Nursing Council requirements

You must be able to prove that you are who you say you are.

To prove your identity, you must provide notarised/certified colour copies of your current passport and one other form of identity document directly to TruMerit to verify your current name (with no abbreviations).

Acceptable forms of photo identification (ID) are:

• Passports (required).
• Driver’s License(s).
• Other government-issued photo identification.

To be acceptable, all photo IDs are required to include a clear photo.

Other acceptable forms of identification include:

• Birth certificates.
• Marriage certificates.
• Divorce certificates.
• Legal name change affidavits.

Documents to support a change in name

If you have changed your name/s, you must provide notarised/certified copies of any names that appear on any of the documents required to support your application for registration with the Nursing Council.

All identity documents provided in support of the application for registration must be current at the date of application to TruMerit.

English language requirements

The most common way to provide evidence of your English language competence is to pass a Nursing Council-approved English language test.

There are two:

• the Occupational English Test (OET) or
• the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) Academic.

For OET, you must achieve a minimum score of 350 for reading, listening, and speaking; and a minimum score of 300 for writing.

For IELTS Academic, you must achieve a minimum score of 7 for reading, listening, and speaking; and a minimum score of 6.5 for writing.

You can achieve the minimum score in the English language tests over more than one sitting, however, the required scores must be achieved within 12 months of first sitting the test, and all sittings must be completed within the three years prior to your application to NCNZ.

Please note that the Nursing Council of New Zealand does not currently accept online computer-based tests. However, computer-based tests administered in an approved testing centre are accepted (this includes the OET on computer at an approved venue with the speaking sub-test that is hosted online).

We do not accept PTE.

English language evidence pathways

Some nurses educated or registered in certain countries can provide evidence of English language competence through their education or registration pathways. Eligibility for these pathways is at the discretion of the Council, but you will always be eligible for the above test-based pathway.

Full information on our English language policy and requirements is available in the guidance document below.

English Language Competence Policy Guidance

You may be invited to apply for an alternative English language evidence pathway by TruMerit if your TruMerit application appears to meet one or more of the following criteria:

Nursing Qualification

Your education that led to registration as a nurse was taught and examined in English in the United Kingdom, Singapore, Ireland, Canada, or the United States of America.

The Council may require you to provide evidence that you completed your nursing education in English, for example, a transcript from your education provider.

OR

Nursing Registration

You have current nursing registration in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada, or the United States of America that required you to pass an English language test.

The Council may require you to provide evidence of this.

English language evidence pathways

Each application for an alternative English language evidence pathway is assessed on an individual basis and will only be granted at the sole discretion of the Council. Additional evidence to support your application may be requested by the Council. Please note that assessing an application for an alternative English language evidence pathway may extend assessment timeframes. If your application is declined, you will be required to demonstrate language proficiency through an approved English language test.

To apply to be registered in New Zealand, you must currently be registered overseas as a nurse with a registration authority.

The Council will require information from overseas authorities where you have been registered in the last 10 years.

The Nursing Council requires overseas nurses applying to register in New Zealand to have academic qualifications that are equivalent to New Zealand nursing qualifications.

As an Enrolled Nurse, you must have a Diploma in Enrolled Nursing or a comparable qualification to apply to become registered.

If you are a Registered Nurse, you will need a Bachelor of Nursing degree (or the equivalent) or a Master’s degree in nursing that led to your registration.

The Council may require additional information from you to assess how your diploma or degree/s compare against nursing qualifications in New Zealand.

You must provide a declaration to TruMerit that you have practised nursing for at least 1,800 hours.

It is important that you apply to TruMerit after you have achieved the required 1,800 practice hours.

If you apply to TruMerit with fewer than the required 1,800 practice hours, your application to the Nursing Council will be delayed and further verified information will be required from you to support your application.

The Council may also require further information from you about your practice hours if they have not been in the last 10 years.

*If you have no post-registration experience at all, you are not eligible to apply for registration with the Nursing Council.

You must be able to demonstrate that you are competent to practise in New Zealand.

The Council may require a nurse, who is registered overseas, to complete a competence assessment before we can grant New Zealand registration.

