Applying for a practising certificate. Procedures and timing

Online applications

Applications for a midwifery practising certificate must be made online. The Council will only supply paper practising certificate application forms in exceptional circumstance. A manual processing fee of $70 applies and must be paid with the request for a paper application form.

Midwives must be logged into their account before they can see the option to apply. When logged in the option will be available under the top menu items Registered Midwives then Apply for Practising Certificate.

Midwives who do not currently hold a practising certificate

Midwives who do not hold a current practising certificate can apply for a practising certificate for the current year at any time. The fee payable reduces each quarter and is calculated at the time the application is made. Generally it is not possible to apply in advance for a future quarter, but see applications for next year in the paragraph below.

The option to apply for a practising certificate for the next practising year (starting 1 April) will be available about February/March each year. Midwives without a current annual practising certificate can apply in advance in this situation but will not be able to start practise until 1 April.

Any midwife who has not practised midwifery for three years or more must make a ‘return to practise’ application. It does not matter if she/he held an annual practising certificate in the last three years. The Council return to practise policies and procedures can be found on this page. Please contact the Council for the appropriate application forms.

Midwives who hold a current practising certificate

Midwives who hold a current practising certificate and who wish to practise in the first quarter of the next year must apply to renew their practising certificate during February/March. Renewals are not available before then and must be completed before 1 April. Midwives who do not wish to practise in the first quarter of the next practising year (i.e. before 1 July) can apply later in the year and will pay a reduced annual practising certificate fee.

Any midwife who has not renewed their annual practising certificate by 31 March must cease practise on that date. Practising without a current certificate is a serious offence, prosecutable by the Ministry of Health, and carrying substantial fines. Midwives practising without a practising certificate will have no indemnity insurance, will not be able to claim fees under Section 88, and their clients will not be covered by ACC if there is an adverse event. The Council also take a dim view of such practise and in the past has undertaken disciplinary procedures in these situations.

Late renewal fee

Any midwife who holds a practising certificate in the current year and wishes to practise at any time in the first quarter of the next year must complete her/his application to renew by 31 March. Failure to apply before 31 March will mean that a late fee of $200 is payable.

Fees

The Council reviews its fees structure every year.

The annual practising certificate fee includes a disciplinary levy which is calculated and reported on separately. The substantive annual practising certificate fee funds the normal activities of the Council and reduces each quarter of the practising year. The disciplinary levy component of the fee funds Council disciplinary functions. It is set at $0 for the year ending 31 March 2012 and will increase to $50 for the year starting 1 April 2012. This component of the fee does not reduce during the year.

The fees for the year ending 31 March 2012 (disciplinary levy $0) are:
1 October 2011 to 31 March 2012 (½ year) - $175.00
1 January 2012 to 31 March 2012 (¼ year) - $87.50

The fees applying from 1 April 2012 (including disciplinary levy $50) are:
1 April 2012 to 31 March 2013 (full year fee) - $400.00
1 July 2012 to 31 March 2013 (¾ year - $312.50
1 October 2012 to 31 March 2013 (½ year) - $225.00
1 January 2013 to 31 March 2013 (¼ year) - $137.50

All fees include GST.

Additional fee for overseas midwives first annual practising certificate

Overseas educated midwives are required to pay a process and monitoring fee of $150 with their first practising certificate application. This is in addition to the normal annual practising certificate fee but the combined amount will be shown to the applicant. This fee covers the administrative requirements relating to the monitoring of the conditions on their scope of practise (overseas competence programme) and the reissue of the practising certificate cards as required as courses are completed. It is a one-off fee and will not apply for subsequent practising certificates.

Reduced fee for New Graduates

New graduates pay a reduced fee. This is partly because the normal work needed to assess their suitability for an annual practising certificate is not necessary as this is inherent in the registration process they have just completed. It is also partly in recognition of their likely reduced financial status after three years study and their limited earning capacity as they start their practise.

