Oral Health Practitioners (Fees) Amendment Notice 2026

This notice is pursuant to sections 130–133 of the Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act 2003 (“Act”), and administered by the Dental Council.

Notice

1. Title and Commencement

This notice may be cited as the Oral Health Practitioners (Fees) Amendment Notice 2026 and shall come into force on 1 October 2026, with fees payable to the Dental Council effective from this date.
This notice is secondary legislation pursuant to the Legislation Act 2019.
This notice is an amendment to the notice titled “Oral Health Practitioners (Fees and Levies) Notice 2026” (“principal notice”) published in the New Zealand Gazette, 29 January 2026, Notice No. 2026-sl385, to introduce fees on new registration pathways.
This notice is published on the Dental Council website www.dcnz.org.nz/resources-and-publications/resources/gazette-notices.

2. Introduction

In March 2026, the Dental Council agreed to establish three new pathways to registration: Competent Authority – Registration, Comparable Health Systems and Teaching and Research.

This amending notice establishes the fees for applications for registration under these new pathways. Under the Dental Council’s principle of ‘user pays’ activities, these fees have been conservatively set at the same level as the existing overseas prescribed qualification pathway (to be renamed Competent Authority – Qualification), with the monitoring of oversight/supervision anticipated and included in each new fee depending on the specific requirements for each pathway.

3. Tax

The fees are stated exclusive of Goods and Services Tax (GST). All fees are subject to the addition of GST at the applicable rate.

Amendment to Fees Schedule in Principal Notice

The fees schedule in the principal notice is amended as follows:

Registration and Other Fees	*NZD $*
Add the following entries at the end of the subsection:
Registration Fees (plus applicable annual practising certificate fee and disciplinary levy or non-practising retention fee)
Applicant via Competent Authority – Qualification
Application for assessment of eligibility to be registered	1,597.00
Applicant via Competent Authority – Registration
Application for assessment of eligibility to be registered	1,888.00
Applicant via Comparable Health Systems
Application for assessment of eligibility to be registered	2,179.00
Applicant via Teaching and Research
Application for assessment of eligibility to be registered	1,743.00
Add the following entry at the end of the subsection:
Other Fees
Annual monitoring fee for teaching and research registrations	97.00
Additional cost recovery fees may apply
The new registration pathways include a condition on the scope of practice requiring oversight or supervision. For the avoidance of doubt, the following section and annotation of notes as described in the principal notice “Oral Health Practitioners (Fees and Levies) Notice 2026” may apply to practitioners under the new registration pathway where additional costs are incurred by the Dental Council.
Professional Standards Fees^{1, 2, 3}
Supervision^{1, 2, 3}	Cost recovery
Oversight^{1, 2, 3}	Cost recovery

Annotation of Notes

1. Any cost recoveries or fees will reflect the specific requirements of each individual programme and third-party costings at the time the programme is established. The practitioner will be advised of the components of their individualised programme and the requirements agreed in writing by both parties prior to commencement.
2. The practitioner will be charged direct professional fees and travel and accommodation expenses for supervisors, those providing oversight, tutors, course administrators etc. These expenses will be charged on an actual and reasonable basis in accordance with the Dental Council’s fees and payments and expenditure decisions and probity policies. Course materials, venue costs and administration expenses will also be charged based on actual costs.

Competence Programme / Recertification Programme / Supervision:

For a practitioner who is:

required to undertake a competence programme set or recognised by the council under section 40 of the Act;
required to undertake an individual recertification programme set or recognised by the council under section 41 of the Act; or
the subject of a condition included in the practitioner’s scope of practice requiring the practitioner to practise subject to the supervision of one or more nominated health practitioners or health practitioners of a stated class.

Any cost recoveries or fees will reflect all costs and expenses actually and reasonably incurred by the council in relation to the competence programme, recertification programme or supervision that applies to the practitioner. Such costs and expenses may include, without limitation:

fees for service providers engaged by the council in relation to the programme/supervision;
travel, accommodation, and travel-related costs incurred in connection with site visits; and
administration expenses for council administration, printing, postage, and communications.

Fees payable will reflect the specific requirements of each individual programme or supervision and can range depending on the level of education required or the duration of supervision required to bring a practitioner up to the required standard.

3. The practitioner will be charged for staff administrative overheads at $97.00 an hour.

Dated at Wellington this 31st day of March 2026.

MARIE MACKAY, Chief Executive, Dental Council

Explanatory Note

This notice updates the Dental Council fee schedule to include the new registration pathway fees with effect from 1 October 2026. The changes consist of:

The establishment of the registration fees for the new pathways were consulted on with dentists and dental specialists, dental therapists, dental hygienists and orthodontic auxiliaries, oral health therapists, dental technicians and clinical dental technicians and other stakeholders from November 2025 to January 2026. Following the close of the consultation period on 29 January 2026, the new registration fees for 2026/27 were approved by the Dental Council at its meeting on 25 March 2026.
Except as described above, no other changes have been made to fees as previously published in the principal notice “Oral Health Practitioners (Fees and Levies) Notice 2026”, published in the New Zealand Gazette, 29 January 2026, Notice No. 2026-sl385. The principal notice is not revoked or otherwise affected.

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