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

This Memorandum of Understanding is made on the 24th day of August 2017
between Te Kaunihera Rata o Aotearoa | Medical Council of New Zealand
and The New Zealand Police.

This statement outlines how we manage the personal information we collect.

The HPCAA requires Council to ensure doctors are fit and competent to practise medicine. Council does this in part by setting and recognising recertification programmes under section 41 of the HPCAA, and requiring doctors’ participation in those programmes.

The Medical Council of New Zealand (the Council) wants to ensure that recertification programmes for all doctors are robust, help assure the public that the doctor is competent and fit to practise, and improve the current high standards of practice of doctors in New Zealand.

In order to practise medicine in New Zealand you must be both registered and hold a current practising certificate. This policy outlines Council's rules around practising certificates.

This policy covers when doctors who were previously registered in New Zealand can apply to be restored to the register rather than complete a full registration application.

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.

This policy outlines the requirements you must meet before you can be registered in the General scope of practice.This policy should be read alongside Council's Policy on registration in New Zealand.

This document sets out Council’s Policy in regards to prevocational medical training. It outlines the requirements for each component of prevocational medical training from PGY1 through to the end of PGY2.

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.

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).

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.

This policy outlines the process we follow when requiring that a doctor has an approved chaperone present during their consultations.

Section 16 (b) of the Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act 2003 requires the Medical Council of New Zealand (Council) to be satisfied that any doctor seeking registration in New Zealand is able to communicate in and comprehend English sufficiently to protect the health and safety of the public.

Half of the APC (practising fee and disciplinary levy) will be refunded to doctors earning $20,000 or less per annum from the practice of medicine in New Zealand or overseas.

Policy for doctors registered in the special purpose postgraduate training scope in relation to working nights.

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.

This document sets out Council’s policy in regards to accrediting training providers of prevocational medical training (training providers) and their clinical attachments. It outlines the components of the accreditation assessment.

This policy applies if you're applying for registration temporarily to teach, train, carry out research, work as a locum tenens specialist, assist in an emergency or work as a teleradiologist.

This policy, which comes into effect on 1 April 2020, sets out on when we might make public in some way, information about an order or direction made by us about a doctor.

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.

If you're applying for registration in the vocational scope and did your postgraduate training outside of New Zealand and Australia, this policy outlines the rules that will apply when we consider your application.

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.

This policy outlines the requirements you must meet in order to be issued a general scope without limitations.

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.

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.

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.

To apply for registration within a special purpose (locum tenens) scope of practice, you must first hold an approved postgraduate qualification in the branch of medicine in which you want to work, and then meet remaining requirements outlined in the registration policy.

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.

This policy details the advanced cardiac life support requirement for PGY1 interns.

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.

NZCMM accreditation update status as of 14 December 2023

NZCMM accreditation update status as of 29 November 2023

Update on Hawke's Bay's accreditation status as at 27 October 2023

Our strategic plan for the period from 1 July 2011 to 30 June 2012.

Our strategic plan for the period from 1 July 2016 to 30 June 2017

Our strategic plan for the period from 1 July 2017 to 30 June 2018

Our strategic plan for the period from 1 July 2019 to 30 June 2020.

Update on Auckland's accreditation status as at 8 November 2024

Use this form to verify your documentation by Statutory Declaration

Update on Wairarapa DHB's accreditation status as at 27 October 2023

Update on Waitemata's accreditation status as at 8 November 2024

The ePort privacy statement explains how the Council collects, stores, uses and shares information through ePort and outlines the standards and requirements in accordance with the Privacy Act 2020 and the relevant privacy principles.

Update on Tairāwhiti DHB's accreditation status as at 14 December 2023

Letter from Mr Andrew Connolly to the Resident Doctors Association (RDA) and the 20 District Health Boards regarding continued industrial action.

