Registered Membership

Applicants who hold NZ qualifications

Applicants for registration must meet NZASA’s registration criteria. According to the current ACC legislation you must hold either:

• the National Diploma in Acupuncture (NDA), or equivalent (e.g. Bachelor’s degree in Acupuncture or Chinese Medicine (acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine)
  OR
• be a practising health professional with a post-graduate qualification in acupuncture at Level 8 or above (1200 hours), or equivalent

New graduates are offered a discount on their APC fee for applications received within 12 months of completing their qualification.

The application form for NZ graduates is available [HERE].

You should also refer to the Application Guidance notes for NZ graduates. 

Contact the Registrar to determine which fees need to be paid.

Practitioners previously registered with NZASA applying to re-register need complete the form available [HERE] and provide proof of prior registration i.e. copy of registration certificate.

Once the above information and documents are received, the Registrar will process your application.

A a nominated NZASA Assessor will make contact with you to arrange your Clinic Inspection and Professional Visit. You will be emailed the Ethics Manual and Questionnaire prior to the visit. Complete the Questionnaire and hand it in at the time of the visit.

Once the application is approved, the visit is completed and all fees are received, you will be issued with your Annual Practicing Certificate.

Registered membership fees for applicants who hold NZ qualifications are:

^{Annual Practicing Certificate (Replacement) is $25.00 (includes GST) each.}

¹ New Graduate rate applies to applications received within 12 months from the date the qualification was awarded (academic transcript date), 1st year only, and will be charged on a pro rata basis

² Applicants living outside the Auckland area may be asked to pay for travel costs - options regarding this will be discussed at the time of the application.

Applicants who hold overseas qualifications

Applicants with overseas qualifications have additional requirements which must be met.   

Graduates from the following list of pre-approved tertiary institutions have the right for direct application to NZASA: 

• Westminster University, London, UK - BSc (Hons) Traditional Chinese Medicine: Acupuncture
• Middlesex University, London, UK - BSc (Hons) Traditional Chinese Medicine or BSc Complimentary Health Sciences
• Reading College of Integrated Chinese Medicine, Berkshire, UK – Licentiate in Acupuncture (now a Bachelor Degree)
• University of Technology, Sydney, Australia - Bachelor of Health Science (Acupuncture)
• RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia - Master of Applied Science (Acupuncture)
• Australian College of Natural Medicine, Australia - Bachelor of Health Science (Acupuncture)
• Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, China – Bachelor of Chinese Medicine (Acupuncture)

 NZASA reserves the right to amend this pre-approved list as and when required.

 For overseas graduates from universities not in the list above, the registration process consists of several steps. 

• All applicants need to have their qualification/s assessed by NZQA.  Only those whose qualifications are deemed by NZQA to be at Level 7 or above will be given the opportunity to progress their application. NZQA Ref: http://www.nzqa.govt.nz/about-us/our-role/legislation/fees/qualification-recognition-fees/
• Applicants whose NZQA assessment shows their overseas tertiary qualification to be less than Level 7 will be required to undertake further tertiary upskilling before being eligible to sit the competency examination. 
• Applicants are then required to sit the NZASA competency based examination. This examination will be made available (in Auckland) two times per year (usually in May and November) and consists of a 3 hour written assessment plus a 1.5 hour clinical assessment. This assessment process is designed to assure appropriate clinical competence and public safety.  The cost for this is $625 +GST
• After demonstrating competency in the written and clinical examinations, all overseas applicants will complete a Pharmacology Assignment which looks at western medication and how commonly prescribed drugs affect a traditional Chinese diagnosis.  This is an open book assignment which is supplied electronically with additional notes.  The applicant will need the use of a MIMs or similar and is strongly advised to purchase a MIMs for their ongoing clinical practice. The MIMS can be purchased from New Ethicals. The cost of a single issue is $264.50 Ref:  http://www.mims.co.nz/MIMSNewEthicals.aspx
• The cost for marking the Pharmacology Assignment is $60 +GST.
• All applicants for membership with NZASA are required to complete as assessment covering the ethics and professional standards of NZASA prior to issuance of a Practicing Certificate.  This is part of the Clinic Inspection and Professional Visit.

Applicants holding overseas qualifications must fill in the application form available [HERE].  

Guidance notes are available [HERE].

Contact the Registrar to determine which fees need to be paid.

When the above information and documents are received, the Registrar will process your application.  You will be advised of the next available examination date.

Then a member of the NZASA Executive or a NZASA Assessor will make contact with you to arrange your Clinic Inspection and Professional Visit.

Once the application is approved, the visit is completed and all fees are received, you will be issued with your Annual Practicing Certificate.

^{Annual Practicing Certificate (Replacement) is $25.00 (includes GST) each.}

¹ New Graduate rate applies to applications received within 12 months from the date the qualification was awarded (academic transcript date), 1st year only

² Applicants living outside the Auckland area may be asked to pay for travel costs - options regarding this will be discussed at the time of the application.

To summarize:

• All applicants (except new, NZ graduates) must pay a non-refundable Application fee
• All applicants must pay a Clinic Inspection and Professional Visit fee
• Applicants with overseas qualifications have additional costs to be met
• Any practitioners applying to re-register will be charged an administration fee and may also pay for a Clinic Inspection and Professional Visit fee if required.  Proof of prior registration and ongoing education will be required.