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Rural hospital medicine is determined by its social context, the rural environment, the demands of which include professional and geographic isolation, limited resources and special cultural and sociological factors. It is invariable practised at a distance from comprehensive specialist medical and surgical services and investigations.
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From today, 1 October 2026 physician associates are a regulated health profession in Aotearoa New Zealand.
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New Zealand’s medical workforce has grown to 21,097 practising doctors, with the latest Medical Council workforce report also showing changes in who makes up the profession, where doctors are working and how long they stay in New Zealand.
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Te Kaunihera Rata o Aotearoa | Medical Council of New Zealand has today released the results of the first Torohia — Medical Training Survey for New Zealand , giving new insights into the experiences of doctors in training across the motu.
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As the regulator of the medical profession, the Medical Council of New Zealand (the Council) plays a key role to ensure public safety and to assure and maintain public trust and confidence in the profession; including that doctors continue to maintain high standards of competence.
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Profiles of the candidates in our 2021 Council election
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This document is a copy of all written submissions we received when we consulted on our discussion document around strengthening recertification for vocationally-registered doctors. Feedback is published according to submitters preference for anonymity.
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This consultation document is seeking stakeholder feedback on the Medical Council of New Zealand’s (Council) proposal to gazette an increase to the practising certificate (PC) fee and disciplinary levy, to be effective from 1 September 2020.
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Letter from Mr Andrew Connolly to the Resident Doctors Association (RDA) and the 20 District Health Boards regarding continued industrial action.
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Draft document for consultation. In this document we advise doctors on how they can support the achievement of best health outcomes for Māori. We also provide guidance for healthcare organisations on how to support Māori health equity.
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The Chair of Te Kaunihera Rata o Aotearoa | The Medical Council of New Zealand, Dr Curtis Walker, reinforced today the technical and complex process required when thoroughly reviewing a doctor’s overseas qualifications, training and experience.
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Media Release | Medical Council to regulate the Physician Associate profession
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If you have concerns about the care you received, or about a doctor or physician associate's behaviour or professionalism, you can notify either the Health and Disability Commissioner (HDC) or the Medical Council of New Zealand (Council). We work closely together, but our roles are different.
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This page covers where you can get advice and support if you're thinking about making a notification.
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Council is proud to have been one of the seven responsible authorities (RAs) that worked together to develop the Principles for Quality and Safe Prescribing Practice. Development of the Principles was a result of collaboration and partnership among RAs.
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Torohia – Medical Training Survey for New Zealand – is here! Doctors in training voices matter. Let's make sure they're heard. Visit the Torohia website to find out more and download the promo kit to help spread the word! https://www.torohia.org.nz/
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If a doctor or physician associate has an issue with their own health, wherever possible we try to help them to remain in practice while it is being resolved. That said, our primary objective is to protect the health and safety of the public - which may mean that the doctor or physician associate will be unable to practise safely, or will be limited in what they can do, until they are well enough to fully resume practice.
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Te Kaunihera Rata o Aotearoa | The Medical Council of New Zealand (Council) recently held an election to select four medical practitioner nominees and can now announce the results of this election.
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Council is pleased to announce that from 1 November 2024, international medical graduates (IMGs) with an approved postgraduate medical qualification, intending to practise in Aotearoa New Zealand in an approved area of medicine, can apply for specialist registration via a new fast-track registration pathway.
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Doctors and physician associates get sick too, and when they do it's important that their illness doesn't interfere with their ability to practise safely. A doctor or physician associate must always be able to practise without putting patients or the public at risk.
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Te Kaunihera Rata o Aotearoa | Medical Council of New Zealand is inviting feedback on proposals for how PAs should be regulated in Aotearoa New Zealand.
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Internet, email, and other forms of electronic communication are ways in which doctors communicate with patients and other health professionals, find information, and participate in informed discussion. This statement guides doctors on the use of email and other forms of social media.
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Established on 1 July 2022, Te Whatu Ora leads the day-to-day running of the health system across New Zealand, with functions delivered at local, district, regional and national levels.
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The special purpose visiting expert scope of practice enables doctors to come to New Zealand to proctor, demonstrate, assist or teach a new or existing procedure to New Zealand practitioners for a maximum of one week.