Our strategic plan for the period from 1 July 2013 to 30 June 2014

Our strategic plan for the period from 1 June 2014 to 30 June 2015

Our strategic plan for the period from 1 July 2015 to 30 June 2016

Our strategic plan for the period from 1 July 2018 to 30 June 2019

Our Strategic plan for 2021 – 2025 outlines our vision and purpose and how we will enhance the mana of Te Tiriti o Waitangi through achieving our strategic priorities.

Update on Southern DHB's accreditation report as at 14 December 2023

Update on Te Tai Tokerau's accreditation status as at 8 November 2024

Update on Taranaki DHB's accreditation status as at 28 March 2024

RNZCUC accreditation update status as of 22 March 2024

Update on Wairarapa DHB's accreditation status as at 14 December 2023

Update on Whanganui DHB's accreditation status as at 25 May 2022

Update on Capital and Coast's accreditation status as at 14 December 2023

Update on South Canterbury DHB's accreditation report as at 27 October 2023

Update on Hutt Valley's accreditation status as at 14 December 2023

This document aims to clarify matters relating to the amended start date and changes to dates for intern clinical attachments for the year commencing at the end of 2020.

RNZCUC accreditation update status as of 17 December 2024

We will achieve our vision, deliver on our purpose, uphold the mana of Te Tiriti o Waitangi, and be a sustainable organisation through our strategic priorities.

Update on Waitemata DHB's accreditation status as at 1 July 2022

Update on Waitaha Canterbury's accreditation status as at 14 December 2023

We will achieve our vision, deliver on our purpose, and uphold our values through our strategic priorities.

Update on Counties Manukau's accreditation status as at 14 December 2023

NZCSRH accreditation update status as of 15 August 2024

NZCSRH accreditation update status as of February 2026

Update on Nelson Marlborough's accreditation status as at 28 March 2024

Report on our progress with our strategic directions covering the period from 1 July 2013 to 30 June 2014

Report on our progress with our strategic directions covering the period from 1 July 2014 to 30 June 2015

Report on our progress with our strategic directions covering the period from 1 July 2015 to 30 June 2016

Our five-year strategic plan through to 2010

Medical Council's five-year strategic plan through to 2022

PGY1 and PGY2 interns can only practise medicine in accredited clinical attachments. This document outlines the standards clinical attachments must meet to be accredited. These standards should be considered alongside the accreditation standards for training providers.

When applying for registration at the end of your medical training you will have to answer questions relating to your fitness to practise. This guide will help you to figure out what you may need to declare to Council.

This quick guide for stakeholders covers how to make an online claim through myMCNZ.

Report on our progress with its strategic directions covering the period from 1 July 2012 to 30 June 2013.

V1 Superseded version of Council's Te Mahere Rautaki Strategic Plan.

V2 Superseded version of Council's Te Mahere Rautaki Strategic Plan.

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

Update on Te Pae Hauora o Ruahine o Tararua MidCentral's accreditation status as at 27 October 2023

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.

Report on our progress with strategic directions and initiatives for the 12 month period from 1 July 2016 to 30 June 2017

Report on our progress with strategic directions and initiatives for the 12 month period from 1 July 2017 to 30 June 2018

In 2019, Council released strengthened Recertification requirements for vocationally-registered doctors practising in New Zealand. Council is now reviewing its accreditation standards for providers of vocational recertification programmes to ensure these align with the new recertification requirements.

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.

This draft statement sets out legal and ethical considerations as a doctor when responding to a medical emergency. It also discusses a number of factors you should consider when you attend to a medical emergency, whether that emergency is within a healthcare facility, or in a non-clinical setting, such as in the community.

These standards identify the basic elements that must exist in all accredited prevocational intern training programmes. Providers of prevocational training programmes must demonstrate they meet these accreditation standards.

This document outlines the standards that an applicant will be assessed against.

Report on our progress with strategic directions and initiatives for the 12 month period from 1 July 2018 to 30 June 2019.

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.

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

We are reviewing our statement on Advertising. This draft statement highlights several ethical issues that arise with advertising such as the potential for overtreatment, and the power and knowledge imbalance between a doctor and a patient.

