Variations to provisional and special purpose scopes
You cannot work outside the requirements of your scope of practice and any requirements imposed by Council specific to you. These will be shown in an endorsement on your practising certificate.
If you are registered within a provisional (general or vocational) scope of practice or a special purpose scope, and your employment, supervision, position or location changes, you must apply for an amendment or variation to the endorsement on your scope of practice. Once we've received and approved your variation request we will issue you a new practising certificate.
Changes in employment or supervision
If you hold provisional general, provisional vocational or special purpose registration, your practising certificate will include an endorsement detailing the requirement to work under supervision in the position that was approved in your application for registration. You will need to apply for approval for a variation to the endorsement on your practising certificate if any of the details listed on your practising certificate are going to change.
Please allow at least 20 working days for your application to be processed. If your application does not meet our policy requirements, you make disclosures, or there are any performance concerns, we may need more time to assess your application.
If you make a change of scope application you must wait for an outcome on your application before commencing your new position. If you work outside of the endorsement of your practising certification it can impact your insurance, and can limit your patients' access to scripts and ACC care. It can also expose you to legal action. If you have any questions about the endorsement on your practising certificate, please contact our registration team.
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Tell us who you are so we can better direct your enquiry
Application forms
The application form you need to complete depends on your scope of practice:
- provisional general - please complete the COS1 form
- provisional vocational - please complete the COS2 form
- special purpose - please complete the COS7 form
Refer to section two on your form for a list of documentation you will need to submit with your application.
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Provisional general scope - application to vary practising certificate
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Provisional vocational scope - application to vary practising certificate
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Special purpose scope - application to amend practising certificate
Applying for a change of scope at end of provisional period
If you are on a provisional general or provisional vocational scope, you can apply for a change of scope once you have completed the requirements. Please double-check you have met all the requirements for your pathway before applying.
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Medical practitioners registered within the General scope of practice (or the Provisional General scope of practice, which precedes it) are typically resident doctors, resident medical officers (RMO) and doctors undergoing vocational training.
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Vocational registration is a form of permanent, specialist registration which allows you to work independently in New Zealand.