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Working relationships with our key stakeholders are at the heart of everything we do to protect public health and safety. This page describes Council's relationships with Aotearoa New Zealand medical schools, Medical Colleges, Te Aka Whai Ora | Māori Health Authority, Te Whatu Ora | Health New Zealand, the Health and Disability Commissioner (HDC), and other organisations where we have established a memoranda of understanding (MoU).
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The Minister of Health has announced two new initiatives targeted at overseas doctors who have passed their New Zealand Registration Examination (NZREX) examination in the last five years, allowing them to apply for roles in New Zealand that will lead to full registration as a doctor.
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Memorandum of understanding between Medical Council of New Zealand and New Zealand Private Surgical Hospitals Association
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This page contains support information that relates to neither patients doctors or physician associates.
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How you apply for a practising certificate will depend on whether or not you are already registered in New Zealand, if you have worked in New Zealand before, and how long it has been since you last practised. If you already hold a practising certificate, please see our page on renewing your practising certificate instead.
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Our principal function is to protect you by ensuring that doctors and physician associates are competent and fit to practise. We do this by setting standards of clinical and cultural competence and ethical conduct.
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If you are registered and practising in a vocational scope only, you must participate in the recertification programme offered by the medical college or other approved recertification provider responsible for your vocational scope of practice.
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Obstetrics and gynaecology involves the diagnosis and management of patients in the area of reproductive health and diseases, including but not limited to women’s health issues, maternal foetal medicine, gynaecological oncology, reproductive endocrinology and infertility, and urogynaecology, male sexual disorders, post and perinatal issues.
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Anaesthesia is the provision of anaesthetics, peri-operative care, intensive care and pain management to patients and can include the provision of resuscitation, retrieval/transportation (inter and intra hospital) and hyperbaric medicine to patients.
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A Professional Conduct Committee (PCC) is an investigatory body appointed by the Council. Its purpose is to investigate matters and concerns referred to it by the Council about a registered doctor. Although a PCC is appointed by the Council, it is separate from the Council, and regulates its own procedures.
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If you are registered and practising in both the General and a vocational scope of practice, you need to meet recertification requirements in both scopes of practice.
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We sometimes require that a doctor has a chaperone present to observe their consultations with patients. We do this to mitigate risk to the patient where there are concerns that the doctor poses a risk of harm or serious risk of harm to the public. This is different from when a chaperone is present as a matter of good medical practice.
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We sometimes require that a doctor has a chaperone present to observe their consultations with patients. We do this to mitigate risk to the patient where there are concerns that the doctor poses a risk of harm or serious risk of harm to the public. This is different from when a chaperone is present as a matter of good medical practice.
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PHOs provide primary health services either directly or through contracted providers. The services provided aim to improve and maintain the health of the enrolled PHO population, ensuring that general practice services are connected with other health services to ensure a seamless continuum of care.
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Special purpose postgraduate training registration is available for doctors looking to come to New Zealand on a temporary basis, to gain experience and skills to take back to their home or sponsor country.
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This policy explains the requirements to be met to allow doctors with vocational registration in Rural Hospital Medicine or General Practice to obtain an authorisation to provide secondary maternity services, in addition to the practice permitted within their vocational scope of practice.
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This page outlines how the process of renewing your practising certificate works and what to do if your certificate is about to expire and you haven't heard from us.
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If you're not working away from New Zealand but are just taking a break from medical practice, this page outlines what you need to do.
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A notification around concerns about your health is different from one about conduct, and our approach to dealing with it is non-judgmental and focuses on your rehabilitation and the safety of patients and people you come into contact with.
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We are pleased to announce that we are increasing capacity to sit the NZREX Clinical across 2025, and plan to be able to examine up to 180 candidates over the course of 2025.
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You can use this form to ask us a question or raise concerns about a health practitioner (doctor or physician associate).
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You can make a notification directly to the Health and Disability Commissioner (HDC). The HDC's role is to promote and protect your rights as set out in the Code of Health and Disability Services Consumers' Rights (The Code).
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You can apply to access the full medical register, but before you apply make sure you know what information the register holds. Whether your application is approved or not depends on what you want to do with the information.
