All applicants for registration need to meet the fitness for registration requirements. This includes English language, health and conduct requirements.
Investigations, conduct and health
Information about how we consider health and conduct, including conviction notification, is set out in our Registration policy, linked below.
It is important that you provide full disclosure, including supporting information, of any matters related to your fitness for registration. Being subject of a current investigation or inquiry, having a disciplinary history, or being convicted of a crime will not automatically prevent you from being registered, but the Council will need to consider, on a case-by-case basis, whether those matters reflect adversely on your fitness to practise.
Similarly, you need to disclose any health-related matters that may impact your ability to perform the functions required to practise your profession. We will usually require supporting information from your health team.
English language requirements
If you have not completed a New Zealand accredited programme at the University of Otago, Auckland University of Technology (AUT), or the Royal Australian College of Dental Surgeons (RACDS), you will need to meet our English language requirements.
Being able to comprehend and communicate effectively in English is a prerequisite for registration. Without these skills you cannot offer patients informed consent and ensure effective participation in treatment choices.
You satisfy the English language requirement if you meet one of the following:
- orthodontic auxiliary scope of practice: English is your first language, and you have completed your secondary schooling in New Zealand, Australia, United Kingdom, United States of America, Republic of Ireland, or Canada where English was the sole language of instruction and assessment; or
- all other scopes of practice: you have graduated from a programme accredited by the Dental Council (New Zealand) or approved by the Dental Board of Australia; or
- English is your first language and you completed your dental training in Australia, United Kingdom, USA, Ireland or Canada where English is the sole language of instruction and assessment; or
- for at least 2-years in the 5-years immediately prior to your application for registration, you practised in a workplace in Australia, United Kingdom, USA, Ireland or Canada where English was the primary language of communication with both patients and a colleagues, and two practitioners whom you worked with during this period for at least 6-months, who speak English as their first language, can attest to your ability to comprehend and communicate effectively in English; or
- you have passed a Dental Council-approved English test to the required level.
Dental Council-approved English tests
The Council has approved the following two English tests:
- International English Language Testing System - Academic (IELTS - academic)
- Occupational English Test (OET).
The approved English language test needs to be passed in one sitting. The Council does not accept one-skill retakes.
A pass in the English test is valid for two years.
Test levels and pass rates
IELTS – academic band
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Dentists, dental specialists, oral health therapists, dental therapists, dental hygienists, and clinical dental technicians.
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Score at least 7 in each band of the four individual components of listening, reading, writing and speaking |
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Dental technicians
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Average score of 7 or more across the four individual components of listening, reading, writing and speaking |
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Orthodontic auxiliaries
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At least 6 in each band of the four individual components of listening, reading, writing and speaking |
OET
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Dentists, dental specialists, oral health therapists, dental therapists, dental hygienists, clinical dental technicians and dental technicians
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A pass with A or B grades in each of the four components
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Orthodontic auxiliaries
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A pass with a minimum score of 250 in each of the four components*
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* This includes a grade of A, B and a minimum score of 250 in the C band, in each of the four components
Certificates of standing
Unless you are applying via Trans-Tasman mutual recognition, you will need to provide certificates of standing, also referred to as certificates of professional status and licensure verifications, from each regulator you have been registered with in the last seven years. These will need to be emailed, or posted directly to the Dental Council from the issuing authority.