Tēnā koutou katoa,

We are pleased to inform you that an update to the Sector Guidance for the Ngā Paerewa Health and Disability Services Standard (NZS 8134:2021) has recently been published on the Ministry of Health website (Sector Guidance for Ngā Paerewa Health and Disability Services Standard (NZS 8134:2021) | Ministry of Health NZ).

Significant changes have been made to six Te Tiriti-related criteria that were previously minimal or missing in the current sector guidance, including:

• Guidance for smaller providers to engage and support Māori into governance roles (under Criteria 2.1.8).
• Resources and tools related to addressing inequitable health outcomes for Māori (under Criteria 2.2.8).
• Guidance for providers to enable Māori using their service to participate in community initiatives (under Criteria 3.3.3).
• Resources that providers can use to support Māori and whānau to access medication and treatment (under Criteria 3.4.9, 3.4.10).
• Guidance about creating culturally appropriate environments for whānau visiting and supporting Māori in their service (under Criteria 4.1.1).

In addition, moderate changes have been made to update the list of referenced materials available to the sector, including:

• Code of expectations for health entities' engagement with consumers and whanau (under Criteria 1.1.1-1.1.5).
• Online training on the Code of Health and Disability Services Consumers' Rights (under Criteria 1.3.1).
• Online Ethnicity Data Training Course (under Criteria 2.4.6).
• Guidance on administrative data (under Criteria 2.5.1).
• New Zealand Physiotherapy Guidelines for Aged Residential Care (under Criteria 3.2.3).

Minor changes were also implemented, such as replacing the term 'DHB' or 'District Health Board' and updating invalid links.

We believe that these updates will fill some gaps in the current guidance and enhance its alignment with Te Tiriti o Waitangi. We understand that the health sector is constantly evolving and that the needs of the sector may change over time. As such, we will continue to collect feedback and update the guidance to ensure that it remains relevant and useful for the sector.

If you have any feedback or suggestions for future updates to the Sector Guidance, please don't hesitate to email us at certification@health.govt.nz. Your input is essential to ensuring that the guidance remains useful and effective in supporting the implementation of Ngā Paerewa.