About the NZPB
The New Zealand Psychologists Board (NZPB) regulates psychologists under the HPCA Act 2003 — registration, competence standards, and fitness to practise.
New Zealand · Psychologists
Ethics & Professionalism Courses for Psychologists in New Zealand
Developed for psychologists holding an Annual Practising Certificate from the New Zealand Psychologists Board (NZPB). Our courses address clinical competence, cultural competence, ethical conduct, and fitness to practise under the HPCA Act 2003. Written by healthcare professionals who understand NZ regulation.
Why These Courses?
Aligned with NZPB guidelines. Helping psychologists facing an investigation, inquiry or fitness to practise review, and for CPD purposes.
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We'll recommend the courses you need based on your situation
ETHICS & CONDUCT STANDARDS
Ethics and Ethical Standards for Psychologists
Covers ethical obligations including duties to report concerns, maintain honesty, and uphold probity in all professional dealings — core NZPB requirements.
2 CPD hours · aligned with NZPB
PROFESSIONALISM STANDARDS
Professionalism and Professional Standards for Psychologists
Covers professional standards and behaviours expected by the NZPB — conduct, communication, teamwork, and maintaining public trust.
2 CPD hours · aligned with NZPB
PROFESSIONAL ETHICS
Professional Ethics Course
Explores the professional ethics landscape — ethical obligations, standards of practice, and regulatory expectations set by the NZPB.
2 CPD hours · aligned with NZPB
MEDICAL ETHICS
Medical Ethics Course
Comprehensive course on medical ethics principles — ethical frameworks, moral reasoning, and professional decision-making aligned with NZPB guidelines.
2 CPD hours · aligned with NZPB
DUTY OF CANDOUR
Duty of Candour for Healthcare Professionals
Covers duty of candour obligations — being open and honest with patients when things go wrong, as required by the NZPB.
2 CPD hours · aligned with NZPB
CONFIDENTIALITY
Confidentiality in Healthcare Practice
Understand confidentiality obligations under NZPB guidelines — data protection, justified disclosure, and information sharing.
2 CPD hours · aligned with NZPB
PRIVACY, CONSENT & CHAPERONE
Privacy, Consent and Chaperone in Healthcare Practice
Training on valid informed consent, patient privacy, capacity assessment, and chaperone requirements per NZPB guidelines.
2 CPD hours · aligned with NZPB
COMMUNICATION
Effective Communication for Healthcare Professionals
Communication skills that prevent complaints — breaking bad news, shared decision-making, and conflict resolution per NZPB guidelines.
2 CPD hours · aligned with NZPB
DOCUMENTATION
Documentation for Healthcare Professionals
Create clear, legally defensible records meeting NZPB standards — electronic records, amendments, and common errors.
2 CPD hours · aligned with NZPB
SOCIAL MEDIA
Social Media Professionalism and Boundaries for Healthcare Professionals
Navigate social media risks — NZPB guidance on online conduct, digital confidentiality, and reputation management.
2 CPD hours · aligned with NZPB
TEAMWORK
Ensuring Teamwork and Collaboration
Strengthen multidisciplinary teamwork — communication, handover protocols, hierarchy management, and safe team environments.
2 CPD hours · aligned with NZPB
CLINICAL COMPETENCE
Ensuring Clinical Competence and Patient Safety
Maintain and demonstrate clinical competence as required by the NZPB — patient safety, risk management, and governance.
2 CPD hours · aligned with NZPB
PRESCRIBING
Prescribing Guidance and Standards for Healthcare Professionals
Ethical and professional standards for safe prescribing — regulatory guidelines, controlled substances, and protocols.
2 CPD hours · aligned with NZPB
PROBITY
Probity and Honesty for Healthcare Professionals
What probity means under NZPB guidelines — honesty, financial integrity, transparency, and managing conflicts of interest.
2 CPD hours · aligned with NZPB
FINANCIAL INTEGRITY
Financial Integrity for Healthcare Professionals
Navigate financial ethics — conflicts of interest, industry relationships, billing ethics, gift policies, and full transparency.
