NZCSRH accreditation update status as of 15 August 2024

Australasian colleges are required to meet the Aotearoa New Zealand specific standards. The Aotearoa NZ specific standards relate to recertification / continuing professional development.

NZCMM accreditation update status as of 14 December 2023

NZCMM accreditation update status as of 29 November 2023

NZCSRH accreditation update status as of February 2026

RNZCUC accreditation report relating to the visit on 21 and 23 October 2025

Some pathways to registration require doctors to have completed their internship in a particular country. If you are applying for registration and did your internship somewhere else, this policy outlines how we will assess your suitability for registration.

NZAMM accreditation report relating to the visit on 18-19 November 2020

NZDSI accreditation report relating to the visit on 3 and 4 August 2022

RNZCGP accreditation report relating to the visit from 18 to 21 March 2024

RNZCUC accreditation update status as of 17 December 2024

RNZCUC accreditation update status as of 22 March 2024

Under sections 11 and 13 of the Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act 2003, Te Kaunihera Rata o Aotearoa | Medical Council of New Zealand (“Council”) gives notice of an amendment to the notice titled “Scopes of Practice and Prescribed Qualifications for the Practice of Medicine in New Zealand Notice 2024.

NZCPHM accreditation report relating to the visit on 4, 5 and 6 May 2022

NZCSRH accreditation report 2026.

Where a doctor wishes to resume practice in New Zealand, but has not held a New Zealand practising certificate within the last 3 years, the doctor does not have an automatic entitlement to a practising certificate. Council must consider such applications on a case by case basis.

These standards will come into effect on 1 July 2022. The standards outline the standards vocational training providers need to meet in order to be accredited to provide vocational medical training and recertification programmes. We have made revisions to update recertification, cultural safety, health equity and specialist assessment of IMG content.

This document highlights the revisions we're making around recertification, cultural safety, and health equity to the accreditation standards for NZ training providers of vocational medical training and recertification programmes

This form further outlines the additional information that will be required by the ACEM so it can provide us with advice on your application for vocational registration in emergency medicine.

NZREX Clinical - Application for new candidates

NZREX Clinical - Checklist of documentation that must be provided with application

NZREX Clinical - Application for repeat candidates.

NZREX Clinical - Checklist of documentation that must be provided with application.

NZREX Clinical - Application to withdraw from an examination

NZREX Clinical - Application for recount of result

Memorandum of understanding between Medical Council of New Zealand and New Zealand Private Surgical Hospitals Association

List of texts we recommend candidates read before they undertake the NZREX Clinical.

Handbook for candidates undertaking the NZREX Clinical.

You must agree to these rules before you can take the examination. If you break these rules you will fail the examination and there may be consequences for any future application for registration.

NZREX Clinical - Application to change to a later examination

You can request to withdraw from a particular sitting of the NZREX Clinical, or request to transfer to another sitting. This policy sets out the process for applicants to transfer or withdraw from the NZREX Clinical and the associated fee or refund for each process.

Diagram showing the basic layout of the stations candidates will rotate around during the NZREX Clinical.

Sample questions from the NZREX Clinical to help candidates prepare.

This form outlines the additional information that will be required by the NZCPHM so it can provide us with advice on your application for vocational registration in public health medicine.

We recognise Taiwanese medical schools so that graduates from these schools have the opportunity to undertake NZREX Clinical. We must ensure we only register fully qualified doctors. However, the exclusion of Taiwanese medical schools from WDOMS is due to political factors and not the standard of those schools. The ECFMG has approved graduates of these schools to undertake the prerequisite examination - USMLE Steps 1 and 2.

Currently, there is no requirement for applicants for this examination to have had any clinical practice experience. This consultation seeks views on the merits of introducing a requirement that individuals applying to sit the NZREX must have had clinical practice experience and if so, then what that should be.

This document covers a number of NZREX-related policies including pass criteria, serious concerns and critical incidents, request for resits, feedback, and recount of results.

If you wish to apply for the NZREX Clinical, you must meet the requirements outlined in this Policy. You will also need to submit a recent photo in order to apply for the NZREX Clinical, this policy also outlines the requirements for the photo we need.

The purpose of the CPD Associate agreement is to assist you in maintaining safe and competent practice, and to clarify your responsibilities, as well as those of the CPD associate.

Doctors are sometimes asked by a third party (such as an insurance company or ACC) to conduct medical assessments of patients. This statement explains the role of the assessing doctor and the standard of care expected of them within an assessing relationship.

The vocational practice assessment (VPA) is Council’s preferred tool for assessing competence and applies specifically to IMGs that Council deem eligible for registration within a provisional vocational scope of practice (assessment pathway).

Under the HPCAA, doctors can have their competence or performance reviewed at any time, or in response to concerns about their practice. This guide outlines what you can expect if you are undergoing a performance assessment

This handbook is intended as a guide for doctors undergoing performance assessments and aims to provide you with an understanding of how performance assessments work,
and to ensure that there are no surprises for you throughout the assessment process

Te Kaunihera Rata o Aotearoa | Medical Council of New Zealand set these Professional Standards for Physician Associates 2026 (the standards) under section 118(1)(i) of the Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act 2003. The standards will come into force on 1 October 2026.

The purpose of these principles is to provide a framework for good decision-making about notifications assessed and managed by the Council. The principles are not intended to cover every specific scenario but rather provide guidance in how notifications should be assessed and managed. The framework applies to the decisions of the Notifications Triage Team (NTT) and of Council.

Council is proposing to extend the provisional vocational assessment period from 18 to 24 months. This will enable a specific cohort of specialist IMGs who may not otherwise meet the standard, to gain provisional vocational registration and complete discrete training to address identified
deficiencies in their qualifications, training and experience.

This guide sets out the information required of accredited training providers who are preparing for an accreditation site visit. This guide should be read alongside the self-assessment for training providers to apply for accreditation for prevocational medical training.

This form outlines the additional information that will be required by the ACEM so it can provide us with advice on your application for vocational registration in emergency medicine.

The Standards for accreditation of specialist medical training programmes are jointly agreed and applied by the Australian Medical Council (AMC) and the Medical Council of New Zealand (MCNZ). Australasian colleges are required to apply the New Zealand specific criteria in addition to the AMC standards.

Professional standards for physician associates 2026

This guide is for accredited training providers who are preparing for a Council accreditation assessment. This guide provides training providers with detailed information as to what the Council expects you to provide in your self-assessment.