Australian general registrants
You can apply for this pathway if you have passed the Australian Medical Council examinations and are registered with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA).
Prerequisites
You can apply for registration through this pathway if you:
- have a primary medical degree from a university medical school listed in the World Directory of Medical Schools,
- have passed the Australian Medical Council (AMC) multi-choice questionnaire examination,
- have passed the AMC Clinical examination, or successfully completed a formal AMC-approved workplace-based assessment,
- satisfactorily completed 12 months of supervised practice in Australia resulting in full general registration with AHPRA, and
- meet Council's "fitness for registration" requirements including satisfying Council's English language policy.
You must also provide evidence of a job offer that includes supervision. We cannot consider your application if you do not have supervised employment.
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The World Directory of Medical Schools (WDOMS) lists all of the medical schools in the world, with accurate, up-to-date, and comprehensive information on each school.
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Any doctor applying for registration in New Zealand must be fit for registration and fit to practise medicine. It's a legal requirement on us to ensure they are. We determine this as part of our assessment of your application for registration.
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The Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) regulate all 16 health professions in Australia in partnership with the national boards including the Medical Board of Australia.
Applying for registration
You and your employer need to work together to complete your application using Checklist 7 and the REG1 application form.
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Application for registration in New Zealand
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Australian general scope pathway - Part A: Checklist for registration in New Zealand
Primary source verification of documents
Please don't send us your application documents until you have sent the required documents for primary source verification through the EPIC system. The verification process can take time and we cannot process your application until we have received the verification at source.
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Doctors who hold overseas qualifications and who want to apply for registration in Aotearoa New Zealand must have key documents verified from their primary source.
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Special instructions and FAQs for applicants to the Medical Council of New Zealand
The registration interview
We will consider your application once it is complete and we have received primary source verification of your documents. We will then let you know the outcome of your application.
If your application is successful, we will send you an 'eligibility for registration' letter. This confirms for other agencies like Immigration New Zealand that you are able to be registered and will give you the details for your registration interview. For more information on the registration interview, please see the link below.
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All international medical graduates coming to New Zealand to practise medicine for the first time must attend a registration meeting and be able to produce the information we have asked for.
Working under supervision
Once we have received all the documents from your registration interview and payment of your practising certificate fee we will register you in a provisional general scope and issue you with a practising certificate. Your practising certificate will include an endorsement requiring you to work under supervision in the position you have been approved for.
You will need to apply for a variation to your scope of practice if any of the details listed on your practising certificate need to change as a result of a change to your employment, position, or supervision.
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All international medical graduates (IMGs) registered in a provisional general, provisional vocational and special purpose scope of practice must be supervised. This is to support their practice while they become familiar with the New Zealand health system and the expected standard of medical practice.
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You cannot work outside the requirements of your scope of practice and any requirements set by Council specific to you. These are shown on your practising certificate. If you are registered within a provisional general, provisional vocational or a special purpose scope of practice, you need our approval of any change to your employment, supervision, position or location.
Once we've received and approved your variation application we will issue you a new practising certificate.
Progression to general scope
Progression to registration within the General scope of practice is not automatic. You are able to apply after you have:
- completed 12 months working within the Provisional General scope in a New Zealand under a Council-approved doctor. This needs to be at a hospital, general practice, educational institution or other organisation approved by us
- hold an advanced cardiac life support (ACLS) certification at New Zealand Resuscitation Council’s CORE Advanced level, which is less than 12 months old
- hold a CORE Advanced certificate for doctors working in hospital-based practice OR a CORE Immediate certificate for doctors working in general practice or non-clinical based practice
- received satisfactory supervision reports for 12 months full-time equivalent working under supervision
- been recommended for registration in the General scope by a Council-approved supervisor, who has been supervising you for at least 3 months prior to your application
If you complete these requirements, you can apply for registration within the General scope of practice. If you do not achieve these requirements within a 12 month period, you need to continue to work under supervision until you have.
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Application for general scope of practice for doctors on a provisional general scope of practice (excluding Interns).
Variations
Your practising certificate will include an endorsement allowing you to work under approved supervision and employment.
You cannot work outside the requirements of your provisional scope of practice and any specific requirements imposed by Council. You must apply for a variation to the endorsement on your practising certificate if your employment, supervision, position or location changes.
You need to apply at least 20 days in advance of your planned change. You must then wait for Council to confirm that the change has been approved before commencing work under the new arrangement.
Recertification requirements
You don't need to work under supervision once you're registered in a general scope. However, you must continue to meet the Council’s recertification requirements. The Council requires this to maintain the high standards of competence and fitness to practise of doctors in New Zealand.
You can enrol in either:
- Inpractice, the Council-approved recertification programme run by bpacnz, or
- an accredited vocational training programme.
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This page sets out the recertification programme requirements for doctors registered and practising in the General scope of practice only. This is typically either participation in a medical college vocational training programme, or in the Inpractice recertification programme.
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Inpractice is a recertification programme for doctors registered in the General scope of practice.