2 CPD hours · aligned with NZPB
TRUST REBUILDING
Rebuilding Trust of Patients, Public and Healthcare Regulator
Practical guidance on rebuilding professional trust after an incident — restoring confidence with patients, the public, and the NZPB.
2 CPD hours · aligned with NZPB
FITNESS TO PRACTICE
Fitness to Practise for Healthcare Professionals
Essential course for NZPB proceedings — complaints, investigation, hearings, demonstrating insight, remediation, and outcomes.
2 CPD hours · aligned with NZPB
MODULE ON INSIGHT
Insight for Fitness to Practise
Build professional insight — recognising limitations, understanding impact, and satisfying NZPB expectations during proceedings.
2 CPD hours · aligned with NZPB
MODULE ON REMEDIATION
Remediation for Fitness to Practise
Guidance on effective remediation — action plans, evidencing change, and demonstrating concerns are addressed.
2 CPD hours · aligned with NZPB
MODULE ON REFLECTION
Reflection for Fitness to Practise
Develop meaningful reflective practice — reflective accounts, structured frameworks, and meeting NZPB expectations.
2 CPD hours · aligned with NZPB
MISTAKE & MISCONDUCT PREVENTION
Ensuring No Repeat of Misconduct or Mistake in Future Practice
Demonstrate that past issues will not be repeated — root cause analysis, practice changes, and sustained improvement.
2 CPD hours · aligned with NZPB
COMPLAINT OR INVESTIGATION
Dealing with a Complaint or Investigation Professionally
Guidance on managing complaints professionally — investigation process, response letters, lessons learned, and resilience.
2 CPD hours · aligned with NZPB
PROFESSIONAL BOUNDARIES
Professional Boundaries Course
Covers the boundary spectrum, dual relationships, warning signs of drift, sexual boundary violations, and maintaining trust.
2 CPD hours · aligned with NZPB
ETHICAL BOUNDARIES
Ethical Boundaries with Patients and Colleagues
Maintaining ethical boundaries in clinical relationships — patient interactions, colleague dynamics, and power imbalances.
2 CPD hours · aligned with NZPB
Psychologist ethics & CPD courses for the NZPB Continuing Competence Programme
Ethics, Professionalism and CPD Courses for Psychologists in New Zealand
If you are searching for psychologist CPD, an ethics course for psychologists, or continuing professional development to support your Annual Practising Certificate (APC) and NZPB Continuing Competence Programme, these online courses are built for you. For psychologists registered with the New Zealand Psychologists Board, registration risk most often turns on ethics, professional boundaries, confidentiality and conduct — the everyday judgements measured against the Board’s Code of Ethics, Core Competencies and the HDC Code of Rights.
Psychologist CPD, the Continuing Competence Programme (CCP) and your APC
The NZPB Continuing Competence Programme (CCP) asks psychologists who hold an APC to complete an annual Self-Reflective Review against the Core Competencies, set learning objectives with a supervisor, and record CPD in a logbook. Our ethics and professionalism courses for psychologists each award 2 CPD hours and document the ethical learning at the heart of the Code of Ethics. Confirm with the NZPB how to record these in your CCP logbook.
Fitness to practise, HDC complaints and NZPB competence reviews
Learning that a concern or complaint has been raised — whether to the Health and Disability Commissioner, your employer or the NZPB — is one of the most stressful moments in a psychology career. Our courses on dealing with a complaint or investigation and fitness to practise explain the process and help you respond constructively and professionally.
Demonstrating insight, reflection and remediation
When the NZPB or a review panel assesses a psychologist, it looks for genuine insight, reflection and remediation rather than clinical knowledge alone — and assurance there will be no repeat of the concern. These courses give you documented, dated CPD evidence for a formal response or self-reflective review.
What our psychology ethics and professionalism courses cover
Ethics, informed consent and confidentiality
The core obligations every psychologist relies on: informed consent and privacy, confidentiality and its limits, the duty of candour after an adverse event, and accurate clinical documentation and record-keeping that stands up to scrutiny.
