New Zealand law requires nurses, physiotherapists, and occupational therapists to be registered with a professional body or council in New Zealand before they can work in those roles in New Zealand.

The Ministry of Health administers the Health and Disability Services (Safety) Act 2001. This Act requires providers of health services to be certified against the relevant Standards. The relevant standards are the Health and Disability Services Standards (NZS8134:2008) (Ministry of Health n.d.) and consist of 4 overarching standards that provide the foundation for quality of services and set out the rights for consumers, and ensure all providers are clear about their obligations and responsibilities.

Staffing in aged care is guided by the NZ standard indicators for safe aged care and dementia care for consumers (SHNZ HB 8163:2005). However, these guidelines are from 2005, with a 2019 report by the NZ Nurses Organisation (NZNO) and E tū Union into aged care staffing “In safe hands? How poor staffing levels and rationed care are harming aged care residents and staff” outlining how they are no longer fit for purpose (New Zealand Nurses Association, Etū, n.d.). Critiques include:

• Residents entering care much later in life which often means their needs are more complex
• Adherence to the standards is voluntary
• Residential care homes allocating staff based on revenue
• The 1:5 staff to resident ratio in 2012 is now closer to 1:10 in many facilities despite the increased complexity of resident needs.

 References:

Ministry of Health. (n.d.). Services Standard. Available from: https://www.health.govt.nz/our-work/regulation-health-and-disability-system/certification-health-care-services/services-standards.

New Zealand Nurses Association, Etū. (n.d.). In safe hands? How poor staffing levels and rationed care are harming aged care residents and staff. New Zealand Nurses Association.