• Registering as a Midwife in New Zealand

Midwifery Council of New Zealand (MCNZ)

Registering as a Midwife in New Zealand (Non-AU/NZ Trained Applicants)

Who This Guide Is For

This guide is intended for midwives who were trained outside New Zealand and Australia and wish to register with the Midwifery Council of New Zealand (MCNZ) in order to practise midwifery in Aotearoa New Zealand.

To register as a Registered Nurse (RN) in New Zealand if you’re trained outside Australia or New Zealand, please check our page here:

1. About Midwifery in Aotearoa New Zealand

Midwifery in New Zealand is an autonomous profession, grounded in a continuity-of-care model. All practising midwives must be registered with MCNZ and hold a valid Annual Practising Certificate (APC).

Note: If your midwifery education that led to registration was not completed in one of the following countries: Australia, UK, Ireland, USA (CNM), Canada, European Union country, you may not be able to register.

2. Internationally Qualified Midwife Application Guidelines

Step 1: Create an Account MyMCANZ

Click here to start

Step 2: Upload Documents

Please provide:

  • Identity documents
  • IELTS/OET evidence – if English is not your first language
  • Verified copy of transcript – your midwifery education provider must provide your Midwifery Education Programme Transcript.
  • Course Descriptors/Learning outcomes for correct time period of qualification to be sent DIRECTLY from the institute you attained your Midwifery Qualification from.  This must be emailed to [email protected]
  • IQM Qualification Compatibility Document – please download and complete this
  • Evidence of any continuing education – you have completed in the last three years with reflections on education
  • Current Curriculum Vitae (Resume) – please include details of your work experience since qualifying and evidence of recent midwifery practice (for example, a letter from your current or last employer, practice partner or practice manager).
  • Evidence of any formal qualifications – relating to your midwifery practice that you have completed since qualifying as a midwife e.g., Masters or Doctoral degrees.
  • Self-assessment against the Standards of Competence – please download and complete this

Step 3: Payment

The application fee must be paid at the time of the application. Payment must be in New Zealand Dollars ($NZD). There are partial fees for Part A of the application.

  • Internationally Qualified Midwives Registration – Part 1 – 825.00 
Applicants successful in part A will be directed to pay for part B.
If you are directed to proceed with your application and complete Part B, there is a second partial fee which, combined, equates to the gazetted fee for application to the Register by midwives registered in an overseas jurisdiction.  A list of fees on the website.

Internationally Qualified Midwife Application Guidelines

Please note that, while you can upload documents, the Council still requires you to send certified copies of those documents. The Council will securely return any documents received to you, at a New Zealand address, at the end of the application process. Please ensure you upload the same documents that you send to the Council.

Please see details here: Internationally Qualified Midwife Application Guidelines

You must be able to prove who you are by providing identification documents in accordance our Evidence of Identity documents and guidelines.

Documents that will be accepted as Evidence of Identity

Documents that will be accepted as Evidence of Identity

The Council requires TWO identity documents.

One must be a photo ID. A minimum of one document must come from Category A. Documents accepted for name change cannot be used to verify primary identity. If a Birth Certificate is being used as a Name Change document it must show both birth name and married name.

Documents must be certified and sent by postal mail.

Please do not send originals. Certification of the copy can be done by a solicitor, a Notary Public, a Justice of the Peace or another person authorised to take a statutory declaration.

Education requirements

The prescribed qualification for entry to the Register in New Zealand is a 480-point Bachelors’ degree in midwifery. The New Zealand programme of education must comprise a minimum of 4800 hours, of which a minimum of 1920 hours must be in theory and a minimum of 2400 hours must be in clinical practice. Further, they must be at level 7 on the New Zealand Qualifications Framework or higher. (further information can be found Here)

The education programme leading to registration, must also have comparable course descriptors and learning outcomes. Please see our comparability tool (in relevant documents) to help you assess your qualification against a New Zealand Bachelor of Midwifery.

Your qualification from countries other than those listed above, may not be comparable or equivalent to a Bachelor of Midwifery degree in New Zealand in either academic and/or clinical content, and has been undertaken in a health system and model of midwifery care that is not comparable with New Zealand.

