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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, 77 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.
Pressure injuries
Effective 1 July 2024, reporting of pressure injuries in aged residential care is via to the Te Tāhū Hauora Health Quality & Safety Commission (Te Tāhū Hauora) adverse events reporting process. This change aims to simplify reporting and ensure consistent data collection.
Here is what you need to know:
- No longer report to HealthCERT: From 1 July 2024, you will no longer report pressure injuries to HealthCERT.
- Report to Te Tāhū Hauora: All pressure injuries meeting the Severity Assessment Code (SAC) 2 criteria must be reported as adverse events to Te Tāhū Hauora using their submissions portal.
- SAC 2 Criteria: Pressure injuries that meet SAC 2 criteria include:
- all stage 3 and stage 4 pressure injuries
- unstageable pressure injuries
- suspected deep tissue injuries.
- Mucosal pressure injuries, which 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.
- Reporting details: Include whether the pressure injury was facility or community acquired.
- Hospital-acquired pressure injuries: Hospital-acquired pressure injuries should have been reported by the hospital with an ACC form completed. If a stage 1 or 2 hospital-acquired pressure injury deteriorates to meet the SAC 2 criteria, then it needs reporting to Te Tāhū Hauora by ARC.
- Te Tāhū Hauora Submissions Portal: Visit for instructions on accessing and using the portal. If your organisation needs a submissions portal login or more information on the submissions process, please request this by emailing [email protected]
Te Tāhū Hauora will share agreed information about reported pressure injuries directly with HealthCERT to fulfill reporting obligations under section 31 of the Health and Disability Services (Safety) Act 2001.
The Health Quality & Safety Commission has more information on the adverse events reporting process.
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).
Advising Health New Zealand – Te Whatu Ora
If you hold a contract with Health New Zealand, you should also send a copy of the completed notification form to your usual contact at Health New Zealand.
Further information
If you have any questions, please contact HealthCERT on 0800 113 813 or at [email protected].
