Note: As of 1st November 2025, the Physiotherapy Board’s Registration Policy has been updated. For the Advanced Practice Physiotherapist Scope of Practice, the work experience requirements have been removed. The competencies required for registration in the Advanced Practice Physiotherapist scope have not changed.
Registration in the Advanced Practice Physiotherapist Scope of Practice
To obtain registration in the Advanced Practice Physiotherapist Scope of Practice, you need to be able to demonstrate the following:
- You have provided evidence to demonstrate that you meet all of the key competencies for the seven roles outlined in the Advanced Practice Physiotherapist Competencies for your nominated area of practice.
- You meet the prescribed qualifications for the Advanced Practice Physiotherapist Scope of Practice.
- You meet the requirements for Fitness to Practise, as required under the Health Practitioners Competence Assurance (HPCA) Act 2003.
What is the APP Scope of Practice?
Developed by the Board to recognise physiotherapists who are practising at an advanced level, the purpose of the APP scope is to aid both the public and referrers to identify those physiotherapists who have demonstrated advanced skills and competencies in a chosen area which may be more suitable for their complex needs.
APPs are able to:
- manage or lead episodes of care in partnership with health consumers, their whānau and other health professionals.
- combine advanced physiotherapy knowledge and skills with advanced clinical reasoning to provide person and whānau‐centred healthcare.
- provide advanced assessment and management interventions such as triage for specialist clinics and second opinions for complex cases.
- work across healthcare settings, influence health service delivery and the wider profession, and are involved in mentoring, supervision, teaching, or research.
An application may be made for the APP Scope of Practice in one of the following areas:
- Cardiorespiratory
- Hand Therapy
- Musculoskeletal
- Neurology
- Occupational Health
- Older Adults
- Paediatrics
- Pain
- Sports
- Pelvic Health
The Board may give permission for an applicant to apply in an area that is not on the list. Approval is required before such an application is submitted. Please contact the Board for more details.
The title ‘Advanced Practice Physiotherapist’ and ‘APP’ as an abbreviation are protected and only those who are registered in the APP Scope of Practice are allowed to use these titles.
Who can apply?
Physiotherapists who:
- Hold unrestricted registration in the General Scope of Practice with the Board, and
- Hold a current Annual Practising Certificate (APC), and
- Have successfully completed a minimum of a post‐graduate diploma that:
- requires an Aotearoa | New Zealand Bachelor of Physiotherapy (or equivalent) for entry to the degree programme and
- is relevant to clinical physiotherapy practice.
Note: The Board does not endorse or recommend any specific programmes for registration in the Advanced Practice Physiotherapist (APP) Scope of Practice. Applicants need to ensure their qualifications meet the criteria set out in the New Zealand Gazette.
You will need to provide the following documents
- *Evidence of Name Change (if applicable)
- Relating to your post graduate qualification:
* Document must be certified and uploaded into the online application portal, or sent directly to [email protected] by the issuing authority
Please refer to the MFQ guidance document for the link to the questionnaire and a list of who this needs to be completed by.
- Portfolio
Applicants are required to provide strong supporting evidence which demonstrates that they have met/are meeting the Board’s APP competencies, in relation to their nominated area of practice. These competencies can be found here.
Applicants must list all items of evidence on the APP Scope Competency Assessment template.
The portfolio will be made up of two parts (consists of mandatory and supporting evidence).
1. Mandatory submissions
- APP Competencies Assessment Form
- A minimum of two Case studies
- A Research into Practice submission
- Two reflections
- Qualifications and Experience Narrative
2. Supporting evidence
Additional documents should be provided to demonstrate you have met each of the APP competencies. These should be connected to the relevant competencies on the APP Competency Assessment Template. Please refer to the Selecting Your Supporting Evidence document for more information.
Document Formatting
Please refer to the templates and guidance documents in the resources section below. Documents are to be in Word format and uploaded directly into the application portal. The mandatory documents are to be uploaded as individual Word documents and the remaining documents can be uploaded as a Zip archive.
Application Resources
APP Competencies and Scope of Practice
APP Selecting your supporting evidence
APP Research into Practice Guidance
Application Templates
APP Competency Assessment Form
APP Qualifications and Clinical Experience Narrative Template
What is the process for this application?
Phase 1: Document Check
After you submit your application, we will review it for completeness. If documents or evidence are missing or we have concerns about your eligibility, we will email you for further information before your application is sent on for processing.
If your application does not meet eligibility criteria for moving on to the assessment phase, one of the following will occur:
- You are given the opportunity to withdraw your application.
- Your application is returned.
- We propose to decline your application.
If your application is complete and meets eligibility criteria it will move on to the Portfolio Assessment.
Phase 2: Portfolio Assessment
We select two assessors with appropriate experience levels in your nominated area of practice. The assessors and applicant are all contacted to ensure there is no conflict of interest. If there are no issues, your application is sent out for assessment.
The assessors will examine your portfolio and measure it against the seven APP roles and corresponding competencies.
There are two outcomes from this process:
- If your application meets criteria, it is put forward for registration.
- If your application does not meet criteria, you are given an opportunity to resubmit with additional or updated evidence.
- If your additional evidence still does not meet criteria after this second assessment, one of the following will occur:
- You are given the opportunity to withdraw your application.
- We propose to decline your application.
- If your additional evidence still does not meet criteria after this second assessment, one of the following will occur:
Phase 3: Registration
Applications deemed to meet the minimum requirement for registration are sent to our Registrar for approval. Once this is completed you will receive an email confirmation.
What happens after registration is granted?
The Public Register of Physiotherapists
If a registrant is successfully granted registration within the Advanced Practice Physiotherapy scope, this will show on the New Zealand Register of Physiotherapists. The register is available for the public to view on the Board’s website.
Recertification following registration within the Advanced Practice Physiotherapist Scope
Advanced Practice Physiotherapists must continue to meet the Board’s standard of competence required for their registration under the General scope of practice: Physiotherapist, as well as meeting the competencies required at the Advanced Practice Physiotherapist level.
Once a physiotherapist has been registered in the APP Scope of Practice, they are required to maintain the competencies and requirements set by the Board for the Scope. The continuing professional development requirements for the APP Scope of Practice have the same criteria as the General Scope, as outlined in the Recertification Programme Guidelines, however, the majority of the ‘lifelong learning’ is required to be in the nominated clinical interest area for which they were granted APP status. Majority is defined as more than 50% of the total CPD undertaken by the practitioner.
Advanced Practice Physiotherapists can still practice in other areas of physiotherapy to the level required of a physiotherapist registered under the general scope. However, they must not hold themselves out to be an Advanced Practice Physiotherapist in any area other than the area in which they have successfully gained registration under the Advanced Practice Physiotherapist scope of practice.
Where can I find out more information?
A Q&A generated from an online session with interested practitioners is available to read here.
We also have a closed Facebook group for Aotearoa New Zealand registered physiotherapists who have applied, or are considering applying, for the Advanced Practice Physiotherapist Scope. To request a link to the Facebook group, or if you have any questions, please contact us via [email protected].
We can provide advice on the preparation of your application; however, we are not able to advise you on whether or not it will succeed.
What does it cost?
Please refer to our Fees Schedule here. Please note that the application fee is non‐refundable.