Dapaanz registers both Alcohol and other Drug (AOD) Practitioners and Problem Gambling (PG) Practitioners.

The application and maintenance requirements for dapaanz Registered Practitioners aims to ensure effective, ethical and compassionate professional practice, so people who access addiction services experience positive services and outcomes.

Registration with dapaanz is an assurance of your competencies as an addiction practitioner as measured against the Addiction Intervention Competency Framework. These include the Let’s Get Real values and attitudes, the Essential and Practitioner levels of the Foundation competencies, and the specialist Practitioner competencies (Problem Gambling and/or Alcohol and other Drug).

All dapaanz members, regardless of membership category or type, are also subject to Tikanga Matatika – dapaanz Code of Ethics.

How to become a Registered Practitioner

Becoming a Registered Practitioner is a two-phased process.

Applicants first apply to be a Provisional Practitioner and hold this status for a minimum of 12 months (and up to 36 months if additional addiction qualifications are required), before applying for full registration.

Qualifications and practice requirements for Provisional and Full Registration are described in the relevant sections below.

For further details, please read our Membership and Practitioner Registration Policy (last issued January 2023) and Recognition of Addictions Qualifications Policy (last issued: March 2021).

To become a Provisional Practitioner, your qualification must be:

  • A Level 7 Bachelor qualification, or higher, on the New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA) Education Framework. (The only exception to an applied bachelor’s degree is the Level 7 Te Taketake Diploma in Applied Addiction Counselling).
  • Relevant i.e., teaches and assesses learning related to the foundation competencies of the Addiction Intervention Competency Framework (2011), including knowledge and skills related to supporting people with health or social issues, such as assessment, talking therapies and case management. Graduates must be able to conduct a psychosocial assessment, formulate a logical intervention plan, and deliver an intervention.
  • Applied i.e., teaching and assessment of clinical practice that includes interpersonal therapeutic skills relevant to addiction practice; as well as an opportunity to apply knowledge and skills within a work context, through a clinically supervised and assessed practicum of at least 120 hours in a clinical setting.

Qualifications which meet provisional registration criteria include:

OR

  • An applied Bachelor’s degree, or higher, in social work, counselling, nursing, medicine, occupational therapy, or similar that demonstrates HPCA health professional competencies.

If you do not hold one of these applied qualifications, your pathway to registration will be longer – you will need to complete one of the dapaanz- recognised, applied addiction qualifications to qualify for provisional registration.

See the Pathways to registration – qualification requirements table below to see your steps to provisional and full registration.

(click to see full size)

Important points to remember:

  • The following Bachelor’s degrees tend NOT to be applied: Art (Psychology), Science (Psychology), Health Sciences, Social Sciences, or Youth Development.
  • We can only consider international qualifications if they have been assessed as equivalent to New Zealand qualification requirements by NZQA.
  • All qualifications must include supervised and assessed clinical practice of at least 120 hours.
  • These 120 hours qualify you for provisional registration. They do not count towards the required clinical practice hours for full registration.

Please contact us if you have any queries related to qualifications you currently have, or are thinking about pursuing.

Practice Requirements: Provisional Practitioner

Applicants for provisional practitioner status need to have been working in addiction clinical practice for at least 6 months prior to applying.

During this time:

  • Applicants must have been responsible for an addiction clinical caseload and have been regularly supervised by a dapaanz accredited supervisor
  • Applicants for provisional status are required to have completed a minimum of 100 hours of supervised addiction practice, including at least 75 hours working directly with clients in a therapeutic capacity
  • Student practicum or internships, support work, and non-addiction related clinical practice do not fulfil the requirements for supervised addiction practice.

If you have queries related to your practice experience, please contact us. For further details about Provisional Practitioner status, please refer to the Membership and Practitioner Registration Policy, pages 9-12.

To become a registered practitioner, you must have:

  • Completed a dapaanz-recognised, applied addiction qualification. The only exception is for provisional practitioners with an applied bachelor’s degree in Nursing, Social Work, Medicine, Counselling, or similar. Full registration for these practitioners is dependent on completion of either a dapaanz-recognised, applied addiction qualification OR an approved addictions qualification (nonapplied) that covers the addiction specific competencies in the Addiction Intervention Competency Framework.
  • Agreed to work within Tikanga Matatika: Dapaanz Code of Ethics (2020).
  • A minimum of 12 months provisional registration.
  • Completed at least 12 months of supervised addiction clinical practice (including 1000 hours of work with clients – of which 500 hours must be direct client contact). Your manager and dapaanz accredited clinical supervisor will need to endorse this and that you are practising competently and ethically.
  • Earned 100 continuing professional development (CPD) points over the 12 months prior to applying for full registration.
  • Completed a Disclosure and Declaration of any: previous convictions of a criminal offence; disciplinary action from an employer; or upheld complaints about professional practice.

The following qualifications meet the requirements for full registration for provisionally registered practitioners who have an applied Bachelor in Nursing, Social Work, Occupational Therapy, Medicine, Counselling or similar (that has been approved by dapaanz):

  • Auckland University of Technology – Graduate Certificate or Diploma in Health Sciences (important note – PSYCH 714 and PSYCH 711 must be completed alongside other AUT requirements. Students are required to provide evidence of this).
  • Te Pūkenga (Wintec) – Postgraduate Certificate in Mental Health and Addiction
  • WelTec – Graduate Diploma in Applied Addiction Studies (no longer open for enrolment – important note – AS 6233 and AS 6232 must have been completed alongside other WelTec requirements. Students are required to provide evidence of this).

Find out more about applying for registration, or contact us.