Qualification for registration

To gain registration as an occupational therapist an applicant must have a minimum of a Bachelor of Occupational Therapy Degree from an accredited educational institution in New Zealand, or qualifications and experience assessed by the OTBNZ as equivalent. 

The OTBNZ does not accredit overseas qualifications, and considers registration applications from overseas qualified therapists on a case-by-case basis. It assesses the comparability of each applicant’s qualification with the prescribed New Zealand qualifications for registration. 

The prescribed New Zealand qualifications for registration are:

• Bachelor of Health Science (Occupational Therapy), AUT University
• Bachelor of Occupational Therapy, Otago Polytechnic.

If an applicant fails to satisfy the OTBNZ of the comparability of their qualification, they may be given the opportunity of undertaking the OTBNZ’s examination.

Overseas qualified applicants must submit original or certified copies of these qualification documents:

• Their occupational therapy qualification certificate
• Their personal academic transcript (student record)
• The course description relating to their occupational therapy programme. A course description may be referred to as a syllabus, curriculum document or course outline.  The format of this document varies by institution, and it will generally provide an overview of the course, its aims, objectives, and assessment methods.

The OTBNZ holds a number of course descriptions from overseas institutions. Applicants for registration are not required to provide a course description if the OTBNZ already holds one for the timeframe of their course. A list of course descriptions held by the OTBNZ is available at Occupational Therapy Qualification Curricula Held by the OTBNZ.