Purpose
Accreditation is a function of the Board | te Poari, under government regulation (section 118(a) of the HPCA Act 2003), as the professional registration body of physiotherapy within Aotearoa | New Zealand.
The professional registration body of physiotherapy, like other professions under the HPCA Act, is tasked to evaluate, accredit, and monitor educational institutions with pre‐registration (entry‐level and graduate‐entry) physiotherapy practitioner programmes. Additionally, those programmes need to be compliant with a set of standards.
The Accreditation Standard for Physiotherapy Practitioner Programmes in Aotearoa New Zealand V2.0 (the Accreditation Standard) is currently effective as of 1 January 2025. It sets out the minimum requirements that must be met to deliver current accredited physiotherapy programmes that provide persons who complete their studies with the knowledge, clinical skills, cultural safety and professional attributes required for the practise of physiotherapy in Aotearoa | New Zealand.
The Accreditation Standard, along with the Accreditation of pre‐registration (entry‐level and graduate‐entry) physiotherapy practitioner programmes, ensures safe and competent practice of physiotherapy to the public.
The Accreditation Service
The Accreditation Service is part of the Board | te Poari Secretariat and is responsible to serve the Board | te Poari for administration of all matters relating to accreditation activities of pre‐registration physiotherapy programmes and their associated educational institutes.
Framework for the Accreditation Service
Our Accreditation Framework sets clear standards to ensure educational institutions deliver pre‐registration physiotherapy practitioner programmes that meet agreed levels of quality, safety, and relevance. Its purpose is to protect the public, support confidence in graduates’ competence, and promote continuous improvement by ensuring programmes are regularly monitored, reviewed and held to consistent, transparent expectations. You can view the Framework here.
Annual Monitoring
Accredited programmes are required to provide an Annual Monitoring Report (AMR) on key information to the Accreditation Service for it to present to the Board | Te Poari. The Accreditation Service works closely with the educational institutes and any accreditation, quality assurance, and evaluation services/agencies.
Conditions Reporting
Educational institutes with programmes currently accredited with Conditions are required to provide a Conditions Report, in addition to their AMR. The Conditions Report details their plan and progress towards meeting the Conditions imposed upon them. The Conditions report is provided to the Accreditation Service for it to present to the Board | te Poari.
Re‐Accreditation
All programmes and educational institutions are accredited for a fixed period. Re‐accreditation is the process by which a full in‐depth review is undertaken by an independent Accreditation Evaluation Team (AET) of experts.