The posts at this level are rarely advertised.
House officer to senior registrar roles on general registration, filled through conversations more than adverts.
We don’t run a vacancy list at this level.
Services outside the main centres come to us when they need a senior registrar, a registrar or a house officer, often at short notice and for posts that were never advertised nationally. There is no board to watch and no listing to refresh.
What we hold instead is a list of doctors who have told us where they are and what they are after. We work from it when something lands. Registering takes a few minutes and costs nothing, and if nothing suitable comes up we say so.
Register your interest →
More responsibility, sooner, and a shorter walk to the SMO.
Doctors at this level arrive for the training and the breadth. Regional services give you more responsibility earlier and a much shorter distance to the people making the decisions, which is a different rhythm from a metro training post.
Outside work, most hospitals sit within half an hour of open water, a river or a mountain, so a weekend does not need planning weeks ahead. A short commute, and the coast or the hills at the end of it.
Where you could live →
The essentials, in five minutes
Seven questions people ask before they decide. Open the ones that matter to you.
Can I work there?Yes, on general registration
This is the main thing that differs from the SMO pages here. An SMO — senior medical officer, the senior specialist grade — applies for a vocational scope in a named specialty; at this level you apply for general registration with the Medical Council of New Zealand. Which route applies is decided by your qualification and recent practice — not by the level of the job you are applying for.
How registration works →What could I earn?Confirmed for each post
The package depends on the service, the roster and which collective agreement covers the employer, and the roster often makes more difference than the base. So ask about the roster before the salary — a base figure without the rota attached tells you very little about the year ahead. We get both in writing for the actual post.
Why we don’t print a band →Where are the jobs?Unadvertised, and we won’t fake a list
Every other profession page here has a roles section; this one doesn’t. Services outside the main centres come to us at short notice for posts that were never advertised nationally — there is no board to watch. There is a list of doctors who told us what they are after, and we work from it. Registering interest is how these posts get filled.
Why there’s no vacancy list →Where would I fit?Senior registrar, registrar or house officer
Titles don’t map cleanly between systems, so it is worth being explicit rather than assuming. Senior registrar covers post-fellowship and final-year posts; the levels below sit differently from their equivalents elsewhere.
The levels, explained →Can I bring my family?Yes, most people do
Partners and children can usually join you on visas linked to yours, and partners can usually work. Schools, childcare and the family logistics are explained once, properly, in the family guide.
Family moves, explained →What will moving cost?Verification costs the most
Council fees, primary-source verification of your qualifications, certificates of good standing from every authority you have registered with, visa fees for everyone moving, flights and shipping. The paperwork discipline is the same as at SMO level.
The move, costed →Already hold a fellowship?The route differs by specialty
Specialists apply for a vocational scope in a named specialty, and both the route and the timeline differ by specialty. We write those up one at a time — and if yours isn’t listed, tell us what you hold and we’ll give you a clear read.
SMO pages →The detail, when you want it
The levels, registration and pay, one section at a time.
The levelsWhere you fit
Titles differ between systems, so it is worth being explicit about what these words mean here rather than assuming they map onto the ones you use now. The doctors page compares the grade names side by side.
Post-fellowship and final-year posts
Most often in regional services, and frequently a step towards an SMO appointment in the same place. If that is what you are after, say so early — it changes which posts we put in front of you.
Service registrar roles
In regional and provincial hospitals. Rarely advertised nationally, and more often filled through a conversation than an application form. Broad exposure, and a shorter distance to the SMOs than you may be used to.
Fewer of these come our way
And almost all of them sit outside the metro centres. Worth registering your interest rather than waiting for a listing, because a listing is unlikely to appear.
Regional posts here are good jobs in their own right.
Getting registeredGeneral registration, not a vocational scope
This is the main thing that differs from the SMO pages on this site. An SMO applies for a vocational scope in a named specialty. At this level you are applying for general registration with the Medical Council of New Zealand, and which route applies depends on where you qualified and where you have been practising since.
