Monday Pānui 4 May 2026

In today’s Pānui	Privacy Act Update - Introduction of IPP3A Public Health Advisory: Diphtheria outbreak in Australia – increased vigilance for diphtheria in New Zealand Updating Practice Staff Movement - New Employees and Resignations Extra CPR Session Level 4 & 5 – Expression of Interest
Privacy Act Update - Introduction of IPP3A	The Privacy Act 2020 has been updated effective 1 May 2026, introducing a new principle: Information Privacy Principle 3A (IPP3A). As a result of this change, general practices will need to update the privacy information included in: Patient enrolment forms The “Use and Confidentiality of Your Health Information” (Privacy Statement) To support you with these updates: We will be reissuing updated paper enrolment forms to practices For those using e-enrolment, we will provide the additional privacy statement content for integration Deliveries of updated forms are expected to arrive this week In addition, we will share updated draft privacy statement content for: Practice websites Patient portals Waiting room displays A summary of the changes and requirements is available in the IPP3A slide deck. If you have any questions regarding these changes, please contact Ashley at ashley@aucklandpho.co.nz
Public Health Advisory: Diphtheria outbreak in Australia – increased vigilance for diphtheria in New Zealand	Public Health Advisory from the National Public Health Service (NPHS):  Ongoing diphtheria outbreak involving several Australian states – current risk to New Zealand is low. Clinicians are asked to be alert for diphtheria in returning travellers from Australia and areas where diphtheria is endemic including Asia and the South Pacific.  See Health New Zealand – Public Health Advisory attached.  The Northern Territory (NT) of Australia is currently experiencing a significant diphtheria outbreak which has now spread to parts of Western Australia (WA), Queensland (QLD) and South Australia (SA). As at 27 April, 117 cases have been reported in 2026 (NT 74; WA 39; QLD 2; SA  2). The majority of these have been in Indigenous peoples (92%), and in rural and remote areas (98%); 2 cutaneous cases were acquired overseas. Approximately one quarter of cases have been respiratory diphtheria. The remainder have been cutaneous disease. The overall risk of introduction of toxigenic diphtheria to New Zealand is considered low; however, if introduced, the risk of an outbreak increases in areas with low diphtheria vaccination coverage, particularly in high density settings. Clinicians are asked to be alert for diphtheria in returning travellers from Australia and areas where diphtheria is endemic, including Asia and the South Pacific who present with severe acute respiratory illness (ARI) or non-healing ulcers. Please continue to encourage pregnancy and on time infant and childhood vaccines and support catch up vaccinations for those not yet fully vaccinated.
Updating Practice Staff Movement - New Employees and Resignations	To ensure we meet our contractual obligations and maintain accurate workforce records, it is essential that all general practices notify Auckland PHO of any staff changes. This includes both new employees joining your practice and staff members who have resigned. Keeping this information up to date enables us to: Meet national reporting requirements Ensure appropriate access to systems, training, and communications Provide accurate workforce data to support planning and funding To make this process as simple as possible, we are developing a Staff Movement Notification Template for our weekly Pānui (next week). We encourage practice managers to use this template whenever there is a change in staffing. Please submit updates as soon as changes occur. Timely notification helps us keep your practice supported and ensures there are no delays in access or service provision. If you have any questions or need assistance, please contact shannon@aucklandpho.nz
Extra CPR Session Level 4 & 5 – Expression of Interest	If you missed out on our recent CPR sessions in March and would like to attend a session, please contact emma@aucklandpho.co.nz for more details. Note that this extra session will be separate from the scheduled October sessions.

Barbara Stevens | Tumu Whakarae / CEO