Membership Categories

The membership year runs from 1 January to 31 December each year. 

Click Here to go to Membership form for 2013

Payment can be made by internet banking, payment over the counter into the NZSTA bank account (Kiwibank), credit card, or by cheque, more details are on our Payments page.

There are currently seven membership categories of membership:

• Full Members
• Provisional Members
• Student Members
• Retired Members
• Associate Members
• Life Members
• Honorary Members

As part of the application process you must agree to abide by the NZSTA Code of Ethics and this document can be viewed here.

To Help with what is required

Full Members

Full members of the NZSTA are currently engaged in the activities of speech-language therapy as a practitioner, administrator, manager, educator, researcher, or any combination thereof.

Eligibility Criteria

The following individuals are eligible to be or become Full Members of the NZSTA:

• those trained in New Zealand with a Teachers’ Certificate endorsed with qualifications in speech-language therapy, or with a Diploma in Speech-Language Therapy awarded prior to 1993; or
•  those who hold the Bachelor of Speech and Language Therapy awarded by the University of Canterbury, New Zealand, prior to January 2004; or
• those who hold a Bachelor of Speech-Language Therapy or an equivalent Bachelors or Masters degree from an NZSTA-accredited programme; or
• those who have had their qualifications approved by the NZSTA.

In addition the following criteria must be met:

• A minimum of 1,000 hours engaged in the activities of speech-language therapy as a practitioner, administrator, manager, educator, researcher, or any combination thereof, for which payment was received in the last five years. Evidence of these hours is required.  This may include, but is not restricted to a signed and dated letter from an employer, HR department, or auditor attesting to these hours of work over the past five years (or more).
• Fulfilling the NZSTA’s Continuing Professional Development requirements.
• Abiding by the NZSTA’s Code of Ethics
   
   
  
  

Fee Categories of Full Membership:

• Full-time:  Those working 26 hours or more per week. The annual fee for 2013 is NZD364 (including GST)
• Part-time: Those working less than 26 hours per week. The annual fee for 2013 is NZD254 (including GST)
• Non-working: Those who will not be engaged in wage- and/or salary-earning speech-language therapy related activities for all or any part of the year (e.g. when on parental leave). The annual fee for 2013 isNZD242.28 (including GST)

The NZSTA relies on the honesty of its members. If paid work as an SLT is undertaken during the year then a change to the full-time or part-time Full Member fee category is required. Members should notify the national office and make arrangements for the additional payment.

Provisional Members

Provisional members of the NZSTA are those members taking part in supervised professional clinical practice or completing further training in order to be eligible for full membership status in the NZSTA.

There are three sub-categories for Provisional Membership.

1. New Graduate

2. Insufficient Dysphagia competence

3. Return to Practice

1. Provisional Membership (New Graduate)

Provisional membership (New Graduate) is viewed as a period of transition between supervised student practice and independent delivery of services,

Eligibility Criteria

The following individuals are eligible to be or become Provisional Members (New Graduate) of the NZSTA:

•  Graduates of an NZSTA accredited-programme in their first or second year of practice (paid employment)
• Graduates of an overseas programme in their first or second year of practice (paid employment) who have had their qualifications approved by the NZSTA’s Qualification Approval Committee
• New graduates/newly qualified speech-language therapists who have not yet found employment. Please note: If applying for this category under these circumstances please be aware that you will not be able to work towards fulfilling the requirements to become a Full Member until you are employed in a paid SLT position.

Requirements

In addition to meeting the above criteria, Provisional membership (New Graduate) requires the following:

• Meets the NZSTA’s Continuing Professional Development requirements.
• Abiding by the NZSTA’s Code of Ethics.

Guidelines

The Provisional (New graduate) member in paid employment, looking to progress to full membership, is required to organize their own supervisor for the duration of the 12 month period (minimum of 36 weeks full time or equivalent in part time hours). This supervisor must be a full member of the NZSTA. The Provisional Member (New graduate) will need to contact the NZSTAs National Office giving them the name, membership number and contact details of this supervisor within three months of commencing their employment.

Progression from Provisional Membership (New Graduate) to Full Membership

The process for progressing from Provisional Membership (New Graduate) to Full Membership is the submission of the Recommendation for Full Membership of the NZSTA form. This needs to be completed by the Provisional Member’s supervisor, who must be a Full Member of the NZSTA.

