Your Practising status

Registration is a one-off process. Once you are granted full registration with the Physiotherapy Board, you continue to be registered until your entry in the Register is cancelled either by you or the Board.

Registrants of the Physiotherapy Board are required to update their status on the Register for each practising year (1 April to 31 March each year).

Annual Practising Certificates (APC)

Applying for an APC

General Information

• All APCs expire 31 March.
• There is no pro rata fee.
• The current APC fee is $500 (includes disciplinary levy of $70)
• The APC issue date is clearly displayed.
• Employer and/or patients/clients may ask to view your APC.

If at the time you apply for an Annual Practising Certificate (APC) it has been more than 3 years since you last practised, you will be required to complete a Return to Practice programme here in New Zealand.

Note:
If you held an APC until 31 March and have not updated your status you may be required to pay a late APC fee of $726.70 (includes APC fee and disciplinary levy).

Recency of Practice

As part of the APC application, you will need to give us an indication of when you last legally practised as a Physiotherapist.

If you are currently practising or have legally practised within the last 3 years, your application will proceed through the normal process.

If you are not currently practising and last practised more than 3 years ago, you will be required to undertake a Return to Practice (RTP) programme here in Aotearoa | New Zealand. If you are ineligible for the RTP programme you will need to retrain as a Physiotherapist before you are granted an APC.

For more information about Return to Practise programmes, please see our website here.

The APC is:

• Issued in your full name
• Endorsed with your scope of practice
• Endorsed (if applicable) with any conditions the Board has applied to your scope of practice

Who needs an APC:

Many physiotherapists are unsure if they need to hold an APC. An APC is required in all situations where:

• You are using your knowledge and skills as a physiotherapist; or
• Your job description requires you to be a registered physiotherapist; and
• You are calling yourself a physiotherapist (or representing in any manner that you are authorised to practise physiotherapy).
• If the position you are employed in requires that you are a health professional then you require a current APC;
• If you use your physiotherapy knowledge in your employment then you require a current APC.

Physiotherapists required to hold an APC include those who are:

• Practising clinical physiotherapy in a health care setting
• Physiotherapy service managers/advisors
• Advisory physiotherapists
• Physiotherapy teachers/educators
• Physiotherapists working on a voluntary basis
• Locum and part-time physiotherapists (even if only working for a short period)
• Physiotherapy accreditation surveyors and auditors
• Physiotherapists performing assessment and treatment, and/or advising on management of (e.g.) sports teams, clients in rest homes, children in schools, community groups for people with disabilities (whether voluntary or not)
• Presenter or educator at a course
• Physiotherapists working as sales representatives selling physiotherapy products, i.e. when the job description/person specification requires a physiotherapist.

You require an APC if you are working one day or the whole year.
Furthermore, when you use your physiotherapy knowledge and are presenting physiotherapy information and giving advice in the capacity of a physiotherapist, you must hold a current APC.

Are you returning to practice after a significant period of absence?

There are important factors to consider if you have not practised for three or more years and you are thinking of returning to the Physiotherapy profession. If you are contemplating returning to the workforce you are well advised to:

1. Contact the Board for initial advice.
2. Develop a Professional Development Plan. Identify those areas that require development or guidance to meet your goals.
3. Record any relevant Continuing Professional Development (CPD) activities you have completed whilst you were non-practising. A comprehensive log book detailing how you have kept up-to-date with physiotherapy research and modalities will support your return to work application.
4. You may be able to build a relationship with a local practice well before your formal return to the physiotherapy workforce. See if you can attend their In-Service programme or any seminars they may organise.

Information about the documentation required is set out in the APC application form for those who are currently not practising.

Please note an application fee of $713.90 will apply for any Return to Practice application.  If your application is sent to moderation there is also a fee of $297.90.   These fees are additional to the APC fee.