Consultation on proposed changes for medical college advice for registration in a provisional vocational scope of practice

Te Kaunihera Rata o Aotearoa | the Medical Council of New Zealand (Council) is seeking feedback on a proposed change to its processes. Specifically, in relation to advice obtained from medical colleges regarding an international medical graduate’s (IMG) application for registration in a provisional vocational scope of practice. This proposed change forms part of the Council’s ongoing focus on improving efficiency and once fully implemented will decrease the timeframe for processing provisional vocational applications from IMGs.  

The proposed change recognises the time that medical colleges put into doing paper-based assessments for IMGs, effectively swapping the interview and paper-based assessment fees, and will not result in any increase to IMGs - in fact we expect that in a large number of applications, it will result in a net decrease in fees IMGs pay. This is because it recognises the shift to paper-based advice being the final advice provided by the college (with interview not required) and ensures that medical colleges are appropriately recompensed for the time spent on paper-based assessments. An interview should only occur as the exception when required. The change is aimed at enabling faster access to vocational registration, and aligned to a number of changes the Council is making to streamline processes. 

Your feedback is welcome and will be carefully considered by Council before a final decision is made. If you would like to provide feedback, please do so by 5pm Friday 23 May 2025.

Find out more here [PDF, 260 KB]