If your nursing education that led to your registration was completed in one of the following: UK, Ireland, Ontario, British Columbia, Singapore or the USA, your application will be assessed by the Council and you may not be required to undertake a competence assessment. We will advise you about this after we assess your application.

The Council will require some registered nurses and all enrolled nurses to undertake an assessment of competence.

If you do require an assessment of competence, it is in two parts, and you will need to successfully complete the following:

1. Theoretical and clinical exam process

• an online theoretical exam that tests nursing knowledge, taken at a Pearson Vue test centre overseas or in New Zealand.



and

2. A clinical competence assessment

This includes:

• a two-day orientation and preparation course followed by
• a three-hour clinical examination known as an objective structured clinical examination (OSCE). You must take both the orientation and the OSCE in person at the Nurse Maude Simulation & Assessment Centre in Christchurch, New Zealand.

This online programme currently consists of two free online courses. You must complete these to become registered.

The courses provide an introduction to culturally safe nursing practice in New Zealand and to Te Tiriti o Waitangi. They are:

• Foundations in Cultural Competency

and

• Module 1 | Ngā Paerewa Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

We do not require Ngā Paerewa Te Tiriti Module 2.

You are encouraged to complete the two online courses as soon as possible to avoid any delays in your registration.

Course information

Foundations in Cultural Competency

This course includes:

• What is culture?
• NZ history and legislation
• Making a difference to all patients
• Health literacy.

Module 1 | Ngā Paerewa Te Tiriti o Waitangi

This course includes:

• An introduction to Ngā Paerewa Health and Disability Service
• An introduction to the articles and principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and how they apply to Ngā Paerewa
• An explanation of equity, cultural safety and Te Ao Māori
• An Introduction to Pae Ora Healthy Futures
• An explanation of how Ngā Paerewa fits into Pae Ora.

Create a user account with Ko Awatea LEARN:

To complete the required courses, you will need a user account on the Health New Zealand learning site: Ko Awatea LEARN.

Click on the following link to go to the site: https://koawatealearn.co.nz/

To create a profile:

Once at the login page, click on the button to “Request an account”.

Follow the instructions to verify your email and create a profile.

Ensure you provide your IQN number in the nursing registration number field.

Once you have requested your account, you will receive an email to confirm your email address.

Once you have done this, it can take up to one working day for your account to be approved. Accounts are not approved on weekends and public holidays.

If you do not provide your IQN number, your account may be declined.

If you already have an account on Ko Awatea LEARN:

Please use that account.

If you can’t access an old account, please apply to have your details updated by going to the login page and selecting “Update my account”.

Once you have a user account

Please log in and complete the following courses. You can search for them by name or use the links below.

• Foundations in Cultural Competency
• Module 1 | Ngā Paerewa Te Tiriti o Waitangi

When you’ve completed the courses:

When you have successfully completed the short quiz at the end of each course, please download a PDF of your verified record that shows both courses have been completed and upload it to your MyIQN portal.

Follow these steps to access your verified record:

• Log in to the learning management system.
• Click on the ‘My Learning’ tab at the top of the page, then select ‘Verified Record’.
• At the bottom of the page, click on ‘Verified Record’ to download a copy as PDF.

Please upload the verified record via the progress/communication tab on your MyIQN portal.

Troubleshooting:

• If you have not received a registration email or a reset password email, check your email junk/spam folder
• For lost or forgotten username and/or password, please follow the prompts on the login screen.
• If you are unable to find the courses, please copy and paste the title of each course (Module 1 | Ngā Paerewa Te Tiriti o Waitangi and Foundations in Cultural Competency) into the search function of Ko Awatea LEARN.

You must be able to show you are of good standing to practise nursing in New Zealand.

You will be required to undergo a criminal history check that will cover all countries you have lived in for 12 months or more within the last seven years.

The check will be done at your cost by Fit2Work, an external agency that is our designated provider of these checks.

If you have lived in New Zealand for six months or more, you are required to complete a criminal history check through the Ministry of Justice (MOJ).

The check will only be asked for once you are invited to apply to register, via MyIQN.