Our Registrar James Dunne talks about the APC process.
What is an Annual Practising Certificate (APC)?
Any APC is a certificate stating that the Board has deemed you eligible to practise as a Physiotherapist in Aotearoa | New Zealand. The certificate itself will include:
- your full name as listed on the register,
- the practising year that APC is valid for, including an issue date and an expiry date,
- your Health Practitioner Index (HPI) number,
- the scope(s) of practise you hold registration in, and
- any special conditions that apply to your APC
All APCs expire March 31st. It is your responsibility to make sure that you apply a new for the next practising year when those forms are released (usually around February). You will receive an email at the address listed with us to notify you when these forms are released.
Who should apply for an APC?
This is the case for any role, voluntary or paid, where your physiotherapy skills or knowledge are used regardless of whether you are working for one day, or throughout the year. This includes, but it not limited to:
- practising clinical physiotherapy in a health care setting
- physiotherapy service managers/advisors
- advisory physiotherapists
- physiotherapy teachers/educators
- 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.
Furthermore, when you use your physiotherapy knowledge and are presenting physiotherapy information and giving advice, you must hold a current APC.
If at the time you apply for an Annual Practising Certificate (APC) it has been more than 3 years since you last legally practised as a physiotherapist, you will be required to complete a Return to Practise Programme here in Aotearoa | New Zealand.
What does it cost?
Please refer to our Fees Schedule. Please note that the application fee is non-refundable.
What if I’m only practicing for a day?
The APC fee is the same regardless of if you are working for one day or throughout the year, we do not currently offer a subscription or pro rata fees.
What if I forgot to renew my existing APC and apply after April 1?
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).
Do I get a receipt?
You will receive a confirmation email on submission with a PDF receipt. Please note that these do sometimes end up in junk boxes, so make sure to check there if you can’t find it.
How long does it take?
If you are renewing an existing APC and do not have any conditions on your registration you will receive your APC immediately. It will be available for you to download from your MyPBNZ profile page.
If this is your first APC application, it will take 1 to 2 weeks for us to process your application as there may be additional document that we will need to review. If your APC application is approved, it will be available for you to download from your MyPBNZ profile page.
If there are conditions on your registration, it will take 1 to 2 weeks for us to process your application as there may be additional documentation we need to review. If your APC application is approved, you will not be able to download it from MyPBNZ, we will issue it to you individually to ensure that your specific conditions are listed.
What is the process for this application?
- Log on to MyPBNZ
- Click “Online Applications”
- Select from:
- Renewing – this is available only if you currently hold an APC and are applying for the next practising year
- Current Period – this is an application for a New APC for the current practising year ending March 31
- Next Period – this in an application for a New APC for the upcoming practising year starting April 1
- Follow the screen prompts through the application and complete payment
Are there any required documents?
There are certain circumstances where we will need additional documentation from you. This includes but is not limited to:
- If this is your first APC application, we may ask your for supporting evidence like:
- Evidence of a physiotherapy qualification you have completed in the last 3 years.
- A letter of validation from an employer. This must:
- be associated with employment as a physiotherapist specifically, and
- include the dates employed at the facility, and
- be on some form of official letterhead from the facility, and
- be sent from an email address associated with the facility.
- A Certificate of Good Standing (COGS) from any country you have legally practised physiotherapy in during the last year.
- If the COGS you supplied with your registration application are less than 3 months old when you apply for your APC we won’t request an updated version.
- If the COGS you supplied with your registration application are older than 3 months when you apply for your APC we will request an up to date COGS.
- If you have practised overseas in the last year
- We will require a Certificate of Good Standing (COGS) from any country that you legally practised physiotherapy in during that timeframe.
- If you selected YES to a Fitness to Practise question.
- Saying YES to any of these questions does not mean that you are immediately ineligible for an APC, it does mean that we will request additional information from you to determine how, if at all, your ability to practise is impacted.
- If in doubt, select YES. We may ask you for a document outlining the issue, the circumstances in which it arose, and your assessment of whether it affects your ability to practice physiotherapy. Information on documents we may request can be found here.
If you have any questions, please see our comprehensive help page or contact us via [email protected].