NZASA Registration Board, Assessors and AGM

NZASA Registration Board

NZASA’s Registration Board is made up of a maximum of 10 members, a maximum of seven of whom are qualified in acupuncture and/or Chinese herbal medicine plus the Registrar. The additional two seats may be attributed to a layperson or persons with special skills (law, accounting, public health, etc).

Some of the Registration Board also have professional backgrounds in other health modalities along with legal and translation professions which further serve the needs of the NZASA membership.

The Registration Board meets on a monthly basis. The meetings provide the opportunity to discuss and resolve queries from members as they arise and to develop governance policies about how NZASA serves its members. The Registration Board continues to work towards the recognition of Chinese Medicine (acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine) as a health profession under the HPCA Act.

NZASA is a cost-effective organisation and keeps its fees to a minimum level. All fees, including Annual Practising Certificate fees, are reviewed yearly by the NZASA Registration Board. 

Registration Board members are paid a $1.50-a-day honorarium for their services ($547.50 per year each) and appropriate fees for attending meetings. There are no other expensive charges for Board meetings, or for mortgages or any other costs not directly related to serving the professional needs of members. All overheads are kept to a minimum.  See the Membership pages for fees. The only regular paid position is that of the Registrar.

Each member of the Registration Board is required to take responsibility for a specific portfolio. Details are as follows.

 

Portfolio: CPD

Representative: Hongmei (Mary) Zhang – Auckland

Supported by: Anna Dai

The NZASA CPD representative will:

  • Liaise with established providers with view to pre-approval of their CPD.
  • Establish and maintain the CPD approvals process for individual applications from practitioners.

 

Portfolio: Policy

Representatives: Xingyi Zheng – Auckland

Supported by: Anna Dai

The NZASA policy representative will:

  • Keep abreast of relevant policy within the wider allied/primary health sector.
  • Maintain up-to-date policy documentation, re-drafting as required for approval by the Registration Board.
  • Take responsibility for the application of the Privacy Act.

 

Portfolio: Communications Representative

Representative: Helen Dickenson – Auckland

Supported by Tien-Hao (Sky) Shih (Vice-Chairman) 

The NZASA communications representative will:

  • Maintain a review of relevant publications and advise the Registration Board of any articles of relevance.
  • Draft a response to articles as appropriate.
  • Submit all written material and press releases to the Registration Board for approval.

 

Portfolio: ACC Representative

Representative: Tien-Hao (Sky) Shih (Vice-Chairman) – Auckland

Supported by Peng (Bob) Wang (Chairman) and Helen Dickenson

The NZASA ACC representative will:

  • Provide primary liaison contact between the Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) and NZASA.
  • Ensure the Registration Board is kept up-to-date with current issues within ACC. 
  • Attend relevant meetings and develop business relationships with the relevant people within ACC.
  • Bring issues to the Registration Board for consideration that may either impact the Chinese medicine (including acupuncture) profession or where NZASA could offer constructive input. 

 

Portfolio: Chinese Medicine Regulation

Representatives: Dan (Anna) Dai, Tien-Hao (Sky) Shih (Vice-Chairman), Helen Dickenson and Peng (Bob) Wang – Auckland

The NZASA Chinese medicine regulation representatives (singly or together) will:

  • Oversee the development of a regulatory framework for Chinese Medicine.
  • Represent the interests of NZASA.
  • Attend relevant meetings of the Chinese medicine profession.
  • Deal with any relevant regulatory correspondence.
  • Report back to the Registration Board and the NZASA membership on progress and the implications for members.

 

Portfolio: Legal Advisor Liaison Officer

Representative: Peng (Bob) Wang (Chairman) – Auckland

NZASA Legal advisor liaison officer: Peng (Bob) Wang (Chairman)

The legal liaison officer’s role is to engage and liaise between NZASA’s legal advisors and the Registration board.

NZASA’s legal advisors are primarily engaged for the below but not limited to:

  • Assist the Chairman, Registrar and Registration Board by assessing the legal ramifications of events, situations and documentation relating to the operation of NZASA.
  • Advise the Registration Board on the interpretation and amendment of the NZASA Rules.
  • Review and advise upon any matters of law that come before the Registration Board.
  • Assist in understanding and drafting legal correspondence entering and leaving NZASA.
  • Respond to requests for assistance by the Chairman and Registrar for evaluation on issues of legal responsibility and liability. 

 

Portfolio: Chinese Medicine Reviewer (Cochrane, NICE et al)

Representative: Xinyi Zheng – Auckland

The NZASA Chinese medicine reviewer representative will:

  • Represent the interests of NZASA and comment on research and media articles, when appropriate.
  • Review relevant research articles on Chinese medicine and provide comments for the membership via the website.
  • Develop a research section on the NZASA website.
  • Deal with any inquiries from the membership about published Chinese medicine research, its relevance and application.

 

Portfolio: IT

Representative: Tien-Hao (Sky) Shih (Vice-Chairman) – Auckland

The NZASA IT representative will:

  • Zoom facilitation for webinars.
  • Basic updating, organizing, and managing of the NZASA website. 

 

Portfolio: Complaints Assessment Committees (CAC)

Representative: Tien-Hao (Sky) Shih (Vice-Chairman) – Auckland

Supported by Hongmei (Mary) Zhang

The NZASA CAC representative will:

  • Coordination of CAC volunteers listing.
  • Attribution of CAC participants.

 

NZASA Supplementary Support to the Registration Board

The NZASA Registration Board is assisted by several ‘off-committee’ representatives. Currently these cover:

  • Natural Health Products Bill liaison.
  • Translation services: Emily Yu and Glenn Zou.

 

NZASA Assessors

NZASA utilises the skills of several trained Assessors to undertake Clinic Inspections and Professional Visits as well as random (and other) audits.

Auckland:

  • Hongmei (Mary) Zhang
  • Dan (Anna) Dai

Christchurch:

  • Guan Hua (Patrick) Guo
  • Danny Cai

Dunedin:

  • Laura Bradburn
  • Meng (Jay) Jing

 

Annual General Meeting (AGM)

The AGM is usually held within four months of the end of the financial year (which runs from 1st April to 31st March). The Chairman’s Report, Financial Report and General Matters are reported to members at this meeting. Members are given a minimum of 21 days notice of the AGM date and all members are welcome to attend. Any changes submitted by the Registration Board to NZASA’s Constitution, Ethics, Standards etc, should be tabled prior to the distribution of the meeting notice. General members/registrants desiring to move any motion at an AGM must notify the Registrar before 31 March in each year [Rule 13.8] (ie by midnight, 30th March).

 

Feedback

NZASA’s Board is always working to improve its general and website services to its members within the bounds of its role as a registration authority. If you have any feedback for the NZASA Registration Board, please submit that here.