Fee Categories of Provisional Membership (All types):

• Full-time:  Those working 26 hours or more per week. The annual fee for 2013 is NZD364 (including GST)
• Part-time: Those working less than 26 hours per week. The annual fee for 2013 is NZD254 (including GST)
• Non-working: Those who will not be engaged in wage- and/or salary-earning speech-language therapy related activities for all or any part of the year (e.g. when on parental leave). The annual fee for 2013 is NZD242.28 (including GST)

The NZSTA relies on the honesty of its members. If paid work as an SLT is undertaken during the year then a change to the full-time or part-time Full Member fee category is required. Members should notify the national office and make arrangements for the additional payment.

2. Provisional Membership  (Insufficient Dysphagia Competence)

Provisional membership (insufficient dysphagia competence) indicates that a member does not have sufficient dysphagia education/clinical experience to meet the requirements of full membership. A person may remain in this category permanently if they choose not to undertake any further education/training in dysphagia.

Those who choose to undertake further training as directed by the NZSTA, will be eligible to apply for full membership once they have met the education/clinical experience requirements.

Eligibility Criteria

The following individuals are eligible to be or become Provisional Members (insufficient dysphagia competence) of the NZSTA:

• Speech-language therapists, NZ-trained prior to 1992 or overseas trained with no/limited under-graduate or post-graduate dysphagia education, whose qualifications have been deemed provisional by the NZSTA due to insufficient education or experience in dysphagia.
• Any of the above who are temporarily not working (i.e. seeking employment or on parental leave). Please note: If applying for this category under these circumstances, please be aware that you will not be able to fulfill all the requirements to become a Full Member until you are employed in a paid SLT position.

Requirements

In addition to meeting the above criteria, Provisional membership (insufficient dysphagia competence)requires the following:

• Meets the NZSTA’s Continuing Professional Development requirements.
• Abiding by the NZSTA’s Code of Ethics.

Guidelines

Please contact the National Office for individual guidance.

Progression from Provisional Membership (Insufficient Dysphagia Competence) to Full Membership

The Recommendation for Full Membership form for Provisional Members (insufficient dysphagia) can be downloaded here:  Recommendation for Full Membership - NZ trained therapists. This needs to be completed by the Provisional Member’s supervisor under which they furthered their education/training in dysphagia.

The process for progressing from Provisional Membership (Insufficient Dysphagia Competence) to Full Membership is only relevant for those who wish to become a Full Member.  A person may remain in this category permanently if they choose not to undertake any further education/training in dysphagia.

Fee Categories of Provisional Membership (All types):
 

• Full-time:  Those working 26 hours or more per week. The annual fee for 2013 is NZD364 (including GST)
• Part-time: Those working less than 26 hours per week. The annual fee for 2013 is NZD254 (including GST)
• Non-working: Those who will not be engaged in wage- and/or salary-earning speech-language therapy related activities for all or any part of the year (e.g. when on parental leave). The annual fee for 2013 is NZD242.28 (including GST)

The NZSTA relies on the honesty of its members. If paid work as an SLT is undertaken during the year then a change to the full-time or part-time Full Member fee category is required. Members should notify the national office and make arrangements for the additional payment.

3. Provisional Membership (Return to Practice)

Provisional Membership (Return to Practice) is viewed as a period of transition between a time of absence from the profession and re-entry into the profession.

Eligibility Criteria

The following individuals are eligible to be or become Provisional Members (Return to Practice) of NZSTA:

• speech-language therapists who have not accumulated 1000 hours of speech-language therapy practice within the five years immediately prior to the application for membership;

Requirements

In addition to meeting the above criteria, Provisional Membership (Return to Practice) requires the following:

• Abiding by the NZSTA’s Code of Ethics.

Guidelines

Please contact the National Office directly for individual guidance on this and progression from Provisional Membership (Return to Practice) to Full Membership.

Fee Categories of Provisional Membership (All types):

•  Full-time:  Those working 26 hours or more per week. The annual fee for 2013 is NZD364 (including GST)
• Part-time: Those working less than 26 hours per week. The annual fee for 2013 is NZD254 (including GST)
• Non-working: Those who will not be engaged in wage- and/or salary-earning speech-language therapy related activities for all or any part of the year (e.g. when on parental leave). The annual fee for 2013 is NZD242.28 (including GST)

The NZSTA relies on the honesty of its members. If paid work as an SLT is undertaken during the year then a change to the full-time or part-time Full Member fee category is required. Members should notify the national office and make arrangements for the additional payment.

