Assessment of individual qualifications and experience
Assessment of individual qualifications and experience - overseas qualified practitioners
If you do not hold an overseas prescribed qualification you may be able to apply for registration via the individual assessment pathway.
The individual assessment pathway involves us assessing your qualification(s), fitness for registration and competence to practise in New Zealand.
Before you apply
To practise in New Zealand you need to understand our cultural, social, and legal framework for healthcare. Please read the Working in Aotearoa New Zealand handbook before making your application.
If your application is successful, you’ll either have a mentor to provide oversight as you adapt to the regulatory and practice environment in New Zealand or you may need to complete a period of supervised practice. Oversight or supervision will be included as a condition on your practice, and you will need to have an approved arrangement in place before you can be issued a practising certificate.
If it is not your intention to practise in New Zealand, then this pathway may not be appropriate for you.
Working in Aotearoa New Zealand handbook
Your application
Once you have submitted and made payment for your application, it will be assigned to a registration officer. A registration officer can only progress your application if it is complete. An application is considered complete and ready for assessment when all supporting documents have been provided and the application fee paid. Only submit an application once you have collated and uploaded all the relevant information.
Once the registration officer has reviewed your application, confirmed that it is complete, and you have answered any queries we may have, a registration assessment panel is formed. The registration assessment panel is usually comprised of an academic assessor and practising clinician.
The assessors undertake a desktop review of your qualification, training and experience, followed by an interview over video conference. This is a process designed to ensure public health and safety; it takes time to move through the stages of assessment.
Cost
The fee associated with your application can be found under the fees section of our website.
Please ensure that you are making an informed decision before applying for registration. Applications that are withdrawn are subject to withdrawal fees.
If your application is successful, you will be invoiced for an Annual Practising Certificate (APC) or a non-practising fee. You cannot start practising until you have an APC.
Supporting documents
What you need to provide will depend on your circumstances. For example, if you are a recent graduate versus if you have a practising history.
Some documents will need to be certified and posted to our offices.
Before you start your application, refer to our guide for supporting documents for details on what you will need to provide.
Guide for supporting documents
Identification verification must be completed using our verification of identity form.
If, at the point of submitting a complete application more than 12 months has passed since you completed your qualification, you will be required to submit case examples with your application. It is important that treatment started within the 3 years immediately prior to your application and that you were the lead clinician.
Carefully read the case example guidance to ensure you have provided the correct number and type of cases.
Case examples are critical to the competence assessment and will be discussed with you during your registration assessment panel interview.
Your application will be significantly streamlined if you provide all the required information when you submit your application.
Assessment process
Qualification
By law, we are able to treat your overseas qualification as prescribed if we believe it is equivalent to, or as satisfactory as a prescribed qualification.
This assessment usually involves an academic reviewing your qualifications, curriculum (including academic and clinical teaching and instruction), and assessment methodologies against relevant New Zealand accredited or Dental Board of Australia approved programme/s.
In the absence of information, the academic assessor is unlikely to be in a position to recommend that your qualification meets the requirements.
Fitness for registration
To assess your fitness to register, we need to be satisfied that:
- You’re mentally and physically able to perform the functions required
- You’re able to communicate effectively in English
- You have no criminal convictions that reflect poorly on your fitness to practise
- You’re not the subject of professional disciplinary proceedings in any country which would reflect poorly on your fitness to practise, or under investigation for anything that could be subject to professional disciplinary proceeding
- You would not endanger the health or safety of the public.
More information about English language requirements
Competence to practise
If at the point of submitting a complete application, your qualification was completed more than 12 months ago, you will need to provide details of your experience, including practice cases , ongoing learning, and clinical skills. The cases you put forward should be in-depth and show your skills and experience across the competencies that make up the scope of practice you’re applying for.
The number of cases that you can submit is limited, so it’s important you submit cases that best demonstrate your competence in the breadth of the scope of practice you are applying for.
If you are a new graduate you won’t be required to provide cases. The competence assessment will be based on your qualification. However, this is subject to a complete application being submitted within 12 months of finishing your qualification. We recommend that you apply early in the 12 month period to allow you time to respond to questions and submit any missing information. Incomplete applications submitted at the 12 month mark would need to be withdrawn and resubmitted with case examples.
To be considered competent to practise in New Zealand, your qualifications, training and experience need to be adequate to meet the entry level competencies for practice in New Zealand, and you need to have current practice experience in the scope of practice you have applied for.
- Dentist competencies
- Dental specialist competencies
- Dental hygienist competencies
- Dental therapist competencies
- Oral health therapist competencies
- Clinical dental technician competencies
- Dental technician competencies
- Orthodontic auxiliaries competencies.
Online interview
After reviewing your documentation, the assessors will interview you online to clarify any information and discuss your qualifications, training and clinical experience. You are not required to present the cases you submitted, but you must be prepared to answer questions about them. The assessors may ask you questions about the diagnosis, treatment planning, differential diagnosis, and outcomes, as well as general questions related to the cases.
Decision
The assessors will prepare a report with their findings for the consideration of the Council’s Education Director, Deputy Registrar and Registrar.
The Registrar can either approve your application or refer it to Council for a decision.
Opportunity to provide further information
If Council has some concerns with your qualifications, or your demonstrated competence, or fitness for registration, it will propose that your application be declined. The proposal to decline process provides you the opportunity to respond to Council’s concerns in writing and/or via an in-person or video conference submission.
Through your submission you are invited to comment and provide more detail about the documentation and case examples that you already submitted. However this is not an opportunity to set aside the previous assessment and submit a new set of documentation and cases for assessment.
If you wished to make a new application and provide a new set of case examples, you would need to apply afresh.
If your application is unsuccessful
You may need to complete a prescribed qualification and reapply for registration if your application doesn’t meet the requirements and is declined. Prescribed qualifications include examination options to demonstrate your current competence to practise. Our team will discuss this with you if that’s the case.
Begin your application
Applications are made online through our practitioner portal.
Begin your application using the registration pathway self-assessment tool.