The Nursing Council of New Zealand

is the regulatory authority responsible for the registration of nurses. Its primary function is to protect the health and safety of members of the public by ensuring that nurses are competent and fit to practise. Under the Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act 2003 is the responsible authority that governs the practice of nurses. The council sets and monitors standards in the interests of the public and the profession. The council’s primary concern is public safety. The council fulfils this function by:

• Registering nurses

• Setting ongoing competence requirements and issuing practicing certificates

• Setting scopes of practice and the qualifications required for registration

• Accrediting and monitoring education providers and setting the state examination

• Providing guidelines and standards for practice

• Receiving and acting on notifications of health and competence concerns Receiving and acting on complaints about the conduct of nurses

• Promoting public awareness of the council’s responsibilities

The code of conduct is a set of standards defined by the Council describing the behaviour or conduct that nurses are expected to uphold. The code of conduct provides guidance on appropriate behaviour for all nurses and can be used by health consumers, nurses, employers, the nursing council and other bodies to evaluate the behaviour of nurses. Failure to uphold these standards of behaviour could lead to disciplinary investigation. This is not a code of ethics – it does not seek to describe all the ethical values of the profession or to provide specific advice on ethical issues, ethical frameworks or ethical decision making.