Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act 2003

Responsible Authorities

Responsible authorities are bodies corporate legislated for by the Health Practitioners Competency Assurance (HPCA) Act 2003.

The purpose of the HPCA Act is to protect the health and safety of the public, and responsible authorities fulfil that purpose by ensuring all health practitioners registered with them are fully competent in the practice of their profession.

Every health practitioner who practises in a regulated profession in New Zealand must be registered with the relevant responsible authority and hold an Annual Practising Certificate (APC) issued by that authority. Additionally, the HPCA Act specifically bars any individual from claiming to be a practitioner of a regulated profession, or in any way imply that they practise or are willing to practise a regulated profession, unless they are appropriately qualified, registered with the relevant authority, and hold an APC.

The HPCA Act also specifies registered health practitioners registered with a particular authority must not perform activities that fall outside the scope of practice for which they are registered. Scopes of practice for each profession are defined by the responsible authority in the way in which that authority sees fit. A scope of practice may include reference to common tasks performed by the profession; an area of science or learning within the profession; references to names and words commonly understood by those working in the health sector; and reference to illnesses or conditions to be diagnosed, treated or managed by the profession. Only practitioners registered under a scope of practice may use the title associated with their scope.

Responsible authorities also perform other functions. These include:

• prescribing qualifications required for the profession’s scopes of practice, and accrediting and monitoring educational institutions that teach and award/confer these qualifications;
• considering applications for annual practising certificates;
• reviewing and promoting the competence of health practitioners;
• recognising, accrediting and setting programmes to ensure the ongoing competence of health practitioners;
• receiving and acting on information from concerned parties about the competence of health practitioners, and in turn notifying the relevant authorities if a health practitioner poses a risk of harm to the public;
• considering the case of a practitioner who may be unable to perform the functions required for the practice of the profession;
• setting standards of clinical competence, cultural competence and ethical conduct to be observed by health practitioners;
• promoting education and training within the profession.

For a complete list of the functions performed by responsible authorities, please refer to the legislation directly on the Knowledge Basket website: HPCA Act 2003 - Functions of Authorities.

Responsible authorities are different to professional practitioners’ associations, such as the New Zealand Medical Association, and unions.

Please find a list of regulated professions below. Each profession is followed by the name of its responsible authority and a corresponding link to that authority’s website.

Professions Regulated Under the HPCA Act 2003

Profession	Responsible Authority
Chiropractic	Chiropractic Board www.chiropracticboard.org.nz
Dentistry, dental hygiene, clinical dental technology, dental technology and dental therapy	Dental Council www.dcnz.org.nz
Dietetics	Dietitians Board www.dietitiansboard.org.nz
Medical Laboratory Science	Medical Laboratory Science Board www.mlsboard.org.nz
Medical Radiation Technology	Medical Radiation Technologists Board www.mrtboard.org.nz
Medicine	Medical Council www.mcnz.org.nz
Midwifery	Midwifery Council www.midwiferycouncil.org.nz
Nursing	Nursing Council www.nursingcouncil.org.nz
Occupational Therapy	Occupational Therapy Board www.otboard.org.nz
Optometry and optical dispensing	Optometrists and Dispensing Opticians Board www.opticiansboard.org.nz
Osteopathy	Osteopathic Council www.osteopathiccouncil.org.nz
Pharmacy	Pharmacy Council www.pharmacycouncil.org.nz
Physiotherapy	Physiotherapy Board www.physioboard.org.nz
Podiatry	Podiatrists Board www.podiatristsboard.org.nz
Psychology	Psychologists Board www.psychologistsboard.org.nz
Psychotherapy	Psychotherapy has recently been accepted for regulation by the Minister of Health, and a regulatory authority is in the process of being established.

Professions being considered for regulation under the HPCA Act:

Several professions are currently being considered for regulation under the HPCA Act, and the current status in this process for each profession is listed below. Please note that this process is currently static pending the outcome of the legislatively required HPCA Act review that is currently taking place. For an update on the review, please read here.

The professions currently being considered for regulation are acupuncture, anaesthetic technicians, clinical physiology, medical herbalism, and speech and language therapy.

Acupuncture, anaesthetic technicians and medical herbalism: following consultation, the Minister of Health has agreed that acupuncture, anaesthetic technicians and medical herbalism should be regulated. The process to determine how best to regulate acupuncture and the most appropriate responsible authority will continue after the current review of the HPCA Act is completed. This review may have an impact on the responsible authority structure for regulated professions.

Clinical physiology and Speech and Language Therapy: consultation on whether to regulate clinical physiology and speech and language therapy has been completed. A report seeking the Minister of Health’s decision on whether to regulate clinical physiologists and speech and language therapists will be prepared based on the submissions received. However, further progress will continue after the current review of the HPCA Act is completed. Page last updated: 08 February 2008