Midwives Society

Midwifery Council of NZ

The Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act 2003 (HPCAA) was passed on 18 September 2003. The majority of the provisions of the legislation came into operation on 18 September 2004.  The HPCAA applies to all health practitioners, not just to midwifery.  It established separate Regulatory Authorities to enact the legislation for each group of health practitioners. For midwifery this is the Midwifery Council. Each Regulatory Authority works within the same regulatory framework of the HPCAA.  The HPCAA can be viewed at New Zealand Legislation.

The principal purpose of the HPCAA is to protect the health and safety of members of the public by providing mechanisms to ensure that health practitioners are competent and fit to practise in their profession. The mechanisms to support the purposes are:

• Scopes of practice describe and define the boundaries of each profession.
• Professional competence has to be proven in order to register as a health practitioner.
• Evidence of continuing professional competence is required when a health practitioner applies for an annual practising certificate in order to be able to continue to practise.
• A Regulatory Authority can suspend a practitioner's Annual Practising Certificate, impose conditions on a scope of practice or alter a practitioner's scope of practice.

Apply For Registration

Please read the application guidelines before beginning your application. The guidelines provide an overview of the process, explanations about the information required in the application form and information about the supporting information required.

1. Create User Account to get started.
2. Already have a User Account Login Now
3. Logged In? Apply for Registration Now

You can complete part of the process and pay by credit card here but some additional documents are required. You should arrange for these to be sent to the secretariat as soon as possible. You should also arrange for your your payment of the application fee if you elect not to pay by credit card. Please note that your application will not be considered by Council untill all required documents and the fee have been received. The Application fee is $NZ1,000. 

The following documents are required from all applicants and are additional to the online application form:

• Evidence of your identity - certified as a true copy
• Evidence of current or past registration as a midwife
• Certificate of Good Standing from current registration authority
• Full transcript of pre-registration midwifery education programme
• Portfolio or detailed curriculum vitae
• Police report from each country in which you have resided for 12 months or more
• Medical certificate
• Two character references
• Self Assessment against the Competencies for Entry to the Register

The following documents are required if relevant:

• Details of convictions
• Details of any mental or physical condition  or disability
• Your IELTS result if English is not your first spoken language

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