Medical certificates

From 31 January 2022, we're restarting subsequent Work Capacity Medical Certificates for people with a health condition, injury or disability getting Jobseeker Support.

These are used to help assess:

• the impact a person's health condition, injury or disability has on their capacity to work,
• what financial assistance the person may be eligible for, and
• what employment support they may need.

As part of this, we're also changing how often a person needs to have a medical review with their health practitioner.

Previously, we required people getting Jobseeker Support to bring in a medical certificate at a set number of weeks. These periods were fixed at four weeks after a person's benefit had been granted, a further four weeks after that and every 13 weeks thereafter. We removed these mandatory periods in 2020 (during our COVID-19 response).

Changes to medical review periods

From 31 January 2022, the time between medical reviews will be based on advice from the person's health practitioner. The period will be the health practitioner's best clinical estimate of when they should next assess a person's capacity to consider suitable employment.

There'll be no minimum or maximum restrictions on the time between medical reviews - this will be up to the health practitioner to decide what's appropriate.

How the restart will work

From January 2022, we'll write to the people affected when it's time for them to renew their medical certificate. People will get four weeks' notice before their medical certificate expires, so they'll start to visit their health practitioners from February 2022.

A medical review's due date will depend on the person's individual medical expiry date - they won't all expire at the same time. This means these expiries will be staggered between February and August 2022, to reduce impact on the health sector.

Please note: Some people getting Supported Living Payment have been asked to provide a new medical certificate as their two-yearly medical reassessment becomes due. These reassessments were restarted in August 2021, and so you may have already had patients coming to you for these.

To help our staff understand the impact of a person's health condition, injury, and disability on their capacity to work, we depend on assessments from their health practitioner.

We use this information, along with what else we know about the person's situation, to:

• provide the right financial assistance and employment support (where appropriate) for the person's circumstances
• assess the person's level of work obligations - based on their capacity for full or part-time work, no capacity or the need to prepare for work
• inform decision-making and planning that can be used to support the person to be as independent as they can.

For more information about supporting people into work please see:

To complete a Work and Income medical certificate you must be a health practitioner as defined under the Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act (HPAA). For example, a:

• doctor - registered to practice in New Zealand and have a current Annual Practicing Certificate. Medical students, unregistered health practitioners and allied health practitioners cannot complete medical certificates
• dentist - dentists can complete the Work Capacity Medical Certificate for clients applying if the origin of the injury or disability is dental-related
• midwife - midwives can complete the Work Capacity Medical Certificate where the person's incapacity relates to pregnancy
• nurse practitioner – within their scope of practice, nurse practitioners can complete the Work Capacity Medical Certificate.

Important information

A doctor's obligations are to their patient, and to the law. Issues like the type of certificate completed, who initiates it, or who pays the doctor's consultation must not influence a doctor's assessment and findings.

You must discuss the certificate with the person, their guardian or representative and ensure they agree to the information being provided to Work and Income.

You need to ensure that the certificate is:

• completed in ink, or in the practice management system, and
• that your HPI is provided, and
• that you have signed and dated the certificate.

A medical certificate should be issued only once -if a certificate is lost, a duplicate certificate may be requested by a patient; however this duplicate certificate must be completed by yourself and be clearly marked as "duplicate".

Completing a medical certificate entails investigation and responsibility. All Work and Income medical certificates provide our staff with information to help them determine a person's eligibility for a benefit or supplementary benefit.

If you would like help completing a medical certificate, please refer to our guides or contact the Health and Disability Team in your region. If you don't have their contact details, please call our General Enquiries number 0800 559 009 and one of our Customer Services Representatives will arrange for them to contact you.

You should complete a medical certificate as soon as you become aware that the person may be eligible for financial assistance from Work and Income.

If you have any concerns

Work and Income recognises that there are circumstances when you may be asked to complete the medical certificate, but you may not be the best person to provide the information. Examples of this may be:

• the person is under the care of another doctor
• the person has a complex condition
• if you don't have access to previous medical history
• you are placed in a situation of conflict - either through duress or because the person has a complex social or financial situation.

You should signal on the medical certificate a second opinion may be more appropriate, if you have any concerns about:

• providing a diagnosis
• providing an opinion about a person's capacity for work
• the cost associated with a health condition and/or disability.

If you indicate that a second opinion should be obtained, we will refer the client to be assessed by a designated health practitioner.

If you need more information about completing any of the medical certificates, please contact your local health and disability team. If you do not have their contact details, please call our General Enquiries number 0800 559 009 and one of our Customer Services Representatives will arrange for them to contact you.

Online

If you're using HealthLink's HISO online forms, you can submit an electronic Work Capacity Medical Certificate to Work and Income directly.

Hardcopy

Work Capacity Medical Certificates are also available as a hard copy pad of forms. You can contact your Regional Health and Disability Advisor to get a pad of copies sent to you. Pads must be kept in a secure place to prevent misuse or fraud.

The information on medical certificates is for the benefit of the client and provides verification of the client's health condition and/or disability, their capacity for work and their ability to undertake work related activities. It is the client's responsibility to meet the costs of the consultation for their medical certificate.

Work and Income only provides direct payments to health practitioners when we have requested a second opinion.

If you need more information about completing any of the medical certificates, please contact your local health and disability team. If you do not have their contact details, please call our General Enquiries number 0800 559 009 and one of our Customer Services Representatives will arrange for them to contact you.