Organization : Medical Council of New Zealand
Type of Facility : Applying For Practising Certificate
Country: New Zealand
Website : https://www.mcnz.org.nz/maintain-registration/practising-certificate/
Applying For Practising Certificate:
In addition to being registered, you must also hold a current practising certificate to practise medicine in New Zealand. It is illegal to practise here without this certificate.
Related : Law Society Apply For Certificate of Character New Zealand : www.statusin.org/9413.html
With a practising certificate you are authorised, and considered competent and fit to practise medicine within the scope of practice and conditions given on your certificate.
General information:
It is your responsibility to ensure you hold a current practising certificate.
Your employer is responsible for ensuring all doctors they employ are properly registered and certified to practise.
Practising certificates:
** are valid for up to 12 months
** are not backdated
** authorise you to practise medicine within the scope of practice and conditions given on your certificate.
If you do not comply with the scope and conditions of your practising certificate, we may refer you to a Professional Conduct Committee for investigation and this may lead to disciplinary action being taken against you.
When you apply for a practising certificate we will either: issue you a certificate, decline to issue a certificate, or include (or vary) the conditions on your scope of practice.
If we decline your application, you will be informed of the reasons and given an opportunity to make submissions and be heard before a final decision is made.
Every three months we audit 10 percent of practising certificate applicants. We check the professional development recorded matches what the doctor has actually done. This process will delay the issue of your certificate; however you are entitled to work while the audit takes place.
Processing times:
Your practising certificate will be issued within 5 working days if it is complete and no follow-up is required.
If your application is incomplete, we will return it to you; giving details of what is required to complete it.
In some circumstances we may need more time to consider your application, such as when you:
** have not maintained the required standard of competence
** have not satisfied or complied with a condition on your scope of practice
** have not satisfactorily completed the requirements of a competence programme
** are unable to perform the functions required to practise medicine because of some mental or physical condition.
Renew a current practising certificate:
We will send you a certificate renewal notice 6 weeks before your current certificate expires. We will also send you a reminder notice 2 weeks before your current certificate expires. If you don’t receive these notices please contact us.
If we receive a complete application and your payment before the expiry of your existing practising certificate, you are then deemed to hold a practising certificate. This will remain in effect from the date the completed application and fee payment is received until the date the new certificate is issued, or until we notify you the certificate will not be issued. This process allows you to legally continue practising if there are delays in issuing the new certificate.
If you do not return your application and fee before the old practising certificate expires, you do not hold a current practising certificate. It is an offence, under the Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act 2003, to work without a current practising certificate and disciplinary action may result.
Amendments and variations to conditions and scope:
You must apply for an amendment or variation to your scope of practice if you are registered within a provisional (general or vocational) scope of practice or a special purpose scope AND your employment, supervision, position or location changes. We will then issue you a new practising certificate.
We charge a fee of NZ$127.78 including GST when you change your employer.
Please allow at least 20 working days for your application to be processed. Where your application does not meet our policy requirements, disclosures are made or performance concerns have been indicated, processing will take additional time.
Applying for the first time:
If you’ve not been issued a practising certificate before, you need to apply for registration to practise medicine in New Zealand instead. Your application for a practising certificate will be considered as part of the registration process.
Replacement copies of practising certificates:
To request copies of your current and expired practising certificates, please email mcnz@mcnz.org.nz giving your registration number and full name