Safety checks for Primary Maternity Service Providers

About

Primary Maternity Services Providers are considered core children’s workers under the Children’s Act 2014 (previously titled the Vulnerable Children Act 2014) and need to be safety checked.

The core children’s worker safety check must meet the requirements of the Children’s Act 2014, and the Children’s (Requirements for Safety Checks of Children’s Workers) Regulations 2015, which are together referred to as ‘the Children’s legislation’.

In order to claim for primary maternity services under the Primary Maternity Services Notice 2007 (the Notice) providers need to have provided information about a safety check to the Ministry of Health.

All providers need to submit evidence of having completed a safety check that complies with the Children’s legislation as part of the process to be approved for authorisation to claim under ‘the Notice’.

Components of a safety check for providers applying for an authorisation to claim

If you are applying for a new or first time authorisation to claim under the Notice and you haven’t completed a core children's worker safety check in the past 3 years, you will need to be safety checked as a new core children’s worker.

Checks for new core children’s worker

ID Verification
Police Vetting
Employment or Personal References
Employment History
Interviews with the Applicant
Professional Membership Check (registration and annual practising certificate)
Final Assessment

If you have been safety checked within the past 3 years, you can be checked as an existing worker.

Checks for existing core children’s worker

ID Verification
Police Vetting
Professional Membership Check (registration and annual practising certificate)
Final Assessment

Renewing a safety check

Just like annual practicing certificates, safety checks need to be renewed and evidence of this supplied to Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora. This is of most immediate relevance to core children’s workers whose safety checks are coming up for renewal in 2019. It is recommended that primary maternity providers act promptly to renew their safety checks.

Safety checks are valid for three years from the date of issue. When you submit evidence of a safety check your authorisation to claim for primary maternity services is end-dated at the date of expiry of your safety check. This means you will not be able to provide, or claim for, primary maternity services after the date of expiry of your safety check, unless you provide evidence to the Ministry of Health of a renewed safety check with an issue date on or before the date of expiry of your existing safety check.

Renewing a safety check requires the same checks as for an existing core children’s worker. CVCheck can complete the check for you or the safety check done by an employer can be submitted as evidence of a renewed safety check (as long as it is a safety check for a core children’s worker). Get your employer to complete the Employer Verification Form, then you can submit this form to the Ministry. Note that the CV Check process takes at least 5 weeks from when you provide them with the required information.

Health NZ will send out a renewal reminder. It is expected that evidence of safety check renewals will be submitted to the Ministry on a timely basis. To ensure you receive your reminder please keep the Ministry up to date with any change to your contact details.

If you have any queries, or have changed your contact details please contact 0800 855 066 option 2 or email customerservice@health.govt.nz

How to get a safety check

There are two main ways of being safety checked:

If you are self employed

There is a service offered by CVCheck. The CVCheck service is an online service and there is a cost to be safety checked. The CVCheck brochure (PDF, 666 KB) outlines costs and the information you need to provide.

In the CVCheck brochure you will also find links to their website relevant to the type of safety check you need.

If you are a newly graduated midwife and require a safety check, see Safety checking for newly qualified midwives (PDF, 267 KB).

A safety check will take a minimum of 5 weeks from the time of application until you receive your assessment.

If you have any issues with the process of safety checking through CVCheck or need support to navigate their website, please ring the CVCheck help line (0800 282 432).

CVCheck’s services are also available to other organisations that require safety checking of their staff.

If you are an employer or have been safety checked by an employer:

A safety check completed by an employer at another organisation or practice can be used to claim under the Notice, as long as the safety check was completed within the preceding three years and was a safety check appropriate for a core children’s worker.

If you want to make use of a safety check done by an employer then your employer needs to complete the Employer Verification Form on your behalf. You can download this form from Maternity claims.

For newly graduated midwives, if you have had a safety check as a new core children's worker as part of your training placement, this can be used as for the purposes of claiming under the Notice. Have the organisation that safety checked you fill out an Employer Verification Form (DOC, 290KB) which you can then send in to the Ministry.

Where to send evidence of a safety check

Once you have had a safety check, it is essential that you inform the Ministry, so it can be recorded against your authorisation to claim.

Send your CV check assessment or completed Employer Verification Form to:

Te Whatu Ora at adminsupport@health.govt.nz, or
fax to 03 474 8582, or
post to Primary Care, Private Bag 1942 Dunedin 9054.

Please do not include documents such as police vetting reports and identity verification.

If you need to check whether a safety check has been recorded against your authorisation to claim, please contact 0800 855 066 option 2.

Police vetting and Children’s legislation

Police vetting is only part of the requirement for a safety check. A police vet under Children’s legislation opens up the Criminal Records (Clean Slate) Act 2004 for certain offences and includes an assessment which is specific to vulnerable children. This is different to a pre-employment police check.

For further information on safety checking for primary maternity service providers please visit the Oranga Tamariki website or call 0800 855 066 option 2.

Safety checks, the Foundation Standard and general practitioners who deliver primary maternity services

From 1 July 2018, it is a requirement under the Children’s Act 2014 (previously titled the Vulnerable Children Act 2014) that all existing core children’s workers have passed an appropriate check of their suitability to work with children (a worker safety check).

Additionally, from 1 July 2019 it is a requirement for all children’s workers to have passed a worker safety check.

General practitioners who are providers of primary maternity services are considered core children’s workers under the Act and must be safety checked.

Accredited primary care practices

Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora recognises accreditation of primary care practices to the Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners (RNZCGP) Aiming for Excellence Foundation Standard as evidence for providers of primary maternity services that the requirements of the Children’s legislation (including safety checking and a Child Protection Policy) have been met.

If a practice is recorded on the RNZCGP register as assessed and accredited to the Foundation Standard (or to the higher level Cornerstone accreditation) by the RNZCGP, the practice and people who work within it do not need to supply Health NZ with evidence of a completed safety check.

Any employees of these practices who also have an individual authorisation to claim from the Ministry can use the accreditation of the practice they work for as evidence of a safety check.

What if a practice is not accredited?

If a practice is not accredited they will need to supply evidence of safety checking of staff providing primary maternity services and of a Child Protection Policy to Health NZ in order to continue to claim and be paid for primary maternity services under the Notice. Any employee with an individual authorisation to claim will also need to ensure they have provided evidence of a safety check to us.

This will mainly be relevant to new practices that have not had the opportunity to complete accreditation, and are newly applying for an authorisation to claim for Primary Maternity Services.

If your accreditation to the Foundation standard lapses this will impact your ability to claim for primary maternity services. Please contact us to discuss as a matter of urgency.

If an authorisation to claim is terminated, providers can apply for a new authorisation at any time once you have passed a safety check, and have all the other necessary information required to be eligible for an authorisation to claim for primary maternity services.

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