FAQ

• It is highly recommended that you continue updating and maintaining your professional development even while taking a break from practice.

• The Health Practitioners Competence Assurance (HPCA) requires evidence of ongoing continuing professional development to maintain Annual Practicing Certificates (APC).

• If you chose not to keep a current APC it is important to check with your Professional Registration Board as there may be additional requirements to return to practice, depending on the length of time off.

• A therapist must be a member of their parent body (Occupational Therapy New Zealand - Whakaora Ngangahau Aotearoa or Physiotherapy New Zealand), to be a member of HTNZ.

• Be proactive and inform the HTNZ Executive Committee of your intentions and get their advice earlier rather than later.

For an Associate Member who joined prior to 1/1/23: Rule 4) a) Maintenance Criteria iii) A lapse of Associate membership can be re-established by the accumulation of 20 points within a one year period and a penalty payment.

For a Registered Member who joined prior to 1/1/23: 4) b) Maintenance Criteria ii) A lapse of Registered membership can be re-established by the accumulation of 45 points within a one year period and a penalty payment.

• You need to PLAN ahead. There are lots of options for ongoing education that do not involve attending workshops or conference etc.
• Check the “Log Book Points Schedule” – you could submit an article review to Fingerprints, do a peer review, be a committee member, etc.
• Think outside the obvious - do a notes audit, organize a HT coffee group, peer review or meet over Skype. There are lots of options. Document what you have done and send any evidence so points allocation can be decided on.

Inform the Executive Committee via the HTNZ Administrator if you have exceptional circumstances.

For members who joined prior to 1/1/23, there are 3 different pathways to choose from: Case Study, Certified Hand Therapist or Equivalent, Additional Post-Graduate Paper. You can find more info on the HTNZ website under ‘Membership’.
 

Pathway 2 may be more appropriate, if you have appropriate membership to an overseas Association then you can submit supporting evidence, your CV and letter from a NZ Hand Surgeon or Therapist to the Executive Committee for consideration, or consider doing the Certified Hand Therapist Qualification (CHT) from Hand Therapy Certification Commission (HTCC) first.

Please refer to this page https://www.handtherapy.org.nz/membership/registered-membership-info for more info and contact AUT directly.

You must be an HTNZ member to do this.

You must enter your e-mail address and password to ‘login’ or access the member’s only area.

You must be a member of the HTNZ and have a login email and password (see above).

Open ‘Journals Online’ tab in the ‘Member’s Area’ index and enter your email and password and follow the prompts.
 

HTNZ will send you a certificate and welcome letter when you are accepted as an Associate member and again when you are accepted as a Registered member. A receipt is provided for membership renewal payments.

HTNZ does not provide annual practicing certificates, that would be something you’d need to get from your Parent body.