Mandatory and Discretionary Reporting
In some situations, health practitioners have a professional obligation to disclose or consider disclosing information to organisations such as police, government agencies, or MCNZ.
Disclosing information can be either:
mandatoryWhen reporting is mandatory, the health practitioner is required by law or their professional body to disclose information.
- discretionary
Where reporting is discretionary, the health practitioner may choose to disclose information, but it isn't legally required.
Where reporting is written in legislation, or required by a professional body, health practitioners can disclose information in good faith without it breaching confidentiality. See also Disclosing Patient Information.
Event |
Report to |
|
This section encompasses partner and elder abuse. See the Child abuse and neglect section in the table for information on child abuse. It is not mandatory to report abuse or suspected abuse in New Zealand, unless it is believed that someone's life is in immediate danger. Partner or elder abuse reports should be made in consultation with the patient. Where possible, adult victims should be empowered to take action themselves. For more information see:
|
|
|
Adverse events are consequences associated with the use of medical devices. If you have concerns about the safety of a device, its use, or an adverse event has occurred, an adverse event report should be lodged with Medsafe. Adverse events include:
If you suspect that a medical device is associated with an adverse event, an initial report should be made to Medsafe within 10 working days. For more information see: |
|
General practitioners are encouraged to report adverse reactions to medications and vaccines to the Centre for Adverse Reactions Monitoring (CARM) to help improve the safety of medicine use. This includes both self-medication and prescribed medicines. Types of reactions that should be reported include:
Any serious reaction should be reported even if the effect is well recognised. For more information see: |
|
|
Any adverse event at SAC Level 1 or Level 2 or on HQSC's Always Report and Review list must be reported to the Health Quality and Safety Commission. For more information see: |
|
|
Under the Oranga Tamariki Act 1989, general practitioners may report suspected child abuse to police or Oranga Tamariki. It is considered best practice but is not mandatory. Patient information may be disclosed as as long as the child or youth's safety is at risk. For more information see: |
|
|
Under the Coroners Act (2006), any person who finds a body or learns of a death must report that death to a New Zealand police employee as soon as possible, unless:
Deaths that are unexpected or unexplained also need to be reported to the coroner. These deaths include:
For more information see: |
|
Under the Health Practitioners Competence Act (2003), if an employed health practitioner resigns or is dismissed from their employment for reasons relating to competence, the employer must give the registrar of the responsible authority for the practitioner written notice immediately before this occurs. For more information see: |
|
Under updates to the Arms Act in 2020, health practitioners must consider notifying Te Tari Pūreke or the Police if they believe a patient is a firearms holder and is at risk of self-harm, or at risk of harming others. Health conditions that may disqualify patients from using a firearm include:
For more information see: |
|
Under the Health Practitioners Competence Act (2003), if a health practitioner has reason to believe a fellow health practitioner may pose a risk of harm to the public by practising below the standard of competence, they may give the registrar of the responsible authority for the practitioner written notification. Situations where it may be appropriate to raise concerns with their registrar include:
Anyone who has concerns that a health practitioner is unable to perform due to some mental or physical condition may give the relevent registrar written notice of their concerns. Certain people must give the registrar written notice:
For more information see: |
|
If there are signs of medication misuse, forgery, or instances of unusual prescribing, contact the Ministry of Health: Medicines Control to discuss the problem or have a restriction notice issued. A restriction notice is issued when there is clear evidence that the person:
For more information see: |
|
|
Under the Health Act (1956), section 74, practitioners must report to a medical officer of health any patients with:
A full list of notifiable diseases is available from the Ministry of Health - Communicable Disease Control Manual. For more information see:
|
|
|
Under the Land Transport Act (1998), section 18, if a general practitioner believes that the mental or physical condition of a patient makes them unfit to drive or only fit to drive with certain license conditions, they must:
For more information see: |
|
|
Under the Privacy Act 2020, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner must be notified if there has been a privacy breach that:
The person affected by the privacy breach must also be notified as soon as possible. For more information see: |
|
|
If it is suspected that another practitioner is being, or is at risk of being sexually inappropriate with a patient, it is strongly recommended that you notify the registrar of the responsible authority for the practitioner. Sexually inappropriate behaviour includes:
For more information see: |
|
|
Under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015, serious work-related events (notifiable events) must be reported, including:
Notify WorkSafe NZ as soon as possible after the notifiable event. For more information see: |
Arms Act