Ngā tiwhikete mahi ā-tau | Annual Practising Certificates
When practising as a midwife you must hold an Annual Practising Certificate (APC). Midwives who practise without a practising certificate may be referred to a Professional Conduct Committee (PCC).
As soon as you have completed your application and made payment, you are covered to practise and your details will show on the Register of Midwives. Applications for practising certificates are always considered on an individual basis. If you have any questions about your eligibility or whether you require a practising certificate in your current role, please Te Tatau o te Whare Kahu | Midwifery Council (the Council).
Practise is not just clinical practice but also education, quality improvement, regulation, professional policy advice etc… Any role that requires you to use your midwifery knowledge and skills and that impacts on public safety. Midwives re required to hold a practising certificate if they are providing antenatal education or lactation services. This is because antenatal education and breastfeeding are both skills that sit under the Midwifery Scope of Practice.
If you are unsure if you require a practising certificate please contact the Council to discuss this. It is the Council’s decision regarding the need to hold an APC and not your employer’s.
APC’s are issued for practice beginning on 1st April of each year and expire on the 31st March of the following year. Section 30 of the Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act 2003 (the HPCAA) limits the time that a practising certificate can be granted to a maximum of one year.
If there are questions regarding your application the Council staff will contact you to discuss matters.
If after applying for your practising email, your confirmation email states that you are practising under section 30, this is because you have either made a declaration that requires the secretariat to review a matter or that you are not complying with conditions on your practising certificate. This means that you are able to practise until you are advised by the Registrar that your application for a practising certificate may been declined. Your application will not be declined without giving you the opportunity to be heard on matters. Midwives will be advised by email when applications for practising certificates for a new practising year open. When this occurs the button to renew your APC will appear in your MyMCANZ portal.
If you do not renew in time you may be practising without a certificate. This is not permitted under the HPCAA and you may be referred to a PCC.
Employers have a responsibility to ensure that their employees hold current APC’s. Midwives working as Lead Maternity Carer are required to provide the manager of the facilities they access with evidence of their current APC. If you do not want to practise then you need to apply to be non-practising. This could be because you are on maternity leave, retired or travelling overseas. If you do not apply for a practising certificate or non-practising status, then Council staff will contact you to discuss further options.
Practising Statuses
Midwives are required to hold either practising status with an APC or non-practising status, having completed and paid for an application for either. If you do not wish to hold either of these statuses, you should apply to have your registration cancelled from the register of midwives. Further information about this can be found in the document “Practising and Non-practising options”, found in the relevant documents section of this page.
Register Management
From time to time the Registrar may ask if practitioners want to have their entry on the register cancelled. The midwife when asked must then decide what they wish to do. This is known as revision of the register. This is an option if midwives decide that they wish to move overseas or decide that they no longer wish to be a midwife.
If after making this decision a midwife decides that she wishes to return she can apply to be restored. This restoration will occur unless the person cannot be registered or is subject to pending disciplinary proceedings.
Information correct as at 13 December 2022