NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE, No. 22

25 FEBRUARY 2010

Notice

1. Title and commencement—(1) This notice may be cited as the Optometrists and Dispensing Opticians (Fees) Notice 2010.

(2) This notice comes into force on 25 March 2010 and applies to fees payable in respect of applications relating to the period on and after 1 April 2010.

2. Fees—The Optometrists and Dispensing Opticians Board sets the following fees, payable to the board, specified in the attached Schedule, additional to those fees set by the board in the Optometrists and Dispensing Opticians (Fees) Notice 2009, published in the New Zealand Gazette, 3 December 2009, No. 178, page 4338.

3. Tax—The fee is inclusive of goods and services tax.

Schedule

Fees Payable

• Assessment of a qualification under section 15(2) of the Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act 2003: $940.00
• Application for registration from an applicant whose qualification is accepted by the board under section 15(2) of the Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act 2003: $360.00
• Supervision session required by the board: $112.50

Dated at Wellington this 25th day of February 2010.

RACHAEL THORN, Registrar, Optometrists and Dispensing Opticians Board.

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Veterinary Council of New Zealand

Veterinarians Act 2005

Minimum Standards for Practising as a Veterinarian Notice 2010

Pursuant to section 75(i) of the Veterinarians Act 2005, the Veterinary Council of New Zealand sets out in this notice* the following prescribed minimum standards for practising as a veterinarian:

1. Fitness to Practise
   A veterinarian must be fit in order to maintain his or her practising certificate and to practise as a veterinarian in New Zealand.

   Matters that may bring a person’s fitness to practise into question can include:

   • the contracting of any addictive, mental or physical condition;
   • any addictive or inappropriate taking of drugs or alcohol;
   • a formal competence enquiry from an employer;
   • an adverse finding in any disciplinary action by an employer or licensing or professional body; and
   • a guilty finding in any criminal proceeding (including traffic offences involving alcohol or drugs for which the maximum penalty is not less than three months’ imprisonment).

   All persons are required to provide the council with a statement about their fitness to practise when they apply for registration or for a practising certificate.

   The council may also examine a person (section 25(a)), require statutory declarations (section 25(b)), require other information (section 25(c)) and take various actions under specific, relevant sections of the Act.

2. Competence to Practise

   (a) Competency Standards
   Pursuant to section 88(3) of the Veterinarians Act 2005, the council refers persons to the document “Competency Standards and Performance Indicators for Veterinarians” available on the council’s website www.vetcouncil.org.nz and from the council’s office on request. This document sets out the competency standards council expects veterinarians to meet, at the point of initial registration, and on an ongoing basis, and provides criteria against which an individual veterinarian’s performance may be measured.

   (b) Recency of Practice
   All applicants for a practising certificate are required to provide the council with information on their recency of practice. In the following situations, the council, after consideration of the individual circumstances of the case, may propose to decline or place conditions upon the applicant’s practising certificate (section 26(3)(c)):

   • those who have not practised as a veterinarian for five consecutive years, or have not practised as a veterinarian for five consecutive years in the area in which they intend to practise; and
   • those who hold a recognised qualification or a pass in a prescribed examination or assessment programme (section 6) but have not:
     • practised as a veterinarian for one or more years subsequent to gaining a section 6 entitlement to registration; or
     • practised for one or more years in the area in which they intend to practise subsequent to gaining a section 6 entitlement to registration.