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Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act 2003

www.moh.govt.nz/hpca

The Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act 2003 (HPCAA) provides a framework for the regulation of health practitioners in order to protect the public where there is a risk of harm from the practice of the profession.

Having one legislative framework allows for consistent procedures and terminology across the professions now regulated by the Act. The principal purpose of protecting the health and safety of the public is emphasised and the Act includes mechanisms to ensure that practitioners are competent and fit to practise their professions for the duration of their professional lives.

The HPCAA was passed by Parliament on 11 September 2003 and received the Royal assent on 18 September 2003. The Act came fully into force on 18 September 2004. In doing so, the Act repealed 11 occupational statutes governing 13 professions.

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Page last updated: 7 May 2008

Related information

The Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act 2003 can be ordered from any Bennetts Government Bookshop or Whitcoulls LTD or you can view the Act and its amendments online on the Knowledge Basket website:
Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act 2003


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