This statement outlines what cultural safety means and why it is important. The document reflects the evolution of thinking away from the cultural competence of doctors – that is acquiring skills and knowledge of other cultures – towards self-reflection of a doctor’s own attitudes and biases that may affect the cultural safety of patients. Council requires doctors to meet these cultural safety standards.

More information about cultural safety requirements is in this section of the full consultation paper linked here.

This statement acknowledges that health inequities and inequalities continue to exist for Māori, and that there are disparities in the delivery of health care to Māori. It encourages all health organisations to examine their partnership with Māori through genuine engagement, representation and participation.

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

In May 2019 Council consulted with stakeholders on a revised statement and resource on cultural competence, cultural safety and achieving best health outcomes for Māori. The feedback can be found here. The final documents were completed in October 2019.

This policy gives an overview of the rules we apply in deciding whether to register a doctor in New Zealand. There will also be a specific policy that applies to the pathway you are registering under and the two policies should be read together.

Council, in partnership with Te Ohu Rata o Aotearoa (Te ORA), jointly hosted a highly successful symposium on cultural competence, partnership and health equity on 25 June 2019. The theme of the symposium was Mahia te mahi, hei painga mō te iwi, Getting the job done for the wellbeing of the people. The event aimed to investigate ways of working together to improve cultural safety in order to work towards eliminating health inequities. This booklet brings together the presentations and whakaaro shared at the symposium.

The New Zealand Curriculum Framework for Prevocational Medical Training (NZCF) outlines the learning outcomes to be substantively completed in PGY1 and by the end of PGY2

These standards only apply until 1 July 2020. This document outlines the standards New Zealand Colleges must meet in order to be reaccredited.

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

This report outlines the findings of our evaluation of the ‘Welcome to practice in Aotearoa New Zealand’ workshops for international medical graduates.

This document outlines the policy, process and guidelines for recognition of a new vocational scope of practice.

This guide sets out the information required for accredited New Zealand training organisations who are preparing for a Medical Council of New Zealand (Council) assessment for reaccreditation. This guide applies to the current standards that are in effect until 30 June 2020.

Training and/or Continuing Professional Development (CPD) programme providers can be required
to report on an annual or specified basis to Council as a condition of their accreditation. This guide
provides an outline of the expected structure of an annual- or progress report. This guide applies to the current standards that are in effect until 30 June 2020.

A Review of Prevocational Training Requirements for Doctors in New Zealand: Stage 2 - A second consultation paper on the proposed changes to prevocational training

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.

Prevocational Training Requirements for Doctors in
New Zealand: a discussion paper on options for an enhanced training framework

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.

An amendment of this notice was published on 1 October 2024, Notice No. 2024-sl4980 and another amendment was published on 31 March 2025, Notice No. 2025-sl1765.

Doctors accompanying individuals or groups of people visiting New Zealand who will provide medical diagnosis, treatment or advice only to those individuals or groups, and who are not registered with the Medical Council will not be required to obtain registration and a practising certificate, so long as they restrict their practice to those individuals or groups for the duration of their visit.