New Zealand OT CPDs: License Renewal and Online Courses

Note: New Zealand is commonly called by its Māori name, Aotearoa. For consistency, the name New Zealand is used throughout this post.

Full OT/OTA CEU Requirements in New Zealand

Here are the occupational therapy continuing education requirements for coursework in New Zealand:

These were copied from the Occupational Therapy Board of New Zealand Competencies for Registration and Continuing Practice.

As an occupational therapist, you must be competent in the following five things:

These five things are referred to as your ‘competencies’:

1. Applying occupational therapy knowledge, skills and values
2. Practising appropriately for bicultural Aotearoa New Zealand
3. Building partnerships and collaborating
4. Practising in a safe, legal, ethical and culturally competent way
5. Engaging with and being responsible for your profession

Each competency has a desired outcome. You must achieve these outcomes in your daily practice, regardless of the setting or your level of experience.

You will achieve each competency and its outcome by demonstrating specific actions and abilities. These are referred to as your ‘performance indicators’, because they indicate whether you are performing to an acceptable standard.
You are not required to demonstrate all the performance indicators all of the time.

This doc goes on to describe other acceptable activities. I recommend you read the rules in full.

ePortfolio Requirements

All licensed occupational therapists in New Zealand are expected to:

1. Maintain an ePortfolio of self assessments, learning goals, activities, and reflections across all 5 competency areas

2. Nominate a third-party OT to review and attest to your portfolio prior to March 31. Your third-party must also be registered and certified to practice as an occupational therapist.

Steps for Renewing Your OT License

Step 1: Look up your OT license.

To begin the process, I always double-check that my license is displaying correctly. You can look up your New Zealand occupational therapist or occupational therapy assistant license here.

Step 2: Confirm the New Zealand OT continuing education requirements. 

It’s always good to double check for any updates to your licensing cycle. You can do so with the resources above. And, please reach out to me if you see any discrepancies.

Step 3: Earn your professional development hours.

Ok, now that you know your requirements, it is time to start earning those CEUs! There are of course a lot of options out there, but we hope you consider checking out the courses offered by OT Potential.

Step 4: Renew your license. 🎉

Ok, now it’s time for the big moment.

You can renew your license online.

Do OT Potential Online Courses Count as CEUs?

Yes! OT Potential courses and resources can help you meet some of your required performance indicators, depending on your specific learning goals.

You can learn more in our post: How OT Potential Helps Meet Your CEU Requirements.

Conclusion

Hopefully, you found this post helpful!

If you have any other questions about continuing education and your OT license renewal, please contact us!