Monday Pānui 13 April 2026

In Today’s Pānui	General Practice Workforce - Healthy Staff for Winter; Staff Vaccination Morning Tea Incentive Influenza vaccination Reimbursement for non-Health NZ health and disability workers Auckland PHO Winter Playbook and the Health NZ Playbook
General Practice Workforce - Healthy Staff for Winter; Staff Vaccination Morning Tea Incentive	To ensure the safety of both patients and staff, we are introducing a 2026 practice incentive for achieving 80% (and aiming for 100%) staff influenza vaccination coverage with a morning tea and a certificate for your reception area announcing all staff have been vaccinated against influenza and as such, are good role models. Practices that achieve at least 80% vaccination coverage will receive a special morning tea at a day and time that suits the practice. This recognises your commitment to patient safety and workforce resilience during peak winter demand.  Practices are strongly encouraged to prioritise early staff vaccination. How to arrange a morning tea
Influenza vaccination Reimbursement for non-Health NZ health and disability workers 2025 claims 2026 claims	One of the Influenza Vaccination Programme goals is to increase the non-Health NZ district employed health and disability workers vaccinated annually for influenza. Prevention will again support eligible employers of non-Health NZ health and disability employed workers to claim for the cost of vaccinating frontline patient facing staff against influenza via the Reimbursement Portal. 2025 The National Public Health Service (NPHS) has agreed, for a limited time, to accept claims from the 2025 season that were not submitted by the original deadline. Practices will have until 30 April 2026 to submit any outstanding 2025 claims. Claims for this period can be submitted through the portal as usual. Combine all 2025 vaccinations into a single claim and ensure the correct invoice date is entered. This will help NPHS clearly distinguish 2025 claims from those submitted for the 2026 season. 2026 The Portal is open from 1 April 2026 and closes on 30 September 2026. information about the reimbursement scheme is on the Health NZ website.
2026 Auckland PHO Winter Playbook and the Health NZ Playbook	2026 Winter Playbook – Coming Soon The final version of the 2026 Winter Playbook is currently undergoing last adjustments and will be published and distributed to practices later this week. This resource is designed to support planning and delivery of care over the winter period, with practical guidance and locally relevant initiatives. We are also awaiting the release of the Health New Zealand Winter Playbook, which will complement our local approach. Further communication will follow once both documents are available.

Barbara Stevens | Tumu Whakarae / CEO