How to use the contact tracing form

If you test positive for COVID-19 you will get a text message with a link to the online contact tracing form. It lets you share details of where you have been and if you need support.

Before you start

You can use the COVID-19 contact tracing form if you test positive for COVID-19. This is instead of doing a case interview over the phone.

The contact tracing form lets you share your:

  • contact and health details
  • symptoms
  • Household Contacts
  • high-risk locations
  • Bluetooth data.

Sharing details of where you have been helps us quickly identify high-risk locations. This is so we can support and protect those most vulnerable in our community.

The Ministry of Health stores this information securely. We will only use it for contact tracing purposes and to support your health needs. We only share information with agencies who are helping with this work.

For most people, filling out this form should only take 5 to 10 minutes. If you are trying to remember where you have been while infectious it can help to look in the following places:

  • personal diaries and calendars
  • bank statements
  • texts, phone logs and emails
  • work location records
  • Google locations
  • social media.

It may also help to ask family and friends you have spoken to recently.

If you need help

If you need help completing the form, you can email help@tracingform.min.health.nz or call 0800 11 77 88.

Fill in the form online

Starting the form

If you test positive for COVID-19, you will get a text message with a link and access code to the contact tracing form. The text message will be from 2328 or 2648.

Once you start the online form, you should continue to complete it on the same device and browser. Please complete your submission in 1 sitting to avoid losing any of your data.

  1. Enter your access code and verify your identity by entering your date of birth.
  2. Read and understand how contact tracers will use the information you provide.

Contact details

You will need to provide us with:

  • alternate contact details
  • the address where you are self-isolating and if it is suitable for you to stay there.

We ask these questions so that our COVID Care Co-ordination Hubs can assess your needs and get you extra support from local providers if you need it.

Let us know if you are:

  • a disabled person
  • tangata whaikaha Māori
  • a person with disabilities
  • currently pregnant or gave birth recently
  • immunosuppressed or have any underlying health condition.

Symptoms and isolation

Tell us if you have been experiencing any COVID-19 symptoms and when they started.

Take note of your self-isolation timeline the form provides. This includes the date you can leave self-isolation if you are feeling well.

Day 0 is the day you tested positive or the day your symptoms started, whichever came first.

We calculate Day 7 and Day 8 from this date, and if you are feeling well, can leave self-isolation on Day 8.

Household Contacts

Provide us with the details of your Household Contacts.

We will need their:

  • first and last name
  • phone number
  • email address
  • date of birth.

We will only use the information of people in your household for contact tracing purposes and to provide COVID-19 health advice.

High-risk locations

Tell us if you have been at any high-risk locations during your infectious period. Contact tracers focus on these locations to reduce the spread in vulnerable communities.

You will find a list of high-risk locations in the form. If you have been to 1 or more, we ask you to share more information about them. This includes:

  • the type of activity or place
  • a name of the place or activity
  • an address
  • your arrival and departure time (to the best of your knowledge).

Please also tell your Close Contacts that you have COVID-19. These are people you have been in contact with but do not live with, such as people you work with or friends.

Review and submit your information

At the end of the form, you can review and submit your information.

You can add more information to the form for up to 72 hours from when you received the text message. If you revisit the form, your information will re-appear, so you do not need to provide it again.

Bluetooth tracing code

Once you have submitted the form, you will get a Bluetooth tracing code. If you have Bluetooth tracing turned on in the NZ COVID Tracer app you can use this to notify your contacts. This code lets the app send an anonymous notification to other app users you may have been near during your infectious period.

The form includes instructions on how to put the Bluetooth tracing code into the NZ COVID Tracer app.

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