Nursing Council of New Zealand

The Nursing Council of New Zealand (the Council) is the regulatory authority responsible for the registration of nurses. Its primary function is to protect the health and safety of members of the public by ensuring that nurses are competent and fit to practise. It fulfills this function by:

• Registering nurses
• Setting ongoing competence requirements and issuing practising certificates
• Setting scopes of practice and the qualifications required for registration
• Accrediting and monitoring education providers and setting the state examination
• Providing guidelines and standards for practice
• Receiving and acting on notifications of health and competence concerns
• Receiving and acting on complaints about the conduct of nurses
• Promoting public awareness of the Council's responsibilities.

International nurse registration

Due to the high demand for places in the Competency assessment Programmes, there is a current waiting time of over 12 months to get into most of these. There may be instances where a person who has been informed they need to complete a Competency Assessment Programme, may not be able to gain entry into one within the timeframe / life of their application.

We strongly advise Internationally Qualified Nurses needing to complete a Competence Assessment Programme not to come to New Zealand until they have a confirmed placement.

Educational Standards

From 1 March 2012 Education Standards will change. All applications received after 1 March 2012 will be assessed against the criteria below and the new criterion 3 which aligns with New Zealand Education Programme Standards for the registered nurse scope of practice.

Internationally qualified nurses applying for registration in New Zealand

When a nurse who is registered with an overseas authority applies to the Council for registration in New Zealand, each application is assessed on an individual basis. The Council operates a system of reciprocal registration with Australia.

Registration Requirements

All internationally qualified nurses applying for registration in New Zealand must meet the criteria. Applicants for registration are required to provide evidence that they:

• have an international nursing qualification equivalent to that prescribed in New Zealand
• are competent to practise within their scope of practice
• are fit for registration, which includes the ability to communicate effectively in English for the purpose of practising nursing.

International applicants from all countries (except Australia) are required to sit an English Language assessment before submitting an application. The assessment can be either the International English Language Testing (IELTS) Academic Test, or the Occupational English Test (OET).

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