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Employer Responsibilities under the Act
The purpose of the Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act 2003 (HPCAA) is to protect the health and safety of the public by
establishing mechanisms to ensure that health practitioners are competent and fit to practise their professions. If you are an
employer of a registered oral health practitioner you should be aware of how the Act impacts on you.
In addition to the information provided under annual practising certificates and scopes of practice, the following points
should also be noted:
- If an employee employed as a health practitioner resigns or is dismissed from his or her employment for reasons relating to
competence, the employer must give the Registrar of the Dental Council written notice of the reasons for that resignation or
dismissal [s 34(3)].
- If an employer of an oral health practitioner has reason to believe that the practitioner is unable to perform the
functions required for the practice of his or her profession because of some mental or physical condition, the employer must
promptly give the Registrar of the Dental Council written notice of all the circumstances [s 45(2)].
- The statutory functions of the Dental Council include notifying employers that the practice of a health practitioner may
pose a risk of harm to the employer [s 118(g)]. If the Dental Council has reason to believe that an oral health practitioner
poses a risk of harm to the public, it must promptly give the employer of the practitioner written notice of the circumstances
that have given rise to that belief [s 35(1)(d)]. The Council may also give this written notice to any person who works in
partnership or in association with the practitioner.
- If the Dental Council, having conducted a review of the competence of an oral health practitioner, has reason to believe
that the practitioner fails to meet the required standard of competence, and issues an order under s 38 - for example, an order
that conditions be placed on the practitioner's scope of practice - it must ensure that a copy of the order is given within
five working days to the employer of the practitioner and any person who works in partnership or association with the
practitioner [s 39(3)(a)].
- If the Dental Council reviews the competence of an oral health practitioner or has set a competence or recertification
programme for the practitioner, it may for the purposes of the review or programme inspect all or any of the records of the
practitioner, who must make the records available [s 42].
A copy of the HPCAA is available on-line on the NZ Legislation website www.legislation.govt.nz.
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