Hello to all therapists working in the massage profession,

Responding to various surveys over the years - the one thing that you have consistently asked for is Government Regulation. As President of Massage New Zealand I wrote an article for our last magazine edition, looking into the various factors that would be involved in becoming Government Regulated or staying with Self-Regulation. There was as much information as I had at the time in the article, but it has been brought to my attention that some post-graduate qualifications have the condition that regulation under the Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act is required before you can enrol in certain courses, so this may be something to consider as well.

Both members of MNZ and non-members were invited to complete a survey by September 2018 to see whether there was an appetite for MNZ to pursue Government Regulation on behalf of the profession.

Members were encouraged to read the Q2 magazine article before completing the survey, for non-members there is a link below to the article to give you more information. I mention the "Appearance Industry Project" - this is a Ministry of Health initiative to implement Government Regulation on some professions which aren't currently governed by the Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act or other legislation. This initiative is in its very early stages and hasn't gone out for public consultation yet, so there is not much information available yet about what this would mean for massage therapists.

Download MNZ President, Helen Smith's Article on Govt regulation or Self-regulation

Link to Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act

Warm Regards

Helen Smith

President

Massage New Zealand