Our relationships

Working relationships with our key stakeholders are at the heart of everything we do to protect public health and safety. We’re committed to working with our partners so the public receive safe care.

To achieve this we have memoranda of understanding (MoUs) with:

  • New Zealand medical schools (Otago University medical school and Auckland Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences)
  • Medical colleges
  • Health and Disability Commissioner (HDC)
  • Southern Cross Hospitals
  • New Zealand Private Surgical Hospitals Association

MoUs support our partnership with these organisations. They cover how we work closely together on public protection, including how we share information on the rare occasions where a doctor may have competence, performance, conduct or health issues.

Otago University Medical School and Auckland Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences

We have an MoU with both medical schools in Aotearoa New Zealand. The objective of this MoU is to clarify our respective roles and responsibilities related to the evaluation and reporting of fitness to practise issues. This includes concerns over competence, conduct or health, that may affect a medical student’s fitness for registration or their ability to perform the functions required for the practice of medicine.

Medical Colleges

We have an MoU with each medical college that commits us to work together on medical registration and the management of any doctor-related competence, performance, conduct and health issues.

Council is also responsible for accrediting medical colleges to provide key programmes. The MoUs build on that formal relationship. In particular, Council accredits medical colleges to:

  • run vocational training programmes
  • run recertification programmes for vocationally-trained doctors
  • provide advice on the equivalence of overseas-trained specialists’ qualifications, training and experience, as part of applications for provisional vocational registration

Te Aka Whai Ora | Māori Health Authority and Te Whatu Ora | Health New Zealand

We have a commitment to maintaining a relationship with Te Aka Whai Ora | Māori Health Authority and Te Whatu Ora | Health New Zealand. These organisations superseded the existing District Health Boards from 1 July 2022.

Te Whatu Ora | Health New Zealand
Te Aka Whai Ora | Māori Health Authority

We are working to establish a MOU with Te Whatu Ora | Health New Zealand. Our existing MOU with the superseded District Health Boards remains in effect during this transition.

Health and Disability Commissioner (HDC)

We have an MoU with the HDC to outline our agreed process for managing notifications about doctors.

This process is in accordance with the mandatory notification provisions in the Health and Disability Commissioner Act 1994 and the Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act 2003.

Southern Cross Hospitals

We have an MoU with Southern Cross Hospitals to clarify our respective roles, responsibilities, objectives and intentions in relation to:

  • the regulation of doctors
  • the credentialing of self-employed doctors to practise in Southern Cross Hospital.

The MoU sets out the behaviours that we expect from each other in discharging our respective functions.

New Zealand Private Surgical Hospitals Association

We have an MoU with the New Zealand Private Surgical Hospitals Association (NZPSHA) to clarify our respective roles, responsibilities, objectives and intentions in relation to:

  • the regulation of doctors
  • the credentialing of self-employed doctors to practise in participating private surgical hospitals (PPSHs).

The MoU sets out the behaviours that we expect from each other in discharging our respective functions.