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To ensure that you are continuing to maintain your competence to practise medicine, you must meet recertification programme requirements set by Council, including any minimum continuing professional development (CPD) requirements.
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To ensure that you are continuing to maintain your competence to practise medicine, you must meet recertification programme requirements set by Council, including any minimum continuing professional development (CPD) requirements.
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VOC1 (specialist) registration is for doctors who hold an approved New Zealand / Australasian postgraduate qualification and already hold registration in the General scope of practice.
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Find out how to keep us up to date with changes to your information including your name, employment, and addresses.
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Council collects workforce data from doctors as part of the renewal of practising certificates.
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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.
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If you have concerns about a registered doctor or a physician associate, you can refer the matter to the Council.
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You can download copies of your current and expired practising certificates by logging into your myMCNZ account.
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Medical administration is administration or management utilising the medical and clinical knowledge, skill and judgement of a registered medical practitioner, and capable of affecting the health and safety of the public or any person.
This may include administering or managing a hospital or other health service, developing health operational policy, or planning or purchasing health services. Medical administration does not involve diagnosing or treating patients. -
If you are thinking about practising medicine in New Zealand, there are many things to consider. This page provides an introduction to medical registration, the healthcare system, getting a job and settling in the country.
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We want to make sure the information that we provide on our website about making a notification is clear and easy to use. If you have recently looked at our website to find out how to raise a concern about a doctor, we welcome your feedback.
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The Medical Council of New Zealand, in partnership with Te Ohu Rata O Aotearoa (Te ORA), has released an independent research report outlining findings on the current state of cultural safety and health equity delivered by doctors in Aotearoa New Zealand.
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If you are planning on leaving New Zealand to practise in another country, its medical regulator may ask you for a certificate of professional status (COPS) from us. Your registration is not affected by your decision to practise overseas but you must ensure that we hold current contact details for you.
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All physician associates applying for registration in New Zealand must have key documents verified from their primary source. Council uses the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates’ (ECFMG) Credential Verification for Health Professionals (CVHP) service to do this.
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Otolaryngology, head and neck surgery is the diagnosis and treatment (operative and non operative) of patients with disorders of the ears, nose, throat, and related structures of the head and neck. This includes cancer of the head and neck (excluding the eye and the brain), disorders of the salivary glands and thyroid gland, disorders of hearing, balance, swallowing, speech, snoring/sleep apnoea and aspects of facial plastic surgery.
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It is Council’s role to accredit and monitor specialist training providers and to promote medical education training in Aotearoa New Zealand. Council assesses Aotearoa New Zealand-based vocational medical training and recertification providers against these standards.
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All international medical graduates (IMGs) registered in a provisional general, provisional vocational and special purpose scope of practice must be supervised. This is to support their practice while they become familiar with the New Zealand health system and the expected standard of medical practice.
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Council is working to improve patient safety by strengthening our approach to the regulation of doctors performing cosmetic procedures.
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Whenever you use a health or disability service in New Zealand, you are protected by the Code of Health and Disability Services Consumers' Rights (Code of Rights). The Code of Rights applies to both public and private facilities, and to both paid and unpaid services. It gives you as a patient, the right to be treated with respect, receive appropriate care, have proper communication, and be fully informed so you can make an informed choice.
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In some circumstances you can be restored to the medical register if your registration has been cancelled. This page outlines how to apply to be restored to the register.
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Medical Council Chair Dr Rachelle Love responds to the final report from the Abuse in State Care Royal Commission Inquiry.
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If you want to work as a specialist in New Zealand, hold the approved New Zealand/Australasian postgraduate qualification, but do not already hold general registration, you can apply down the VOC2 pathway.
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You can apply for this pathway if you have passed the Australian Medical Council examinations and are registered with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA).
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The Council offers two clinical supervision courses for clinical supervisors and prevocational educational supervisors. The courses supplement training that supervisors receive from training providers and medical colleges. Courses are available to all supervisors through the ePort platform.
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You can apply for registration through this pathway if you have recent experience in a comparable health system.
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There are two key scopes of practice for physician associates:
Physician Associate Provisional scope of practice (for first period of registration).
