There's been a lot of change in law, policy and practice recently affecting social, health and disability services. There is likely to be more. In this post, we overview the changes that need to be considered when reviewing and updating your organisation's policies and procedures. If you don't want policy review and updating to be…

Kia orana, Turou, ’āere mai ki te ‘epetoma o te reo Māori Kūki’ Āirani. Welcome to Cook Island Language Week.  The theme of the week is "Taku rama, taau toi: ora te Reo" - "My Torch, Your Adze: The Language Lives." In honour of the week, this post uses words of te reo Māori Kūki…

The first report from the Waitangi Tribunal of its Kaupapa Inquiry into Māori health  - Hauora - was released this month. It concluded that our primary health care system has failed to achieve Māori health equity; that New Zealand's legislative, policy and administrative framework is not, in fact, fit to achieve this outcome. News reports…

  Informed consent is a human right. But honouring it for clients who are mandated by a court or statutory agency can be a challenge. We look here at how your organisational policy on informed consent can be helpful.   Is this you? Your organisation has a policy on consent. It has never been an issue…

Changes to support information sharing about family violence are due to commence on 1 July 2019.  Here’s some Q&As about what’s coming. Q-Why is information-sharing being changed? answer Death reviews have shown missed opportunities to respond to family violence. The new information-sharing provisions aim to address this. Q-Who’s affected? answer The new law applies to…

With pink shirt day on Friday, we’re reminded of the harms of bullying. We must be proactive and respond when bullying occurs in the workplace, at school or another area of life. Everyone needs a bullying policy… To help set some ground rules for safety and conduct, every organisation should have a harassment and bullying…