We deliberately do not restate the routes here. Registration is a national topic, it changes, and it is explained once in the guide that owns it rather than paraphrased on every page that touches it — which is how sites end up with two answers to one question.
What is worth knowing before you read it: the route is decided by your qualification and your recent practice, not by the level of the job you are applying for; the paperwork discipline is the same as at SMO level, and primary-source verification is usually the slowest single step; and the visa can generally run alongside registration rather than after it.
PaySet by roster category, not by a single step
At this level pay is set by roster category rather than by a single step. Categories run from F (40–44.9 expected hours) to A (65 and over), and the category moves the number far more than the year does: on the NZRDA scale effective 3 August 2026 a first-year house officer is on NZ$80,882 in category F and NZ$145,727 in category A, for the same year of practice. Two agreements are in force and they do not pay the same — NZRDA, 1 August 2026 to 30 September 2028, and STONZ, 1 March 2026 to 30 April 2028 — so which one covers the post matters. We confirm the category, the roster and the figure on the actual post.
By collective agreement rather than negotiated role by role, with the roster and its penal provisions often making more difference than the base.
The roster, before the salary. A base figure without the rota attached tells you very little about the year ahead.
Get the actual figure and the actual roster in writing for the actual post, before you decide anything.
A work visa first, then the residence pathways. Which one applies depends on the role and your circumstances. How visas work
How we verify pay. Every figure we print anywhere on this site is read off the collective agreement that covers the role, with the agreement named and its term stated. Here the answer depends on the roster category and the agreement, so we confirm the number on the actual post.
Relocation support varies by employer and role. Where it is available, we confirm exactly what is included before you make any decisions.
If you already hold a fellowshipA vocational scope, specialty by specialty
Specialists apply for a vocational scope in a named specialty, and the route — and the timeline — differs by specialty. We write those up one at a time.
We recruit SMOs well beyond the specialties written up here. If yours is not listed, send us your CV and we will give you a clear read.
What we can’t promise
Three things we won’t guarantee, and what we do instead.
A post at this level, on a timeline
These roles arrive when a service needs cover, not on a recruitment calendar. We will not tell you one is coming in order to keep you interested, and we will tell you when nothing is.
Timelines that aren’t ours to give
Registration sits with the Medical Council and visas with Immigration New Zealand. We give you the likely range, keep your file complete and moving, and chase what can be chased.
That the move is right for you
Some moves shouldn’t happen. If the training, the pay maths or the family logistics don’t stack up, we will say so plainly.
Frequently asked
Do you have a list of registrar jobs?
No. We do not run a vacancy list at this level.
What happens instead is quieter: services outside the main centres come to us when they need a senior registrar, a registrar or a house officer, often at short notice and for posts that were never advertised widely. Register your interest and you are on the list we work from.
Is registration different from the SMO route?
Yes, and it is the main thing to understand. An SMO applies for a vocational scope in a named specialty. At this level you are applying for general registration, and which route applies depends on where you trained and where you have been practising.
It is the same regulator and the same paperwork discipline, but a different question is being asked of you. The pathway checker will tell you which route is likely to apply before you spend anything.
Will a registrar post lead to an SMO job?
Sometimes, and more often in regional services than in the main centres — a senior registrar post in a smaller hospital is frequently a step towards an SMO appointment in the same place.
We will be straight with you about whether a specific post is really that, or simply service cover. The two look identical in an advert and are very different careers.
Why don’t you publish pay for these roles?
Because the package depends on the service, the roster and the agreement that covers it, we confirm the number for each role rather than print a range that may not apply.
Ask us for the actual figure on an actual post and you will get it.
Tell us where you are and what you’re after.
Relocating to a new country can feel overwhelming at times, and you won’t be doing it on your own. Find your registration pathway in two minutes, then send us your CV and we’ll take it from there.