Physician Associate General scope of practice (for physician associates who have completed the provisional period) . -
The Medical Council of New Zealand has two new members. The Hon Matt Doocey, Associate Minister of Health, made the appointments, which are effective from 1 July 2024 for a three-year term. The Minister also reappointed two current members for further terms. These four appointments follow the election by the profession, earlier this year.
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We may sometimes use terms you won't be familiar with. Find out here what they mean.
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Orthopaedic surgery is the diagnosis and treatment (operative and non operative) of patients with disorders of the musculoskeletal system (bones, joints, ligaments, tendon and peripheral nerves). It includes the management of trauma to the musculoskeletal system and the management of congenital and acquired disorders.
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Graduates of Aotearoa New Zealand and Australian accredited medical schools and doctors who have sat and passed an approved medical registration examination, including the New Zealand Registration Examination (NZREX Clinical) complete prevocational medical training.
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You cannot work outside the requirements of your scope of practice and any requirements set by Council specific to you. These are shown on your practising certificate. If you are registered within a provisional general, provisional vocational or a special purpose scope of practice, you need our approval of any change to your employment, supervision, position or location.
Once we've received and approved your variation application we will issue you a new practising certificate. -
The Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act 2003 (HPCAA) requires us to specify the scopes of practice within which doctors are permitted to practice, and to describe and define the boundaries of each.
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The Medical Council of New Zealand will protect and safeguard personal information and treat it with the utmost care, respect and discretion. This includes all personal information collected online.This privacy notice applies to personal information that we collect through this website: www.mcnz.org.nz
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Council's strategic plan sets out our key strategic goals, the outcomes that flow down from our goals, and how we can achieve these outcomes.
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We have approximately 95 staff, including our Chief Executive and senior managers whose activities are overseen by a Council of 12 people who are a mix of doctors and laypeople. Our Chair is Dr Kenneth (Ken) Clark. Joan Simeon is our Manukura (Chief Executive) Officer.
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Any doctor or physician associate applying for registration in New Zealand must be fit for registration and fit to practise. It's a legal requirement on us to ensure they are. We determine this as part of our assessment of your application for registration.
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Doctors who hold overseas qualifications and who want to apply for registration in Aotearoa New Zealand must have key documents verified from their primary source. Since November 2017, Council has required primary source verification using the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates’ Electronic Portfolio of International Credentials (ECFMG’s EPIC) service, which is now accessed via the MyIntealth portal.
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Collegial relationships are a component of recertification for general registrants, doctors working outside of their vocational scope of practice, and in select cases doctors limited to non-clinical practice.
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Graduates of Aotearoa New Zealand and Australian accredited medical schools and doctors who have sat and passed an approved medical registration examination, including the New Zealand Registration Examination (NZREX Clinical) complete prevocational medical training.
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This pamphlet explains the role of a Professional Conduct Committee (PCC) and what to expect if you are referred to a PCC.
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You can apply for registration through this pathway if you hold a qualification approved by the General Medical Council (GMC) for registration as a physician associate in the United Kingdom.
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This pathway is for physician associates who have experience practising clinically in New Zealand.
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This pamphlet explains the role of a Professional Conduct Committee (PCC) and what to expect if your notification about a doctor is referred to a PCC.
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You can apply via this pathway if you have passed Part 1 and Part 2 of the Professional and Linguistic Assessments Board (PLAB) test administered by the General Medical Council (GMC), United Kingdom (UK); completed 12-months of satisfactory practice in the UK; and hold full general registration with the GMC.
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This pathway is for New Zealand and Australian medical graduates wanting to register within the Provisional General scope of practice to complete their internship.
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You can apply for registration through this pathway if you hold a qualification accredited for licensure in the United States of America for registration as a physician associate.
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You can apply for registration through this pathway if you hold a qualification accredited for licensure in Canada for registration as a physician associate.
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The International Association of Medical Regulatory Authorities (IAMRA) signed a historic Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) today with the World Health Organization in a ceremony in Geneva.
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The Health Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal (The Tribunal) has asked us to publish a summary of its recent decisions. You can access the full decision on their website at the links provided.
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You can apply for registration via this pathway if, within the last five years, you have passed either the New Zealand Registration Examination (NZREX Clinical); or Part 1 and Part 2 of the Professional and Linguistic Assessments Board (PLAB) test.
