This pamphlet explains the role of a Professional Conduct Committee (PCC) and what to expect if you are referred to a PCC.

Doctors are often asked for input by their family and friends. This may include requests for medical advice or a prescription, or more substantial involvement such as performing a procedure. This statement explains why doctors must avoid treating themselves and those they have a close personal relationship with.

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.

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 policy explains the requirements you will have to meet if you are registered in the general scope, or in a vocational scope of general practice, and you wish to perform tumescent liposuction.

We are reviewing our statement on a doctor’s duty to help in a medical emergency and would value your feedback. This statement discusses a number of factors doctors should consider when responding to a medical emergency.

We are proposing two key changes to the comparable health system pathway to registration in the Provisional General scope of practice. We welcome your feedback about these proposed changes before we make any decisions.

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.

Patients are entitled to information about their health and the care they are receiving. This statement outlines what we expect of doctors when helping patients to make an informed decision about their care and treatment.

Under the Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act 2003, responsible authorities such as the Medical Council undergo regular independent reviews of how they are carrying out their statutory functions. The Act requires responsible authorities to publish their review report on their website.

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.

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.

Māori experience disparities in outcomes compared to the rest of the population across nearly all areas of health due to inequity in determinants of health, including access to quality health care. This document outlines Council’s position on how doctors can support the achievement of best health outcomes for Māori. It also provides guidance for healthcare organisations to support cultural safety and Māori health equity. This document should be read in conjunction with Council’s Statement on cultural safety.

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.

During the course of a medical career, a doctor may be involved in management or have a leadership role. This statement outlines the standards doctors are expected to meet when they take on such roles. While doctors in a leadership role have a duty to their workplace and the wider community, their first consideration must always be the interests and safety of patients.

This report presents the results of our 2025 workforce survey. Key findings include 20,530 practising doctors, a 2.6% rise from last year. Nearly half are women (49.6%), and representation of Māori (5.5%) and Pacific (2.7%) doctors is growing among younger doctors. International medical graduates continue to play a vital role, especially outside the main centres.

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.

If you are in a collegial relationship, you should use this form to keep a record of the CME activities you complete.

if you are in a collegial relationship you should use this form to keep a record of the meetings you have with your colleague.

If you are in a collegial relationship, you should use this form to record the details of any audits of your medical practice.

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

If you are in a collegial relationship, you should use this form to keep a record of any peer review you do.

This report presents the results of the 2026 workforce survey. Key findings include 21,097 practising doctors, a 2.8% rise from last year. Over half are women, and representation of Māori (5.8%) and Pacific (2.8%) doctors is growing.

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.

There is a potential for health-related commercial organisations to influence how doctors practise and the clinical decisions they make. We are reviewing our statement on doctors and health-related commercial organisations and would value your feedback.

Complete this form to confirm you are enrolled and actively participating in an approved recertification programme.

If you are in a collegial relationship, you should use this form to record any optional activities you complete - that is, activities that are not specifically required.

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 main purpose of the collegial relationship is to ensure that a doctor's PDP and CPD are appropriate for the work they are doing. This guide is intended to outline what you need to do as part of this relationship including prompts for guiding discussion in collegial relationship meetings.

Authentic, authoritative and comprehensive references are necessary to ensure that Council can make decisions related to the applicant’s fitness and competence to practise medicine in New Zealand.

Doctor-patient relationships can come to an end for a variety of reasons, commonly when the patient moves to another area or chooses to see another doctor, but also when the relationship breaks down and either the doctor or patient decides to discontinue the professional relationship. We outline in this statement the process for discontinuing patient care, and the need to do so in a fair and professional manner.

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.

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.

Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) refers to therapies and treatments that are not commonly accepted in conventional medical practice, but are sometimes used alongside or instead of conventional medical treatments. This statement guides doctors in situations where their patients are using CAM, and outlines what we expect when doctors practise CAM.

We've drafted these standards to align with new recertification requirements. They will be effective from 1 July 2022. Before this time, providers will need to show evidence they are progressing towards implementing these requirements.