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

Approved list of postgraduate medical qualifications recognised for registration via the VOC4 pathway

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.

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 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.

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

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.

Prevocational medical training accreditation report for Counties Manukau DHB following site visit on 13 and 14 June 2024.

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.

New Zealand and Australian graduates: This checklist will help you to confirm your eligibility for registration, tell you what documents you need to provide, and will tell you what documents you need to have verified at source by EPIC.

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

This document is a guide for interns and includes information on what MSF is about and step-by-step instructions to complete the process.

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.

Prevocational medical training accreditation report for Counties Manukau DHB following site visit on 27 and 28 August 2019

This guide outlines why doctors may have conditions on their practice, how to find out if a doctor has conditions, and what some of the different types of conditions mean for you as a patient.

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 draft statement outlines what is expected of doctors when harm to patients occurs as a direct result of medical care. See the consultation section of our website to provide feedback on this draft statement.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 guidance explains what doctors should consider when using artificial intelligence (AI) in patient care. Because AI is increasingly being used in medical practice, it is essential that doctors do so ethically and responsibly, to ensure patient safety and the privacy of health information.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Prevocational medical training accreditation report for Te Whatu Ora - Waitemata following site visit on 28 and 29 November 2023

Prevocational medical training accreditation report for Te Whatu Ora - Te Toka Tumai Auckland following site visit on 27 and 28 March 2024

This gazette notice lists the fees payable from 1 July 2026.

This gazette notice lists the fees payable from 1 July 2025.

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 gazette notice lists the scopes of practice and prescribed qualifications for Physician Associates.

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.

Resource constraints are a reality in health care. For doctors, this often means prioritising based on clinical need and waiting lists. This statement guides doctors working in a resource-constrained environment by setting out ethical principles and practical advice.

This form lists the additional information the RACS requires if you're applying for vocational registration in cardiothoracic surgery, general surgery, neurosurgery, orthopaedic surgery, otolaryngology head & neck surgery, paediatric surgery, plastic & reconstructive surgery, urology, and vascular surgery.

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.

We are consulting with stakeholders on the proposed introduction of a fee for the accreditation of New Zealand-based vocational training and recertification providers.

Prevocational medical training accreditation report for Te Whatu Ora - Lakes following site visit on 24 and 25 May 2022

Prevocational medical training accreditation report for Te Whatu Ora - Te Tai Tokerau following site visit on 29 and 30 April 2024

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 record the details of any audits of your medical practice.

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

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).

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

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 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 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

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.

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.

This guide is for supervisors who are creating robust training objectives for doctors applying for registration in New Zealand under the Special Purpose Post Graduate Training pathway.

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.

This guide sets out the accreditation process for Aotearoa New Zealand-only vocational training providers that are currently accredited by MCNZ. It applies both to currently accredited providers seeking reaccreditation, as well as unaccredited providers seeking accreditation.

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.

Application for a practising certificate for doctors registered in a provisional or special purpose locum tenens scope who are returning to medical practice in New Zealand. This form supersedes the REG9 and REG11 forms.

We are seeking stakeholder feedback on the Medical Council of New Zealand’s (Council) proposal to gazette changes to its existing fees and disciplinary levy, to be effective from 1 July 2021.

We are seeking stakeholder feedback on the Medical Council of New Zealand’s (Council) proposal to gazette changes to its existing fees and disciplinary levy, to be effective from 1 July 2022.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.