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This page contains a full list of our forms including application, report and referee forms, as well as checklists and the current fees payable.
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If you hold an approved postgraduate medical qualification from the UK, Ireland or Australia and intend to work as a specialist in Aotearoa New Zealand in an approved area of medicine, you can apply via the VOC4 fast-track pathway.
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List of our fees effective from 1 July 2026
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If you trained and qualified as a specialist outside of New Zealand and Australia and wish to work in New Zealand as a specialist you can apply based on overseas training and qualifications and we will assess your case on its merits.
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Every doctor in New Zealand must be registered to practise medicine. If you are not eligible for registration under any other pathway, you must sit and pass the NZREX Clinical, our registration examination.
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You can apply for registration through this pathway if you have a primary medical degree from the UK or Ireland and have completed your internship within the UK or Ireland.
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Te Kaunihera Rata o Aotearoa | Medical Council of New Zealand is committed to meeting Aotearoa New Zealand's healthcare demands by enabling highly qualified international and locally trained doctors to join the workforce through flexible and efficient registration pathways.
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Oral and maxillofacial surgery involves the diagnosis and treatment (operative and non-operative) of patients with diseases, injuries and defects of the mouth, jaws and associated structures. This includes oral and maxillofacial pathology, trauma, dentoalveolar surgery, orthognathic and relevant reconstructive surgery, and facial pain.
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This section of our website contains expired versions of our standards.
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This page contains a list of our most current news and updates.
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This page contains forms relating to recertification programmes requirements and professional development.
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This dashboard page contains information around the distribution of doctors within New Zealand.
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This dashboard page contains further information around the distribution of doctors within New Zealand.
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This dashboard page contains information around doctors undertaking vocational training in New Zealand.
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This page contains information on how to use myMCNZ, our web based portal for doctors.
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This area of our site contains detailed information about the medical workforce in Aotearoa New Zealand.
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This page contains the latest Medical Council notices published in the Gazette for Scopes of Practice, prescribed qualifications and Fees.
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This dashboard page contains information around new registrations - registrations granted where the doctor was not already on the medical register.
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This dashboard page contains information around how long doctors remain in New Zealand after their initial registration.
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This dashboard page contains information around doctors with a vocational scope of practice including breakdowns by age, gender, and ethnicity.
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This page contains all of Council's publications and can be filtered by publication type to help you find what you're looking for.
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This fact sheet is intended to provide information to those people who meet with a Professional Conduct Committee (PCC) as part of its investigation.
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This dashboard page contains information around Māori and Pacific Peoples doctors in the medical workforce including breakdowns by age, gender, and work role.
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This page contains all of the updates we've published around our COVID-19 response. Check this page regularly for our latest updates.
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This dashboard page contains information around changes over time in the number and demographics of registered doctors - doctors on the register with a current practising certificate.
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This dashboard page contains information around international medical graduates, doctors who obtained their primary medical qualification outside of New Zealand.
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This section contains information that will be useful if you're already registered in New Zealand, or if you've been registered in the past and are intending to return to practice here.
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This page contains a full list of our forms including application, report and referee forms, as well as checklists and the current fees payable, for physician associates.
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This page contains important information on approved qualifications, the information to include with your application, and other things that may affect your application for registration in a vocational scope.
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Certificates of professional status (COPS) are documents used by professional regulators to share information about whether a health practitioner is in good standing. Doctors or physician associates applying for registration, restoration or returning from practising outside New Zealand need to provide us with certificates of professional status.
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A community-based attachment is an educational experience in an accredited clinical attachment in a community-focused service in which the intern is engaged in caring for the patient and managing their illness in the context of their family and community.
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This dashboard page contains information around registered doctors, those who are on the register and hold a current practising certificate. You can also view the same data for past quarters.
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This sheet provides information on how Professional Conduct Committees (PCCs) request information, what powers they must obtain information, what they do with information they receive, and answers some frequently asked questions.
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Medical Council News is our official newsletter. Published and distributed to the profession regularly, the newsletter contains a summary of the most important recent news as well as articles on topics likely to be of interest to doctors and physician associates.
