Welcome to MANZ

Massage Aotearoa New Zealand (MANZ) is the only massage therapy specific membership body in New Zealand for professional Massage Therapists. Our purpose is to promote massage therapy and the ongoing development of the massage industry in New Zealand through educating the public about the benefits of massage therapy for health and wellness and supporting the public to access high quality massage therapy through our database of MANZ registered Massage Therapists. 

READ MORE

Find a Massage Therapist

Region

Therapy

or Keyword: Eg. Name or Suburb or City

Benefits of choosing a MANZ therapist

Massage & Myotherapy Australia and Massage New Zealand
presents:

2023 National Conference

27-28 May 2023

More info

Shaping our Industry Together

Grand Millennium Hotel Auckland

Turning a qualification into a career

Massage therapy in New Zealand is an unregulated profession. That means that anybody can set up shop as a Massage Therapist without any qualifications or experience. However, MANZ as the national industry body representing qualified Massage Therapists in New Zealand does not endorse this practice.

People who are unqualified or do not meet the MANZ standards for education or practice are not eligible for membership.

Massage New Zealand does not accredit qualifications. Instead MANZ supports NZQA quality assured qualifications from NZQA accredited education providers. There are a range of NZQA accredited education providers and courses available in New Zealand. MANZ is unable to recommend one NZQA education provider over another.

There are three main levels of undergraduate massage therapy education. An outline is found here.

If you are thinking about a career as a Massage Therapist, have a look at the following web links to inform your decision.

Southern Institute of Technology, Journal of Applied Research, Special Edition, A massage degree and beyond: the journey of BTSM graduates

This reports on a survey of NZ bachelor degree graduates who report “that a career in massage therapy appeals to people from a wide range of ages, occupations and qualifications, who are motivated by an interest in health, the body, touch/massage, and who want to work with and help people. Many were quickly employed and were highly satisfied with their careers. Most found their massage therapy career rewarding, and they enjoyed helping people and making a difference. The majority of graduates found employment within the massage industry and most remained in massage therapy practice in New Zealand” (p. 28). A number of graduate stories are also reported on pages 63-90 that show the diversity of jobs that graduates were working in.

CareersNZ : Massage Therapist

This is from the CareersNZ website and it provides some general background information about massage therapy as a job.

A Descriptive Study of the Practice Patterns of Massage Aotearoa New Zealand Massage Therapists

This takes you to a research article that describes the practice patterns of MANZ Massage Therapists. While the data is now a few years old, it is likely that there will be minimal change in practice patterns.

Australian Association of Massage Therapists (AAMT) Student Journal ‘Hands on!’

A great resource for students and future massage therapy students. The Journal for Massage Therapy Students is published by the Australian Association of Massage Therapists. There is a regular column titles “Career Paths”; Issue 10 outlines the career of a New Zealand qualified Massage Therapist.

Find a Therapist:

Region

Therapy

or Keyword: Eg. Name or Suburb or City

Benefits of choosing a MANZ therapist

foot massage therapy

Join MNZ

Benefits of being a member, costs and process, frequently asked questions.

About Massage Therapy

What is massage therapy, the evidence of practice, FAQs

Baby Massage Therapy

Students

Turning a qualification into a career, support and new grad info

MoST Content Management V3.0.8634