About us

 

Click here for the Board’s Information leaflet (PDF) which outlines the functions, scope of practice and membership of the Board, as well as information about the Board committees. The sixteen Regulatory Authorities also produced a leaflet 'Confidence in your health practitioner'.
 
Click here for the Board’s the‘Statement of Registration Competency Requirements’ (entry level requirements) and the 'Scope of Practice and Qualifications'.
Introduction
The primary role of Regulatory Authorities, including the Dietitians Board, is to promote and protect the public interest by providing for mechanisms to ensure that health practitioners are qualified, competent and fit to practise their profession. To achieve this, the Dietitians Board provides frameworks for the regulation of the dietetic profession.
 
Vision: To promote and enhance the health of New Zealanders by ensuring that dietitians practise safely and competently. 
 
Dietitians NZ Inc is the Professional Association that supports and promotes the profession of dietetics. 
 
Legislation

The Dietitians Board is the statutory body constituted under the Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act 2003 (HPCA Act) for maintaining self-regulation of the dietetic profession. The HPCA Act is linked on the New Zealand Legislation website: http://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/2003/0048/latest/DLM203312.html

 

Board members are appointed by and are responsible to the Minister of Health.

What we do

The Board’s major roles are to:

  • prescribe qualifications for scopes of practice by dietitians 
  • accredit and monitor educational institutions and programmes
  • grant registration of dietitians and issue practising certificates 
  • review and promote the competence of dietitians 
  • set standards
  • deal with cases of dietitians who may be unable to perform professionally. 
 
Functions of the Board under Section 118 of the HPCA Act are to:
 
  • prescribe the qualifications required for scopes of practice within the profession, and for that purpose, to accredit and monitor educational institutions and degrees, courses of studies and programmes
  • authorise the registration of health practitioners under this Act, and to maintain registers 
  • consider applications for annual practising certificates 
  • -review and promote the competence of health practitioners 
  • -recognise, accredit and set programmes to ensure the ongoing competence of health practitioners 
  • receive and act on information from health practitioners, employers and the Health and Disability Commissioner about the competence of health practitioners 
  • notify employers, Accident Compensation Corporation, the Director-General of Health and the Health and Disability Commissioner that the practice of a health practitioner may pose a risk of harm to the public 
  • consider the cases of health practitioners who may be unable to perform the functions required for the practice of the profession 
  • set standards of clinical competence and ethical conduct to be observed by health practitioners of the profession 
  • liaise with other authorities under this Act about matters of common interest 
  • promote education and training in the profession 
  • promote public awareness of the role and responsibilities of the authority 
  • exercise and perform any other functions, powers and duties that are conferred or imposed upon it by or under the Act or any other enactment. 
Who we are
 
Board membership
The Board's membership now comprises seven Board members.
 
The membership must include:
  • A majority of members who are practising dietitians
  • Two laypersons.  
 
The current Board is: 
 

Eruera Maxted of Whangarei (Chairperson)

Vicky Campbell of Auckland  (Deputy Chairperson)

Leasa Carlyon of Wellington (lay member)

Barbara Cormack  of Auckland 

Bonnie Roger of Papamoa (lay member)

Carol Wham of Auckland

  •  
    The Board also welcomes its new member:
    Sandy Clemett    of Christchurch.
     
    Anyone may make nominations to the Minister of suitable people to be Board members. 
     
    The Board is supported by its Registrar - Jane de Lisle
       
    Board Committees
    The Board has a number of committees working on specific tasks, which they report on to the Board.  
     
    Committee memberships and tasks from 2011 are:
     
    • Education and Accreditation Committee: Eruera Maxted, Barbara Cormack and Carol Wham. This committee reviews the education programmes offered in New Zealand that prepare students for registration as Dietitians, as well as researching current tools for accrediting educational institutions and their degrees, courses or programmes, and makes the resulting recommendations on processes to the Board. 
    • Registration and Assessment Committee: Eruera Maxted, Barbara Cormack, Carol Wham, Bonnie Roger (and the Primary Assessor as needed). This committee determines what evidence applicants for registration will have to submit, and works on the establishment of procedures for assessing qualifications and processing applications. 
    • Finance and Administration Committee: Leasa Carlyon, Bonnie Roger and Vicky Campbell. This committee governs the Board's public relations, including the design and production management of forms and publications. They review and set the fees charged by the Board. They also develop administrative processes to ensure efficiency and review the Board's website and other communications.
    • Continuing Competence Committee: Barbara Cormack, Carol Wham,   and Sue MacDonell. The role of this committee is to determine the required standard of competence, what areas competence must be shown in and to determine how it is to be proved to the Board, and all aspects of how the Continuing Competency Programme is run.
    • Complaints/Professional Conduct Committee: Bonnie Roger, Leasa Carlyon and the Board as necessary, will be responsible for any disciplinary matters or complaints needing investigation. 
     
    The Board has procedures in place to facilitate the establishment of a Professional Conduct Committee should this become necessary at any time in the future.

     

     

    • When we meet
    The Board meets four times a year. All letters for tabling at a Board meeting must be with the Registrar ten working days prior to each meeting. The next Board meeting is scheduled for 10-11 November 2011.
    Restricted Activities

    Certain Activities, which are noted for their ability to cause risk of harm to the public, were scheduled as RESTRICTED ACTIVITIES by the NZ Government under the Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act 2003 (Restricted Activities) Order 2005, (SR 2005/182).

     
    The Activity related to Dietetics is:
     
    'Prescribing of enteral or parenteral nutrition where the feed is administered through a tube into the gut or central venous catheter'.