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The principal function of the Medical Council of New Zealand is to protect the health and safety of the public by ensuring that doctors and physician associates are competent and fit to practise. We do this by setting standards of clinical and cultural competence and ethical conduct.
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Telehealth is the use of digital technology to deliver health services where participants may be separated by distance and/or time. This statement outlines our expectation of doctors who practise telehealth in New Zealand and overseas, and includes guidance on registration, conducting physical examinations and prescribing.
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Physician associates must only practise in a setting where onsite supervision is available whether registered in the Physician Associate Provisional or Physician Associate General scope of practice. This means that they must not be rostered to practise solo in any healthcare setting.
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General practice is an academic and scientific discipline with its own educational content, research, evidence base and clinical activity, and a clinical speciality orientated to primary care. It is personal, family, and community-orientated comprehensive primary care that includes diagnosis, continues over time and is anticipatory as well as responsive.
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One of our most important roles is ensuring doctors and physician associates are fit to practise. We have a set of standards for each profession which outline what we expect of doctors and physician associates, and procedures to follow if there are concerns about a doctor or physician associate's conduct, competence or health.
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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.
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As a doctor, you have an obligation to be respectful and professional as your behaviour may affect how a health team functions, how care is delivered to patients, and the public’s trust and confidence in the medical profession. If you have concerns about the conduct, competence or safety of a doctor’s practice, you should notify the Medical Council.
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Radiation oncology is the medical care and management of patients with cancer and other medical conditions through the conduct and supervision of radiation treatment, advice and provision of palliative and other supportive care, and advice and provision of other non-surgical cancer; advice and provision of other non-surgical cancer treatment including cytotoxic, hormonal and other drug therapies; participation in clinical trials and research related to cancer management.
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All doctors have a duty to act on their concerns about another doctor, but doctors in management roles have an extra responsibility to ensure that there are appropriate reporting procedures in place, and these procedures are known to staff who may need to use them. This statement provides guidance for doctors who are concerned about a medical colleague's conduct, performance, competence or health, and provides suggestions on what to do and who to approach.
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The special purpose teleradiology scope of practice enables doctors without the recognised New Zealand or Australasian qualification to provide teleradiology services for patients in New Zealand.
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Our Audit and Risk Committee assists Council in a number of ways including overseeing our risk management programme and ensuring the integrity of our financial processes and reporting.
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We have three main types of registration (what we call scopes) for doctors - vocational, general and special purpose. Physician associates will apply for registration in the Physician Associate Provisional scope of practice. . Within each scope there are multiple application pathways. Each of these has specific requirements you need to meet in order to be registered. This section outlines the different pathways for each scope.
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Whether you're Māori or non-Māori, you are welcome to visit a Māori health provider. What makes their care different from a non-Māori health provider is the kaupapa (principle) and delivery framework, which is distinctively Māori.
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Te Kōwhiringa o Te Kaunihera Rata o Aotearoa 2024 | The Medical Council of New Zealand election 2024
Council elections are about building a strong Council that the public, government and medical profession can have confidence in. The opportunity to cast your vote for the election of four medical members to join the governance of the Medical Council is available starting Tuesday, 20 February 2024. -
Medical practitioners registered within the General scope of practice (or the Provisional General scope of practice, which precedes it) are typically resident doctors, resident medical officers (RMO) and doctors undergoing vocational training.
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When you're applying for registration, we may ask you to provide a Statutory Declaration, or a copy of a document that you’re relying upon as part of your application.
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Special purpose registration is a temporary form of registration, for specific purposes. It is not a pathway to permanent general or vocational registration. Entry on the Register is cancelled after a fixed time period.
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The professional services a doctor can perform in New Zealand are defined by the scope of practice for which they are registered.
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Health-related commercial organisations share some common goals with doctors: they seek to prevent, control, cure and manage diseases, or physical and mental conditions, and may conduct research to improve and advance health care. However, health-related commercial organisations can also have different and potentially conflicting goals in that generating a profit is often a principal goal whereas a doctor’s primary concern must always be the care of patients. This statement outlines our expectations when doctors interact with health-related commercial organisations, and provides guidance on recognising, assessing and managing conflicts of interest (including perceived conflicts of interest) that may arise.