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

This is an updated draft version of the statement which we're consulting on. Please see the consultation section of our website for more information including how to provide feedback.

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

Vaccination is a crucial part of the New Zealand public health response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Health practitioners can help to protect themselves, their patients, and the wider community by getting their COVID-19 vaccination.

Disclosure of harm refers to instances where a patient has been adversely affected as a direct result of medical care. Open disclosure in this situation promotes transparency, can strengthen the doctor-patient relationship and is important for the health and safety of the public in general. This statement is intended to help doctors understand the purpose of open disclosure and why it matters to patients and their family/whānau. It also guides doctors on factors to consider when a situation requires that the harm is disclosed.

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.

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

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.

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.

This document sets out the standards against which prevocational medical training programmes are
accredited by Te Kaunihera Rata o Aotearoa | Medical Council of New Zealand (Council).

Recertification programme providers are expected to work towards these strengthened recertification requirements for vocationally-registered doctors, with implementation completed by 1 July 2022.

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.

This statement outlines Council's expectations of doctors who perform cosmetic procedures. These include standards relating to training, skill and expertise, advertising and obtaining consent from the patient.

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.

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.

The purpose of this statement is to protect the public from advertising that is false, misleading or deceptive, and to
provide guidance to doctors about the advertising of health-related products and services.

This document provides general advice to employers (including Te Whatu Ora | Health New Zealand and some PHOs) about their responsibilities as an employer of a doctor.

This statement outlines the rights and responsibilities of health care workers and infected health care workers in relation to transmissible major viral infections.

Our "Good medical practice" publication provides guidance to doctors on the standards of practice we expect.

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.

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.

These standards have been superseded by the 2022 standards above.

These are the current standards and have been updated to reflect the changes to ACLS requirements for interns. These standards identify the basic elements that must exist in all accredited prevocational intern training programmes. Providers of prevocational training programmes must demonstrate they meet these accreditation standards.

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.

Council has not issued standards specific to practice within the purpose of the End of Life Choice Act 2019 (EOLCA). Council considers that the provision of health services under the EOLCA falls within the wider practice of medicine, to which Council’s statements are directed. This document sets out existing Council statements alongside the relevant sections of the EOLCA.

Certain medicines have the potential to enhance athletic performance or an individual's physique. We set out in this statement our position on doctors who prescribe, administer and supply performance-enhancing medicines, or who assist others in doing so.

Doctors are often asked to sign certificates for a wide range of purposes, such as confirming sickness, impairment or death. This statement outlines factors to consider, and the standards that doctors must follow, when issuing a medical certificate.

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.

Maintaining clinical records is part of good medical practice. Clinical notes are an important tool for managing the patient's care, and communicating with other doctors and health professionals. This statement guides doctors on what information they should record, and for how long they should retain patients' records.

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.

Training providers that offer vocational medical training and recertification programmes must gain accreditation with the Council by meeting the Accreditation standards for Aotearoa New Zealand training providers of vocational medical training and recertification programmes (2022).

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

Version 3 Superseded version 2 of Council's Te Mahere Rautaki Strategic Plan.

This statement outlines the doctor's responsibility to maintain sexual boundaries with patients, includes advice on what to do if boundaries are threatened, and offers guidance on sexual relationships with former patients and with family members of patients.

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.

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.

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.

Prescribing medicines and treatment is an essential part of medical practice. This statement outlines what good prescribing practice involves and the legal requirements doctors must comply with.

In late 2009 we asked the Council for Healthcare Regulatory Excellence (CHRE) to undertake a full review of how we were performing. This is their report on how we did.

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.

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.

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.

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 must meet the standards laid out in the Council’s statement on Good Prescribing Practice. (The Principles for Quality and Safe Prescribing Practice are already reflected in our statement on prescribing.) This document is a helpful resource, particularly for new doctors and IMGs new to New Zealand, that can be read alongside our statement. These principles were developed jointly by 7 responsible authorities.