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Social Workers Registration Act 2003

Registration, authorisation to practise within scope of practice, and practising certificates - Certificates of registration

21: Surrender of certificate of registration

You could also call this:

"What to do with your social worker registration certificate if it's cancelled, suspended, or changed"

Illustration for Social Workers Registration Act 2003

If your registration as a social worker is cancelled or suspended, any certificate of registration you hold is also cancelled. You must give the Registrar your certificate of registration within 14 days after the Registrar tells you your registration has been cancelled or suspended. The Registrar will tell you in a notice, which you can find out more about in the Social Workers Registration Act 2003.

You also need to give the Registrar your certificate of registration if they give you a new one with conditions on it. This means you have to follow certain rules to keep being a registered social worker. You get a new certificate with these conditions on it, and you must give the old one back to the Registrar within 14 days.

The Registrar will let you know what to do with your certificate of registration, and you have to follow their instructions. You can find out more about what the Registrar does in the Social Workers Registration Amendment Act 2025. This law helps keep track of who is a registered social worker and who is not.

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This page was last updated on

View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM189988.

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20: Certificates of registration, or

"Proof of being a registered social worker"

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22: Renewal of limited registration, or

"How to renew your limited social worker registration"

Part 2Registration, authorisation to practise within scope of practice, and practising certificates
Certificates of registration

21Surrender of certificate of registration

  1. The cancellation or suspension of a social worker’s registration cancels any certificate of registration the social worker holds.

  2. A person must deliver to the Registrar the certificate of registration the social worker holds, within 14 days after the Registrar—

  3. gives the social worker notice that the social worker’s registration has been cancelled or suspended; or
    1. gives the social worker—
      1. notice that conditions (or varied conditions) have been placed on the social worker’s registration; and
        1. a new certificate of registration containing the current conditions.

        Notes
        • Section 21(1): amended, on , by section 23 of the Social Workers Registration Amendment Act 2025 (2025 No 17).
        • Section 21(1): amended, on , by section 144(1) of the Social Workers Registration Legislation Act 2019 (2019 No 3).
        • Section 21(2): amended, on , by section 23 of the Social Workers Registration Amendment Act 2025 (2025 No 17).
        • Section 21(2)(a): amended, on , by section 23 of the Social Workers Registration Amendment Act 2025 (2025 No 17).
        • Section 21(2)(b): amended, on , by section 23 of the Social Workers Registration Amendment Act 2025 (2025 No 17).
        • Section 21(2)(b)(i): amended, on , by section 23 of the Social Workers Registration Amendment Act 2025 (2025 No 17).
        • Section 21(2)(b)(i): amended, on , by section 33(1) of the Social Workers Registration Legislation Act 2019 (2019 No 3).
        • Section 21(2)(b)(ii): amended, on , by section 33(1) of the Social Workers Registration Legislation Act 2019 (2019 No 3).
        • Section 21(2)(b)(ii): amended, on , by section 33(2) of the Social Workers Registration Legislation Act 2019 (2019 No 3).