Consultation on new registration pathways and prescribed qualification changes

The Dental Council is consulting on three new proposed registration pathways that will make it easier for suitably trained overseas oral health practitioners to join the register and practise in New Zealand.

The three new pathways proposed are:

Competent Authority Pathway - Registration – for practitioners with recent clinical experience in a recognised competent authority, that we consider equivalent international regulators.
Comparable Health Systems Pathway – opens registration to dentists with recent clinical experience from 21 countries with health systems and regulation assessed as comparable to New Zealand’s.
Teaching and Research Pathway – for those employed in New Zealand tertiary or academic institutions to support clinical learning and research in our accredited programmes, who cannot use any of the registration pathways (not for independent clinical practice).

Have your say

The consultation is open until 29 January 2026. Submissions can be made via our online survey.

We’re also hosting two webinars as part of the consultation that we invite practitioners to attend:

Wednesday 26 November, 5.30 – 6.30pm

Monday 1 December, 5.30 – 6.30pm

To register for a webinar or submit a question, please email consultations@dcnz.org.nz

Draft Gazette Notices

To support the introduction of the new registration pathways and additional proposed prescribed qualification changes highlighted in section 4 of the document, draft notices are presented for consultation purposes as required under section 14(2) of the HPCAA. Proposed changes to the gazetted prescribed qualifications are indicated in the relevant attachments as red text.

The draft notices for consideration:

1. Prescribed qualifications for general dental practice

2. Prescribed qualifications for oral health therapy practice

3. Prescribed qualifications for dental therapy practice and adult care for dental therapy

4. Prescribed qualifications for dental hygiene practice

5. Prescribed qualifications for orthodontic auxiliary practice

6. Prescribed qualifications for clinical dental technology practice and implant overdentures

7. Prescribed qualifications for dental technology practice

8. Prescribed qualifications for endodontic specialists

9. Prescribed qualifications for oral and maxillofacial surgery specialists

10. Prescribed qualifications for oral medicine specialists

11. Prescribed qualifications for oral pathology specialists