Student Members

Student members of the NZSTA are student speech-language therapists who have not yet graduated/are not fully qualified and therefore cannot practice as a speech-language therapist or qualified speech-language therapists who are doing post-graduate study in speech-language therapy or a related area.

Eligibility Criteria

Individuals eligible for this category are:

• All persons currently enrolled in an NZSTA accredited speech- language therapy programme;
• All persons holding an NZSTA recognised qualification who are enrolled full-time or part-time in a speech-language therapy-related course of post-graduate study and who are not receiving remuneration for any speech-language therapy-related work.
• All persons enrolled full-time in a speech language therapy programme accredited by one of the signatory Associations of the Mutual Recognition of Credentials Agreement (2008).

Requirements

In addition to meeting the above criteria, Student membership requires the following:

• Abiding by the NZSTA’s Code of Ethics.

Student Membership Fee

The annual fee for 2013 is NZD37.00 (including GST). 

Retired Members

Retired members of the NZSTA are any speech-language therapists who were Full members or Provisional members (insufficient dysphagia competence) who have retired from all paid employment or any Associate members retired from all paid employment.

Eligibility Criteria

Please contact the National Office if you think you fit this category.

Retired Membership Fee

 The annual fee for 2013 is NZD100.00 (including GST). 

 The NZSTA relies on the honesty of its members. If paid work as an SLT is undertaken during the year then a change to the full-time or part-time Full Member fee category is required. Members should notify the national office and make arrangements for the additional payment.

Associate Members

Associate members of the NZSTA are members who are not speech-language therapists but work in a related field (e.g. an allied profession) and wish to be a member of the NZSTA.

Eligibility Criteria

The following persons are eligible to be or to become Associate Members of the NZSTA.  Any person who is:

•  in an allied profession whose application is approved by the NZSTA.
• trained as an SLT but now working as an academic or researcher only, does not intend to work as an SLT, and does not meet the criteria for Full Membership.
• trained as an SLT but has re-trained in another profession  and does not intend to work any longer as an SLT.

Applications for Associate Membership must be approved by the NZSTA.  Please contact the National Office for more details.

Requirements

In addition to meeting the above criteria, Associate membership requires the following:

• Abiding by the NZSTA’s Code of Ethics.

Associate Membership Fee

The annual fee for 2013 is NZD242.28 (including GST). 

Life Membership

Life Members of the NZSTA are members who have made a significant contribution to the Association and the profession, through both outstanding leadership and committed service, over the course of their career as a speech-language therapist. Life membership is the highest honour awarded by the Association and confers Full membership or Non-practicing membership on a person for the rest of his or her life.   

Eligibility Criteria

The Executive Council of the NZSTA may elect to confer life membership on suitably qualified persons. This is determined via evidence of outstanding service rendered to the profession of speech-language therapy and significant contribution to the Association during their years as a practicing speech-language therapist. It is also a requirement that the nominated persons have held NZSTA membership for the majority of their practicing years as a SLT in New Zealand (a minimum of at least 15 years applies).

Eligible persons must be nominated by one member of the Association and seconded by another in order to be considered for life membership. Nominations can be made at any time and these will be considered at the next scheduled Executive Council meeting. For full information on the eligibility criteria and process please click here .  To nominate a member for life membership the on-line form is available at life membership nomination  but please read the eligibility criteria information first.

Requirements

In addition to meeting the above criteria, Associate membership requires the following:

•  Abiding by the NZSTA’s Code of Ethics.

Honorary members

Honorary members are individuals who do not hold a qualification in speech-language therapy but who have made an outstanding contribution to speech-language therapy in New Zealand. Honorary membership is an award conferred by the Association.

Eligibility Criteria

Honorary membership may be conferred on any individual who:

• does not hold a qualification in speech-language therapy
• has made an outstanding contribution to speech-language therapy in New Zealand.

Guidelines

Please contact the National Office for guidance on how to nominate a person for honorary membership.  Applications must be supported by a majority vote of the Executive Council to be successful.

There is no annual fee for Honorary Members.