Changes to Registration for Sterile Technicians

This will require several changes and updates to some of our guidelines and processes which affect sterile technicians, e.g. –we are required to have a complaints process, the scope of practice and competencies will be updated and the registration process which is a requirement of self-regulation shall be more robust.

As a first step in the process the NZSSA executive has agreed to make an amendment to the registration process. There has long been confusion between membership of the NZSSA and registration with the NZSSA.

Membership is belonging to an association and the fees associated with this are mandated within various union agreements. This means that the employer has agreed to pay this membership or reimburse you for this upon presentation of a receipt proving payment.

Registration is generally the term used when you pay a fee to a professional body and are issued with a licence to practise e.g. nursing Council registration.

As sterile technicians are not paying for a licence to practice, it has been decided to amend the title.

From July 2023 qualified sterile technicians shall be