Legislation

The Osteopathic Council operates under the Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act 2003 (HPCA Act). The Act was passed on 18 September 2003. Most of the provisions of the Act came into effect on 18 September 2004. The HPCA Act replaces the profession-specific legislation that was in force before this date.

The purpose of the Act is to protect the health and safety of members of the public by providing for mechanisms to ensure that health practitioners are competent and fit to practise their professions.

The Act is divided into 7 parts.

Part 1 contains the preliminary and key provisions.

Part 2 contains provisions for the registration of, and issue of practising certificates to, health practitioners.

Part 3 provisions are about competence, fitness to practise, and quality assurance.

Part 4 contains provisions on complaints and discipline.

Part 5 provides for Appeals.

Part 6 provisions are about structures and administration.

Part 7 contains miscellaneous provisions, consequential amendments and repeals, and transitional provisions.

The Act has regularised scopes of practice. Scopes of practice describe the contents of the profession. The scope of practice is required to be endorsed on each practitioners annual practising certificate. Every practitioner who practises must have a current practising certificate.

Section 7 is one of the key provisions of the Act. This section states that no person may claim to be practising a profession as a health practitioner of a particular kind or state or do anything that is calculated to suggest that the person practises or is willing to practise a profession as a health practitioner of that kind unless the person

(a) is a health practitioner of that kind: and
(b) holds a current practising certificate as a health practitioner of that kind.

Health practitioners must not practise outside their authorised scope of practice.

Practitioners who were registered under previous legislation, are deemed to be registered under the HPCA Act.

Some key definitions from the Act

Health practitioner or practitioner means a person who is, or is deemed to be, registered with an authority as a practitioner of a health profession.

Practise a profession or practise means to perform services that fall within the description of a health profession.

Scope of practice means any health service that forms part of a health profession.

Review of the Act

The Act makes provision for the Director-General of Health to review the operation of the Act as soon as practicable following the expiry of a period of 3 years; that is, after September 2007.

A copy of the Act can be viewed at www.legislation.govt.nz.

The Act can be purchased from Bennetts Government Bookshops for $15.00.