As a result, we cannot be assured that you have the combined knowledge and skills that would mean you are competent to practise within the Midwifery Scope of Practice in New Zealand.

As above, must be equivalent in content and competencies to the New Zealand Bachelor of Midwifery for registration by the New Zealand graduate midwives.

Please complete the qualification comparability assessment form.

Please see details here: Internationally Qualified Midwife Application Guidelines

Must be a minimum of one year post registration midwifery practice across the midwifery scope. Must be within the immediate 5 years preceding application.

Please include evidence of at least three years (if applicable) post registration midwifery continuing education as well as reflections of how you have incorporated your ongoing education into your practice.

You must complete the self assessment form and provide details of how your practice meets the New Zealand competencies.

English Language Requirement

If English is not your first spoken language, you will need to demonstrate that you have the required standard of English. There are two English language proficiency tests recognised by the Council.

Test Minimum Scores
IELTS Academic Overall pass rate no less than 7.0, with no less than 6.5 for writing and comprehension/reading and no less than 7.0 for speaking and listening.

  • If the minimum score is not achieved in one sitting, the applicant may resit the relevant component.
  • A pass may be achieved over several sittings not more than 12 months apart.
  • You must instruct the testing centre to send a copy of your results directly to the Council.
OET (Midwife) Either A or B in each section.

  • A pass may be achieved over several sittings not more than 12 months apart, however any qualifying scores counting towards entry must be obtained in the same test.
  • You will need to instruct the testing centre to send a copy of your results directly to the Council.

The ability to communicate in and comprehend the English language is a specific requirement of the HPCAA. If English is not your first spoken language, you will be required to demonstrate a reasonable level of proficiency before you can be registered, which may include passing an English language proficiency test. Note that “First spoken language” means the language you spoke first. It does not mean your current primary language or the language you now speak the most. If English is not your first language, you will need to demonstrate to the Council that you have the required standard of English. This may be through completion of an English language proficiency test or through demonstrating sufficient education and assessment in English through another process, for example a minimum of four years secondary schooling and completion of your midwifery qualification in English.

You must have been registered as a midwife in the Country where you received your education and also hold current registration in that or another country.

You are required to provide verification of registration and current good standing from the national or state regulatory authority where you are currently registered as a midwife and from any other health practitioner authority where you have been registered in the past.

You must be able to demonstrate that you are of good character and that you have no mental or physical conditions that adversely affect your ability to practise as a midwife.

You must provide a current police report from your country of residence and from every country where you have resided for a period of 12 months or more from the age of 18 years.

The police report(s) in support of your application must be produced by the National Police Authority for the country, not a local or state office, and sent directly to the Midwifery Council. This is completed through our provider Fit2Work – click HERE to go to their website portal and request your police report(s). Fit2 Work will send the report(s) directly to the Council. Please note this is and additional cost.

If Fit2Work is unable to provide a police report for a country you have resided for a period of 12 months or more from the age of 18 years, you will need to go to the New Zealand Immigration website to obtain a relevant police certificate that is of the standard acceptable to the Council. Applicants are advised that these police checks must be sent to the Council directly from the issuing authority.

If you do not follow this process the Council may not accept your evidence of police vetting.

During the application process, if declare you have resided in Aotearoa New Zealand for 12 months or more from the age of 18 years , you will be prompted to download the Police Vetting Service Request and Consent Form for the New Zealand Police | Nga Pirihimana o Aotearoa. Complete the form and upload this with your application. (do not send it to the Police, the Council staff need to do this).

  • All applications are considered by the Council on an individual basis against the competencies required for registration and practice in Aotearoa New Zealand.
  • Once we receive all required information, it may take up to one month before your application can be determined and you are advised of the Council decision. The Council may come back to you for further information.
  • While we will allow you to upload documents during the application process, you must send the certified physical copies to the Council by post. Once documents are checked they are securely destroyed or returned to you upon request.
  • Applicants unable to submit all required application documentation within six (6) months of initial application will have to reapply to the Council and pay a new application fee. Where the application is incomplete due to Council process or information required from a third party, then the timeframe will not apply. Please also view the Registration for Internationally Qualified Midwives Policy.
  • The Council does not currently operate any reciprocal registration agreements except with Australia pursuant to a government to government agreement covering all services and professions.
  • The Council does not accept applications from internationally qualified new graduate midwives, or from midwives whose skills are not current.
  • You may wish to explore work opportunities in Aotearoa New Zealand while your application is in progress. However, the Council strongly advises that you do not enter into any employment arrangement or make any immigration arrangements based on a presumption that your application will be successful, or a presumption as to when a decision on your application will be received.
  • For more information about moving to Aotearoa New Zealand and working in healthcare, please click HERE.

