
  Districts can conduct issues-based audits under the Aged Related Residential Care Contract. Contact your district for information on these audits.

How the audits are conducted

Audits are carried out by designated auditing agencies, with each audit team including at least one registered nurse.

They assess:

• staff
• the way residents are cared for
• how the staff interact with residents
• the general environment
• clinical records, policies and procedures.

They also interview staff, residents and family members to gather a full picture of care quality.