Legislation

• HPCA Act Overview - Parts of the Act
• General Information about the Act
• Key Definitions of the Act
• Ministry of Health brochure about the Act

Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act 2003 Overview

The Psychologists Board operates under the Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act 2003 ("the Act").  The Act was passed in 2003, but 18 September 2004 is the date on which most of the provisions of the Act came into effect.  The Act replaced the Psychologists Act 1981 which was operating as specific legislation for the profession since January 1982.

The purpose of the Act is to protect the health and safety of members of the public by providing for mechanisms to ensure that health practitioners are competent and fit to practise their professions.

The Act is divided into 7 parts:

Part 1 PRELIMINARY AND KEY PROVISIONS, includes:
- unqualified persons must not claim to be a health practitioner 
- health practitioners must not practise outside their scope of practice
- certain activities restricted to particular health professionals

Part 2 REGISTRATION OF, AND PRACTISING CERTIFICATES FOR, HEALTH PRACTITIONERS, includes:
- prescribed scopes of practice, qualifications, and experience
- registration of practitioners and authorisations of scopes of practice
- practising certificates

Part 3 COMPETENCE, FITNESS TO PRACTISE AND QUALITY ASSURANCE, includes:
- notification of practice below required standard of competence
- competence programmes and recertification programmes
- inability to perform required functions
- quality assurance activities

Part 4 COMPLAINTS AND DISCIPLINE, includes:
- referral of complaints and interim suspensions
- professional conduct committees
- Health Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal
- Procedure and decisions of Tribunal, findings of Tribunal and recovery of costs and fines

Part 5 APPEALS

Part 6 STRUCTURES AND ADMINISTRATION

Part 7 MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS, CONSEQUENTIAL AMENDMENTS AND REPEALS, AND TRANSITIONAL PROVISIONS

Copies of the Act can be purchased from Bennetts Government Bookshops or from Brookers (phone 0800 10 60 60). It can also be accessed on line --- www.legislation.govt.nz

General Information about the Act

The Act has regularised scopes of practice.  Scopes of practice describe the contents of the profession. The scope of practice (text or the title of the scope of practice) is required to be endorsed on each practitioner's Practising Certificate.  Every practitioner who practises must have a current practising certificate.

No person may claim to be practising a profession as a health practitioner of a particular kind or state or do anything that is calculated to suggest that the person practises or is willing to practise a profession as a health practitioner of that kind unless the person-

(a) is a health practitioner of that kind; and
(b) holds a current practising certificate as a health practitioner of that kind.

Health practitioners must not practise outside their authorised scope of practice.  For a copy of the Psychologists Board scopes of practice Gazette Notice [click here]. 

Practitioners who were registered under previous legislation, are deemed to be registered under the HPCA Act.

Key Definitions from the Act

Health Practitioner or practitioner means a person who is, or is deemed to be, registered with an authority as a practitioner of a health profession.

Authority means a body corporate appointed by or under the Act that is responsible for the registration and oversight of practitioners of a particular health profession (e.g. psychologists).

Condition includes a restriction or limit.  Conditions will be endorsed on practising certificates.

Layperson means a person who is neither registered nor qualified to be registered as a health practitioner.  The Psychologists Board will have 2 or 3 laypersons appointed by the Minister of Health.

Practise a profession or practise means to perform services that fall within the description of a health profession.

Prescribed qualification means a qualification for the time being prescribed (under section 12) for a scope of practice.

Required standard of competence, in relation to a health practitioner, means the standard of competence reasonably to be expected of a health practitioner practising within that health practitioner's scope of practice.

Scope of practice - means any health service that forms part of a health profession.

The Act underwent a review in 2008-09. Recomendations from the review are currently with the Minister.   Link to www.legislation.govt.nz