Link to apply

If you meet the requirements and wish to proceed with this process you will need to commence an application online (for part A) and pay the first application fee (non refundable) .

Applicants successful in part A will be directed to pay for part B

To begin the application process, click HERE.

Please email [email protected] if you have further enquiries about commencing an application.

Relevant Documents

Internationally qualified midwives and midwives applying under Trans-Tasman Mutual Recognition Agreement

Any midwife who obtained their midwifery qualification outside of Aotearoa New Zealand, including Australian registered midwives applying under the Trans-Tasman Mutual Recognition Agreement (TTMRA)  are likely to have conditions imposed on their scope of practice (usually regarding required further education and supervision of midwifery practise in Aotearoa)

The Trans-Tasman Mutual Recognition Agreement

The TTMRA came into force on 1 May 1998. It recognises the regulatory standards adopted in Australia regarding goods and occupations.

The Act allows people registered in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand who practise substantially the same registered occupations, where there is similar legislation in both countries, to move freely between the two countries.

This agreement between the Aotearoa and Australian governments provides that persons registered in Australia and New Zealand who practise substantially the same registered occupations can move freely between both countries. Conditions may apply to achieve equivalence of occupations.

The agreement has been ratified in law by Aotearoa and all the Australian states. If you are registered to practise midwifery in Australia, you are entitled to seek registration as a midwife in Aotearoa. This right is exercised by giving notice in the form of making an application, completing a Statutory declaration as part of this process, and paying the application fee.

The fee is for making the application and is not refundable if the application is unsuccessful.

Click HERE for more information about applying for registration in Aotearoa under the TTMRA.

Australian registered midwives please see Here

Information for Midwives from countries other than Australia, UK, Ireland, USA (CNM), Canada, European Union country

Education requirements

The prescribed qualification for entry to the Register in New Zealand is a 480-point Bachelors’ degree in midwifery. The New Zealand programme of education must comprise a minimum of 4800 hours, of which a minimum of 1920 hours must be in theory and a minimum of 2400 hours must be in clinical practice. Further, they must be at level 7 on the New Zealand Qualifications Framework or higher. (further information can be found Here)

The education programme leading to registration, must also have comparable course descriptors and learning outcomes. Please see our comparability tool (in relevant documents) to help you assess your qualification against a New Zealand Bachelor of Midwifery.

Your qualification from countries other than those listed above, may not be comparable or equivalent to a Bachelor of Midwifery degree in New Zealand in either academic and/or clinical content, and has been undertaken in a health system and model of midwifery care that is not comparable with New Zealand.

As a result, we cannot be assured that you have the combined knowledge and skills that would mean you are competent to practise within the Midwifery Scope of Practice in New Zealand.

Alternative pathway eligibility

If you are considering applying for registration in New Zealand based on your qualification from the country you first registered in, you may be eligible to proceed through an alternative pathway which consists of an online examination, and, if successful you would be put forward for a practical assessment/OSCE.

An alternative pathway will involve additional costs for example a remotely invigilated international midwifery examination can cost approximately NZ$400.00. If you are suitable, it may be undertaken in the country in which you reside.

A pass in this examination does not guarantee that you will be eligible to enter the Register of Midwives in New Zealand, but would enable you to be put forward for a practical assessment/Objective Structure Clinical Examination (OSCE). This can cost up to NZ$2500.00 and must be undertaken in New Zealand.

If you pass both of these components, and subject to fitness to practice requirements such as medical, reference and police checking, you would be eligible to enter the Register of Midwives in New Zealand.

You would likely require a specific visa to come to New Zealand to sit the practical assessment/OSCE with no guarantee of registration.  You may enquire Here

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