All Massage Therapists seeking Massage Aotearoa New Zealand (MANZ) Membership who hold qualifications that were obtained outside of NZ need to go through a Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) process. There is a non-refundable application fee of $200 for this process.

The required hours, credits and content varies based on the level, but for acceptance into MANZ you will be required to provide or demonstrate:

• Qualification: Completion of an equivalent formal qualification in Massage Therapy.
• First Aid Certification: Possession of a current First Aid Certificate, including CPR with unit standards 6401, and 6402.
• A Statutory Declaration form.
• Evidence of Supervised Experience: Completion of a minimum of supervised massage clinical hours during training or post-graduation.
• A commitment to Continued Professional Development (CPD): Meet a minimum of required CPD hours over a 2-year cycle.
• A commitment to practicing within the defined Scope of Practice.
• Adherence to MANZ Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice.

To ensure a comprehensive evaluation of your overseas massage therapy qualification, please submit essential supporting documents, such as your academic transcript and a concise overview of the subjects studied, including details on hours and time frame. Additionally, include course outlines.

Evidencing Duration, Credits, and Hours of your Massage Therapy Qualification:

Verified Academic Transcripts: Provide verified academic transcripts that outline the courses, credits, and grades obtained during your massage therapy training. Verification ensures the authenticity and accuracy of the information.

Verified Qualification Certificate: Submit a verified copy of your qualification certificate, demonstrating the successful completion of your massage therapy training. Verification adds credibility to your qualification.

Course Outline Documents (Email to Admin): Include detailed course outline documents for your qualification. These documents should offer insights into the specific subjects covered, practical components, and any hands-on/supervised training involved.

Note: Verification involves confirmation by a relevant authority that the provided documents are authentic and accurate. Ensure that all submitted documents are clear, legible, and officially verified to facilitate a smooth evaluation process. If your qualifications are not already verified it is suggested that you get them verified alongside getting your Statutory Declaration form signed.

By presenting these verified documents, you contribute to a thorough assessment of the equivalency of your massage therapy qualification in comparison to the standards set by the New Zealand Qualifications Authority. It allows MANZ to evaluate the alignment of your training with the required Duration, Credits, and Hours for Level 5, Level 6 & Level 7 standards.

If the above is not provided we will be unable to process your request.

Specific outcomes as detailed by NZQA (New Zealand Qualifications Authority) are listed below. Please read the Membership Levels and ascertain which level you believe your qualification would best align with. 

If we discover that your overseas qualification is difficult to transfer for membership purposes then we may need to refer you to NZQA's Qualifications Recognition Services.

NZQA's Qualifications Recognition Services assesses qualifications awarded outside of New Zealand. The service determines whether overseas qualifications can be recognised in New Zealand and if so, then provides a comparison between the overseas qualification and the New Zealand Qualifications Framework. Here is detailed information about the service. Follow the online application process here.

The purpose of this qualification is to provide the health sector and massage therapy industry with people who can provide wellness and relaxation massage therapy services.

Graduates will be able to work within the scope of practice defined by wellness and relaxation massage. Graduates will communicate and refer with remedial massage therapists, allied health, wellness and medical professionals for those specialist services.

Graduates will be capable of working independently.

Graduate profile

Graduates of this qualification will be able to:

• Demonstrate knowledge of human functioning and apply knowledge to wellness and relaxation massage therapy practice.

Strategic purpose statement

The purpose of this qualification is to provide the health sector and massage therapy industry with people who can provide remedial massage therapy services. Graduates will be able to work within the scope of practice defined by remedial massage and wellness and relaxation massage. Graduates will communicate and refer with other massage therapists, allied health, wellness and medical professionals for those specialist services. Graduates will be capable of working independently in an unsupervised and autonomous self-managing capacity

Graduate profile

Graduates will be able to:

• Demonstrate knowledge of biomedical, behavioural, educational, and social science bases of healthcare and apply knowledge to appropriately treat a variety of musculoskeletal and other system conditions.
• Assess, plan, implement, and evaluate remedial massage therapy interventions to address musculoskeletal dysfunction.
• Demonstrate research literacy and apply evidence-based learning to inform clinical judgements and intervention strategies and maintain currency of massage therapy practice.
• Select and apply a range of professional, self-management, communication and client service knowledge and skills to meet remedial massage therapy client and industry needs.

NZQA states that

A Bachelor's Degree provides individuals with a systematic and coherent introduction to a body of knowledge of a recognised major subject as well as to problem-solving and associated basic techniques of self-directed work and learning. A Bachelor's Degree involves at least one sequential study programme in which content is progressively developed such that it might form a basis for postgraduate study and/or professional practice. Bachelor's Degrees are taught mainly by people engaged in research.

A graduate of a Bachelor's Degree is able to:

• Demonstrate intellectual independence, critical thinking and analytic rigour
• Engage in self-directed learning
• Demonstrate knowledge and skills related to the ideas, principles, concepts, chief research methods and problem-solving techniques of a recognised major subject
• Demonstrate the skills needed to acquire, understand and assess information from a range of sources
• Demonstrate communication and collaborative skills.