To legally practise as a physiotherapist in New Zealand, a physiotherapist must be registered under the Health Practitioners Competence Assurance (HPCA) Act 2003 and hold a current annual practising certificate (APC).

Before they can be registered, the physiotherapist is required to:

• Successfully complete an approved course of study in physiotherapy (equivalent to four years of tertiary study).
  
• Complete around 1000 supervised clinical hours of physiotherapy practice.
  
• Establish that they are fit to practise as defined under S16 of the HPCA Act 2003.
  
• Meet stringent competency requirements (specified by the Board).
  
  Your physiotherapist should have their annual practising certificate (APC) available for you to see. If they do not have the APC displayed, ask to see it.

If a physiotherapist can not (or will not) show you their APC, we recommend that you:

• Go to a different physiotherapist; and
  
• Notify the Board