New graduates registered after the November/December 2011 National Midwifery Exam:
Fee for remainder of year to 31 March 2012 (disciplinary levy $0) - $50
Fee for first full year after registration (disciplinary levy $50) - $250

New graduates registered after March National Midwifery Exam:
Fee for first full year after registration (disciplinary levy $50) - $250

Late renewal fee

$200. See note above.

Receipt for fees paid

Annual practising certificate cards are delivered to the midwife attached to a receipt for the fee paid.

Assessment of suitability for the grant of a practising certificate

The Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act requires Council to satisfy itself that midwives are competent and fit to practise before issuing a practising certificate.

When an application for a practising certificate is made the Council will check for:
1. The Declarations made in support of the practising certificate application
2. Any overdue recertification programme items
3. Any issues identified during the audit of a midwife’s portfolio
4. Any competence, health, or discipline issues that have been drawn to Council’s attention
5. Any other matter that Council has flagged for consideration
6. Payment of the applicable practising certificate fee.

Declarations

All midwives must make certain declarations in support of their application for a practising certificate. These declarations are related to requirements set down in the Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act (s26, s27). Midwives must read the declarations in the application form very carefully. It is important that the midwife ticks every declaration that applies and does not tick any declaration that does not apply. Any false declarations will be taken very seriously by Council.

Recertification Programme Requirements

If there are any overdue Recertification Programme requirements at the time a midwife applies for a practising certificate the midwife will most likely be granted a short term interim practising certificate to enable them to complete these requirements. If the outstanding items are not completed within the time frame allowed by Council the interim practising certificate will expire and the midwife will not be able to practice after that date.

Council requires course providers to provide records of course participants on a timely basis. But sometimes these records are missing or late. All midwives can check online to see the records the Council holds for their compulsory Recertification Programme courses. This check will show when each course is next due and will highlight any overdue requirements. If a midwife has completed a course but the online check shows it as incomplete or overdue then they should send a copy of the course certificate to Council by post, facsimile, or attached to an email.

Council strongly urges all midwives to check their record on a regular basis and well before they wish to apply for a practising certificate. The midwife must log in to their account before this option will be visible. When logged in the option can be found under the top menu items Registered Midwives then Check Practising Certificate Requirements.

Note – The Council computer systems are not currently able to fully allow for periods out of practise. The due dates shown for Recertification Programme items may not be accurate in these situations. Council will take this into consideration when deciding on the application. If necessary it will contact the midwife for clarification.

Note – The facility to check the Council record of Recertification Programme courses should not be used as a substitute for a properly completed Recertification Programme Planner.

Payment

Payment of the application fee can be completed online as part of the application process if paying by credit card. If another payment method is selected then the application will be held and will not be considered until the payment is received.

If someone else will be paying the application fee then the midwife should take care that the other person has agreed to this and they understand the timeframe required. The midwife should check that the payment is made. The Council cannot help if the payment is not received. That is a matter between the midwife and the payer.

If payment is not received by 31 March the midwife must cease practise from that date.

A confirmation of the application is displayed at the end of the application process and may be printed. This includes details of the fee and the payment method. If someone else will pay the fee a copy of this should be given to that person as confirmation of the application and the expectation that they will be paying.

Bank Account

If paying by Direct Credit the Midwifery Council bank account number is 03-0502-0399402-00. Please reference with Surname and Registration number.

Timing

Applications are processed automatically where there are no issues for Council consideration. In this situation practising certificates will be granted within a day or two. Where the application must be considered by Council it will apply its best endeavours to process applications on a timely manner. This will depend on the volume of applications and the staff resources available.

Annual practising certificate cards are ordered from an external printing company and the time taken depends on their production schedules. Delivery can take up to ten working days after the application has been granted but this period can vary.

Midwives applying during the year should allow at least two weeks before planning to work. A longer period should be allowed if Check Practising Certificate Requirements indicates that there are overdue recertification requirements.

Midwives applying for the next practising year should complete their application by the first week in March. Council cannot guarantee the receipt of the annual practising certificate card by the start of the new practising year for applications made after that date.