The 'Healing, learning and improving from harm policy' requires reporting of harm (adverse) events to Te Tāhū Hauora Health Quality & Safety Commission.
About the harm (adverse) event submission portal
As of 1 July 2025, the new harm (adverse) event submission portal is live. This portal replaces the previous adverse events submission portal used primarily by Hospital Speciality Services within Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora.
The upgrade supports the growing number of providers reporting harm events, following the introduction of the Pae Ora (Healthy Futures) Act 2022 and Disability Services Standard 2022.
The new portal offers a more user-friendly reporting experience and allows providers to have direct oversight of their own harm data.
All harm event submissions are now through this portal. The old system is no longer in use.
If you have any suggested changes about the layout or content of the submission portal, please email harm.event@hqsc.govt.nz.
Getting started
Systems requirements
To access the portal, you will need:
- An internet connection
- A phone capable of receiving text messages or the Microsoft Authenticator app for secure login.
For setup instructions refer to the registration user guide.
Download the Registration: Harm (adverse) event submission portal (PDF 1.9MB)
Logging in to the portal
Each user must have an individual login due to security requirements. Team or group logins are not supported.
- Most users should have received an email invitation to register. If you haven’t received it, check your spam/junk folder
- New users or those without an invitation can request access using the access request form
- Your login is linked to your email address – no password is required.
Using the portal
Submitting a harm event
The portal user guide is available to walk you through:
- Submitting a harm event
- Editing submissions
- Downloading data
- Uploading anonymised reports
Download the Harm (adverse) event submission portal user guide (PDF 2.5MB).
A video tutorial is also available on request. Email: harm.event@hqsc.govt.nz
Uploading reports
- Upload anonymised reports at the end of the Part B section.
- No upload is required for the Part A. You will only need to upload the final review report at the end of the Part B section.
- Only one PDF file can be submitted
- For mental health seclusion event reviews, attach the report in the anonymised report field.
Editing submissions
You can edit and make changes as required until your final submission is completed.
To Edit a submission:
- Go to the Harm Event List
- Hover over the three dots […] next to the event
- Select Edit Part A or Edit Part B
Managing and exporting data
Quarterly reconciliation
You will no longer receive emails about quarterly reconciliation. Instead:
- You can check and update your submissions at any time.
- A reminder email will be sent at the end of each quarter for you to check if your submissions are complete.
Exporting data
You can export your submitted Part A and Part B by downloading your Harm Event List to an Excel file for your own reporting requirements and identifying quality improvement activities.
Reporting requirements
Details on who is required to submit harm events are in the Healing, learning and improving from harm policy user guide.
The policy user guide also outlines which types of events must be reported.
Read the Healing, learning and improving from harm policy user guide.
Resources and guides
- Download the harm (adverse) event submission portal user guide (PDF 2.5MB)
- Download the registration: harm (adverse) event submission portal (PDF 1.9MB)
- Download the healing, learning and improving from harm policy (PDF 1.8MB)
- View the severity assessment code (SAC) examples
- Always report and review (ARR) list
How harm event data is reported
Infographics of summary harm (adverse) events data have been published for the 2022/23 and 2023/24 financial years.
View the infographics for harm (adverse) events.
The adverse events quarterly dashboard provides a quarterly summary of the key figures for harm (adverse) event reporting for Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora.
View the adverse events quarterly dashboard
The adverse events provider dashboard allows providers to see a more detailed breakdown of their harm (adverse) events. Typically, this is only available to providers with large numbers of events