Starting a Service Episode
"Starting" a Service Episode is really two separate things: the episode being created (which happens automatically) and the episode being commenced (which is something a Case Worker does deliberately, once they're ready to begin). This page covers both.
Creation is automatic
A Service Episode is created the moment a Referral is accepted into a service — there's nothing to fill in beyond what's already been done in the dispatch or approval step. Which status it's created in depends on whether staff were assigned at that point:
| How the episode was created | Starting status |
|---|---|
| Accept & assign kaimahi at dispatch, or a supervisor approves and assigns a Case Worker in one step | Awaiting Commencement — staff is already assigned |
| Accept entry at dispatch, with no Case Worker chosen yet | Awaiting Staff Assignment |
See Submitting for Review for the dispatch and approval steps that trigger this.
If the episode is Awaiting Staff Assignment
Open the episode and add a Case Worker from the Assigned Staff card. The first staff member assigned automatically becomes primary responsible, and the episode moves to Awaiting Commencement on its own — there's no separate step to advance it.
This is the same Add Staff Member action described in Managing Episodes — assigning the first person to an unstaffed episode is what advances its status.
Commencing the episode
Once a Case Worker is assigned, the episode sits in Awaiting Commencement until someone commences it. This is the actual "start" — it's what marks the beginning of active service delivery.
You'll see a Commence Episode prompt on the episode's Overview tab, and the same action is available from the compact record preview. It's enabled once a primary responsible staff member is set; before that it stays disabled with a note that staff need to be assigned first.
Clicking it moves the episode to Active and:
- Sets the Referral's status to Service In Progress
- Anchors the episode's compliance due dates to its start date
There's no separate approval step — whoever can open the episode (typically the assigned Case Worker, or a supervisor/programme manager for services they oversee) can commence it, provided a primary staff member is set.
Related Topics
- What are Service Episodes?
- Managing Episodes — assigning and changing staff, putting an episode on hold
- Submitting for Review — how a referral becomes an episode