Osteopaths Registered Overseas

Internationally trained and based osteopathic practitioners (except for some Australian registered practitioners) wishing to work in New Zealand must first pass an entry examination, then apply for registration in New Zealand.

The examination comprises a practicum lasting approximately 3 hours and is held in Auckland, New Zealand. Information on applying to sit the examination can be found on the Examinations section of this site. (If you are registered as an osteopath in Australia you should refer directly to the Australian Applicants page, as you do not need to pass an entry examination.)

The Osteopathic Council has scheduled examinations at least once a month during the period from February through to October. The examination schedule is kept under review in the light of demand. Demand for examination is usually high and it is unlikely that spaces will be available at short notice.

We recommend that you plan some months ahead and first check with the Registrar of the Council as to the next available date you can take the examination. Spaces will be allocated on receipt of a completed application form and fee.

Examinations

Click on these links for:-

• Osteopathic Council Examination General Guidelines (96.38 Kb)
• Guidelines for Candidates Sitting the Examination (128.38 Kb)
• Examination Standards (150.81 Kb)
• Application Form To Sit Examination (152.58 Kb)
• Payment Form  (220.07 Kb)

In order to work as an osteopath you must register with the Osteopathic Council. You must also apply for an annual practising certificate (APC).
Before granting you registration the Council must be satisfied that you:

• Have a qualification recognised by the Council; and
• Are fit for registration (this covers such things as whether you have any criminal convictions, mental or physical health issues or professional conduct issues, and can communicate effectively in the English language, etc); and
• Are competent to practice.

The Council strongly recommends that you ensure that you can meet the fitness-to-practice requirements prior to undertaking the examination.

It is a three-step process.

STEP 1 - EXISTING QUALIFICATION AND NZ EXAM

Currently the Council does not recognise any overseas qualifications. Overseas applicants (apart from most Australian-registered practitioners) must therefore pass an entry examination.

The Council has determined that holders of qualifications gained from certain named institutions will be eligible to apply to sit the examination.  Click here to see if your qualification is on the list. If not, your qualification will need to be assessed by the Council prior to approval being given for you to sit the examination. Click here for details of the approval process.

In order to be eligible to sit the examination you must, in addition, demonstrate to the satisfaction of the Council that you intend to practise osteopathy in New Zealand.

The examination is held here in New Zealand. The current examination is a practicum whereby the candidates must assess and treat three patients. This exam has been likened, by previous candidates, as being comparable to the final clinical exam that students sit at the conclusion of their course of study.

Exams are held at Unitec, Carrington Road, Auckland, New Zealand, and are always held on a Saturday. As the exam is examined and moderated by New Zealand osteopaths, who are familiar with the standards of competence (76.38 Kb) required of New Zealand registered osteopaths, the exam must be sat in New Zealand, and is not available anywhere else. The Osteopathic Council does not, at present, run prep courses, or refresher courses.

The fee for the examination is $NZ 3,375 (including NZ goods and services tax).

Please click here for guidelines on the exam (128.38 Kb)  and the application form (264 Kb).

STEP 2 - NZ REGISTRATION

Once you have passed the examination you can apply for registration. This is an additional once only cost of $675.00 (including goods and services tax). Once registered in New Zealand, the registration lasts until the practitioner is struck off (for disciplinary reasons) or requests that their name is removed from the register. Please download the application for registration (219 Kb) form.

Registration, by itself, does not allow a practitioner to lawfully practise. In addition to registration, an Annual Practising Certificate is needed each year (1 Apr - 31 Mar). See step 3 below.

It is quite usual for candidates who have passed the examination to register in New Zealand and then return to their home country for a period of time, before returning to settle, seek an APC and practise in New Zealand. In this instance practitioners will be required to show their previous 12 months Compulsory Professional Development/Education.

