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Health and Disability Commissioner Act 1994

Code of Health and Disability Services Consumers’ Rights

20: Content of Code

You could also call this:

"What's in the Code of Health and Disability Services Consumers' Rights?"

Illustration for Health and Disability Commissioner Act 1994

The Code of Health and Disability Services Consumers' Rights is a set of rules that says what your rights are when you get health or disability services. You have the right to make informed decisions about your health care, which means you need to know what is going to happen and agree to it. The people who provide your health care have to respect your rights and follow certain rules.

The Code also talks about your right to privacy, which means your personal information should be kept safe. However, some privacy matters are dealt with under the Privacy Act 2020, specifically Part 5 and subpart 4 of Part 7. You have the right to receive health care that respects your cultural, religious, social, and ethnic background.

The people who provide your health care have to make sure you can communicate with them, which might mean providing an interpreter. They also have to have a process in place for you to make complaints if you are not happy with your care. You have the right to receive health care that is of a good standard and that respects your dignity and independence.

The Code can also include other important matters, such as things that are specifically important to people who use disability services. It can cover anything that is related to your rights as a health consumer or disability services consumer.

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This page was last updated on

View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM333934.

Topics:
Health and wellbeing > Healthcare servicesRights and equality > Anti-discriminationRights and equality > Privacy
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19: Commissioner to prepare draft Code, or

"The Commissioner writes a draft of rules for healthcare users and shares it with the government."

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21: Review of Code, or

"The Commissioner regularly checks the rules that keep you safe when getting health services to see if they need updating."

Part 2Code of Health and Disability Services Consumers’ Rights

20Content of Code

  1. A Code of Health and Disability Services Consumers’ Rights prescribed by regulations made under section 74(1) shall contain provisions relating to the following matters:

  2. the principle that, except where any enactment or any provision of the Code otherwise provides, no health care procedure shall be carried out without informed consent:
    1. the duties and obligations of health care providers as they relate to the principle set out in paragraph (a):
      1. the rights of health consumers and disability services consumers, and the duties and obligations of health care providers and disability services providers, as they relate to—
        1. matters of privacy (other than matters that may be the subject of a complaint under Part 5 of the Privacy Act 2020 or matters to which subpart 4 of Part 7 of that Act relates):
          1. health teaching and health research:
            1. the provision of services that take into account the needs, values, and beliefs of different cultural, religious, social, and ethnic groups:
            2. the duties of health care providers and disability services providers as they relate to the measures (including the provision of interpreters) necessary to enable health consumers and disability services consumers to communicate effectively with health care providers and disability services providers:
              1. the establishment and maintenance, by health care providers and disability services providers, of procedures for dealing with complaints against them by health consumers or disability services consumers, or both, and access by health consumers and disability services consumers to such procedures:
                1. the duties of health care providers and disability services providers to provide services of an appropriate standard:
                  1. the duties of health care providers and disability services providers to provide services in a manner that respects the dignity and independence of the individual.

                    1. Without limiting the generality of subsection (1), a Code of Health and Disability Services Consumers’ Rights prescribed by regulations made under section 74(1) may provide for—

                    2. any matter relating to the rights of disability services consumers that the Commissioner considers is of particular importance to such consumers:
                      1. any matter incidental or ancillary to the rights of health consumers or disability services consumers, or both.

                        Notes
                        • Section 20(1)(c)(i): replaced, on , by section 217 of the Privacy Act 2020 (2020 No 31).