Ngā Paerewa and HealthCERT: staying audit-ready in care
Hospitals, aged residential care and many disability services in New Zealand must be certified under the Health and Disability Services (Safety) Act, and are audited against the Ngā Paerewa Health and Disability Services Standard. HealthCERT, within the Ministry of Health, oversees certification. Being ready is less about a last-minute scramble and more about keeping evidence current all year.
What auditors look for
Auditors look for evidence that the Standard is met in practice: that staff are appropriately qualified and registered, that mandatory training is complete and current, that clinical and safety records are kept, and that there are working systems for feedback, complaints and continuous improvement.
The records that matter
Keep practitioner registration with the relevant responsible authority current; keep mandatory training complete and dated; and keep fire, testing and equipment certificates on cycle. The usual failure isn't the absence of care — it's the absence of the evidence at the moment it's asked for.
Make readiness continuous
A live readiness view against Ngā Paerewa, with renewals tracked and actions logged, turns an audit from an event you dread into something you're simply ready for.
Questions, answered
Who certifies health and disability services in NZ?
HealthCERT, part of the Ministry of Health, is responsible for certifying hospitals, rest homes and other services under the Health and Disability Services (Safety) Act, against the Ngā Paerewa Standard.
How often are audits?
Certification audits happen on a cycle set by the risk rating of the service, and can include partial and unannounced (spot) audits — which is why continuous readiness matters more than preparing for a known date.
Score your care readiness
Complys scores your readiness against Ngā Paerewa and keeps practitioner registration, mandatory training and certificates tracked — free for 90 days.
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