The maximum amount of time allowed between passing the examination and commencement of practise in New Zealand is three years, although we do not suggest that you leave it this long as you may be required to do additional CPD in New Zealand before a practising certificate will be issued.Although you can't be registered until you have passed the examination, we suggest that you start gathering up the documents you need well before the date on which you want to start work as it can take some weeks to obtain these. In particular, we are advised that the UK Police Criminal Conviction Clearance certificate can take up to 8 weeks to obtain.

As original documents need to be sighted, it is not possible to apply for registration by email.

STEP 3 - ANNUAL PRACTISING CERTIFICATE

Prior to commencing practice you will also need to apply for an annual practising certificate, and again, there is an extra charge, and an application form (17.10 Kb). If all documentation is correct, then this process should take no more than five working days.

As stated above, if there is a delay between gaining registration and applying for a practising certificate, then practitioners will be required to show their previous 12 months Compulsory Professional Development/Education (from their home country).

In terms of starting work, you will need to allow a few weeks after you sit the exam before starting work.

Summary of Requirements

The process is:

1. Sit examination
2. Allow up to 5 working days to get result (we say to allow up to 21 days to get a formal result; i.e. a copy of the moderator's report, but normally the moderator advises us informally within a few days of the candidate taking the exam.)
3. Apply for registration. You should allow 2 - 4 weeks for this. (It will often be much quicker than this but this will depend on the Registrar's workload at the time and whether you have provided all the required documentation).
4. Once registered, apply for a work permit.  NZ Immigration Service advises that this can take up to 15 working days although it is often much quicker.  Because immigration policies change reasonably frequently, you should check with NZIS to make sure ensure you have up-to-date information. The NZ Immigration Service Website is www.immigration.govt.nz
5. Apply for Annual Practising Certificate. If all documentation is correct, then this process should take no more than five working days.

Schedule of Qualifying Overseas Qualifications

In order to be automatically eligible to sit the Council examination, practitioners must have one or more of the following qualifications.

Note: Australian registered osteopaths may seek registration in New Zealand under the Trans Tasman Mutual Recognition Agreement.

Other osteopathic qualifications may be considered on application provided that they have been verified by NZQA as being of a standard equivalent to a New Zealand bachelor's degree and satisfy the Council that their training is comparable to the competency standard of a New Zealand graduate at the point of entry to the Register.

Assessment of Overseas Qualifications

Download a copy of the Assessment of Overseas Qualifications (125.62 Kb)

Essential Elements

Osteopaths who qualified overseas must satisfy the Council that their osteopathic education and training is comparable to the competency standard of a New Zealand graduate at the point of entry to the Register.

If you want to register as an osteopath in New Zealand and your qualification is not on the Schedule of Qualifying Overseas Qualifications above, you must:

• have your osteopathic qualification verified by the New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA) as being equivalent to a New Zealand bachelor's degree
  and
• provide Council with a course description* / syllabus / curriculum document / course outline.
  
  *  The format of this document may vary, but generally provides an overview of: the course, its aims, its objectives, assessment methods used etc.

These documents must be sent to the Council together with your Examination Application.

The Council considers that training for the safe and competent practice of osteopathy should cover:

• the philosophy and principles of osteopathic medicine
• knowledge of basic medical sciences and relevant clinical subjects
• training in the practical aspects of diagnosis and treatment to enable the practitioner to competently work within the primary care environment
• an understanding of the social context of health
• a commitment to equality of opportunity in healthcare practice
• an understanding of the place of evidence based practice within osteopathic medicine
• sufficient literacy in research methods to evaluate research literature.

The baseline requirements are:

The Council may also request a transcript - an individualised record of the courses taken, which indicates the following: grades, marks, pass / fail, course hours / clinical hours.

Notes:

• Documents written in a language other than English must be accompanied by an official translation. This must be on official translation service letterhead, and bear the appropriate signature or stamp, together with full address details.
• Course descriptions must be from the time when you studied.
• It is important to check with New Zealand Immigration to ascertain their requirements for a work permit / residency and particularly that they will accept your qualification.  Check their website on www.immigration.govt.nz/migrant/stream/work/skilledmigrant/