Professional boundaries, probity and conduct
The conduct standards that most often draw complaints in psychology: professional boundaries and dual relationships, ethical boundaries with clients and colleagues, probity and honesty, financial integrity, and social media professionalism.
Common triggers for psychology complaints
Many matters before the HDC or the NZPB arise from boundary and communication issues, confidentiality breaches, concerns about competence, or record-keeping rather than a failure of clinical knowledge. Understanding these standards is the most reliable way to reduce that risk.
Online, self-paced psychologist CPD with an instant certificate
Every course is online and self-paced, takes around two hours, and awards 2 CPD hours with a Certificate of Completion available for immediate download — NZ$99 per course. Browse the full ethics and professionalism CPD course catalogue for New Zealand psychologists to match courses to your Continuing Competence Programme, APC renewal or fitness to practise needs.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are these psychologists ethics courses recognised by the NZPB for CPD?
The courses are written to align with the NZPB's standards of ethical conduct and professionalism, so completing one and keeping your certificate is a practical way to evidence professional development in your portfolio. They are an independent education resource rather than an official NZPB product, so always confirm your specific recertification requirements with the Board.
Will a course help if I am facing a complaint or fitness to practise investigation?
Yes. When the NZPB, a Professional Conduct Committee or the Health and Disability Commissioner reviews a concern, they look for genuine insight, meaningful remediation and honest reflection. Courses on insight, remediation, reflection and ensuring no repeat help you understand exactly what is expected and produce credible evidence of change. They support — but do not replace — your own legal and professional advice.
Are the courses online and self-paced?
Yes. Every course is fully online and self-paced, so you can work through it around your clinical commitments, on any device, with no fixed start date.
Do I receive a certificate?
Yes. On finishing each course you can download a certificate of completion to keep in your CPD, appraisal or recertification records, or to provide as evidence during a review.
What is the difference between the Ethics course and the Professionalism course?
The Ethics and Ethical Standards course focuses on ethical principles and decision-making — confidentiality, consent, conflicts of interest and applying ethical frameworks to real psychologists scenarios. The Professionalism and Professional Standards course focuses on conduct and behaviour — communication, teamwork, record-keeping, boundaries and maintaining public trust. Many practitioners take both for full coverage.
How do the courses help with confidentiality and dual relationships?
Confidentiality and avoiding dual relationships are among the most common ethical pressure points for psychologists, and they sit at the heart of the Code of Ethics for Psychologists Working in Aotearoa New Zealand. The Ethics, Confidentiality and Professional Boundaries courses work through realistic scenarios — when disclosure is justified, how to manage overlapping roles in small communities, and how to spot boundary drift early — so you can apply the principles with confidence.
I have just been notified by my Board or the HDC — where should I start?
Start with Fitness to Practise for an overview of the process, then Dealing with a Complaint or Investigation Professionally. If specific concerns have been identified, add the Insight, Remediation and Reflection modules so you can evidence each step the regulator looks for.
Can I use these courses for my recertification or CPD portfolio?
Yes — your certificate and reflective notes can be included as a professional development activity. Confirm the exact categories and hours your NZPB recertification programme requires.
Who writes the courses?
Our courses are developed under the direction of Dr Shehzad Iqbal — MRCS (Member of the Royal College of Surgeons of England), MRCGP (Member of the Royal College of General Practitioners), and holder of a Postgraduate Certificate in Healthcare Law and Ethics from the University of Dundee. Content is written with close reference to the New Zealand Psychologists Board’s Code of Ethics and standards, the Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act 2003 and the HDC Code of Rights, so it is clinically grounded, legally informed and relevant to psychology practice in Aotearoa New Zealand.
How much do they cost, and can I buy several at once?
Each course is NZ$99. You can add as many as you need to your basket and check out together — practitioners preparing for a review often combine the ethics, professionalism and fitness-to-practise modules.
Preparing for Investigation or seeking CPD?
Courses written by healthcare professionals, aligned with NZPB guidelines for psychologists in New Zealand.
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