Returning to Practise
The principal purpose of the Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act 2003 is to protect the health and safety of members of the public by providing for mechanisms to ensure that medical laboratory scientists and technicians are competent and fit to practise the profession of medical laboratory science.
If you have not held an annual practising certificate or worked in the profession of medical laboratory science within the last 3 years, you must be able to demonstrate to the Council that you are competent to practise in the relevant scope of practice in New Zealand.
If you wish to return to work in the scope of practice of either a medical laboratory scientist or medical laboratory technician, you will need to apply to the Council for an annual practising certificate (APC).
Registered medical laboratory science practitioners returning to the workforce who have not held an annual practising certificate or practised the profession within the last 3 years will be required to work under supervision for a minimum of six months (issued with an interim practising certificate) in an ISO 15189 accredited diagnostic medical laboratory before they are issued with an annual practising certificate.
If you have New Zealand registration and have not worked here for more than 3-years but have been working in an overseas medical laboratory, you may be required to provide the Council with letters of good standing from the relevant employers.
