Medical Council of New Zealand definition of a competent authority:

• a system for the accreditation of medical schools in its jurisdiction to ensure graduates meet required standards
• a system of monitoring new medical graduates in their first year of registration to ensure their skill and knowledge is of a required standard
• a system for accreditation of postgraduate training and qualifications
• a system of assessing the knowledge and skills of overseas trained doctors who want to be registered in the jurisdiction to ensure their standard is comparable to locally trained doctors
• a system to maintain a public register listing all medical practitioners registered in the jurisdiction, including any conditions on their practice
• a system for regularly reviewing ongoing practice standards – recertification, revalidation and credentialing
• a system to ensure doctors are fit to practise
• a system to deal with complaints about doctors performance
• a system to issue certificates of good standing