Appointing an Occupational Therapist or Physiotherapist
As discussed in our overview article on the therapists’ pay equity settlement, there are some additional steps your school needs to take when recruiting an occupational therapist or physiotherapist:
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Before advertising, decide whether your school will make membership of the respective membership organisation a condition of employment for the advertised position.
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Before offering employment, determine whether the person your school is considering meets the appropriate registration requirements to be covered by the practice legally and be covered by the pay equity settlement.
Keep reading to learn more about these additional steps.
What are the membership organisations for these two professions?
There are two membership organisations: Occupational Therapy New Zealand – Whakaora Ngangahau Aotearoaopen_in_new (OTNZ-WNA) and Physiotherapy New Zealandopen_in_new (PNA).
They are separate from the statutory bodies that regulate the profession.
Membership of OTNZ-WNA and PNA is different from holding a practising certificate and being registered with the Occupational Therapy Board of New Zealand or the Physiotherapy Board of New Zealand.
Should membership be a condition of employment?
This is a decision for your school to make.
The two membership organisations (OTNZ-WNA and PNA) provide targeted professional development, networking, professional support, and advocacy. These services can help therapists maintain their practising certificate, keep their skill set current, and facilitate contact with other therapists in their discipline.
The Ministry of Education reimburses the employee’s cost of membership if the school makes membership a condition of employment. For more information on what the Ministry requires for the reimbursement process and what is not covered, please refer to the Therapists’ Pay Equity Claim Settlement Implementation Guideopen_in_new.
You should note that making registration or membership a condition of employment means you cannot appoint someone to the role who does not meet the condition.
If your school decides to make membership of the OTNZ-WNA or PNZ a condition of employment, you will need to include the following:
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that membership of the respective membership organisation will be a condition of employment in the advertisement, and
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maintaining membership of the respective membership organisation in the “general responsibility” section of the job description (see previous link), and
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the condition in the letter of offer (the letters of offer in our Recruitment section have such wording).
How do we know if an occupational or physiotherapist is legally allowed to perform therapy and is covered by the settlement?
An employee is legally allowed to perform therapy and is covered by the settlement if they are:
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employed to do therapist work (as defined in the introduction to clause 3.2 of the Kaiārahi i te Reo and Therapists’ Collective Agreementopen_in_new), and
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registered with, and hold a current practising certificate issued by, their appropriate regulatory body (the Occupational Therapy Board of New Zealand or the Physiotherapy Board of New Zealand respectively).
Schools confirm registration and practising certificate status by enquiring directly with the respective body. This process can be done at the same time you perform the professional membership checks required as part of safety checking and police vetting.
If the employee has a practising certificate and is covered by the settlement, does maintaining a practising certificate and registration still have to be a condition of employment?
Yes. This condition is required because occupational and physiotherapy are covered by the Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act 2003. This act makes it illegal to practice either of these disciplines without holding a current practising certificate and registration.
As such, a person without a practising certificate and registration should not be employed or continue to be employed to perform therapist work.
Therefore, our letter suite includes the appropriate wording to make maintaining a current practising certificate and registration a condition of employment.
The employee is reimbursed for the registration cost and the practising certificate by the Ministry.
Templates, resources, and references
Click on the link(s) below to access the templates, resources, and references related to this topic.
These may download or open in a separate browser depending on your device.
Links from us
Ministry of Education
Occupational Therapy New Zealand – Whakaora Ngangahau Aotearoa
Physiotherapy New Zealand
Collective Agreements
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Kaiārahi i te Reo and Therapists’ Collective Agreementopen_in_new
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Clause 3.2 – Therapists
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