Toitū te Waiora is pleased to announce the completion of the initial consultation phase for the New Zealand Diploma in Hearing Therapy (Level 6) [Ref: 2859 v2]. This has been a collaborative effort with Your Way | Kia Roha, who have been instrumental in ensuring that this qualification remains up-to-date and aligns with the needs of the sector.

Incorporating valuable industry insights gathered from our public survey, there are some proposed minor amendments to the graduate profile outcomes (GPOs), an adjustment in the credit weighting of the GPOs, and a proposal to increase the minimum required work experience hours.

The proposed changes can be seen in full in the Qualification Overview documents, and have been summarised in the table below.

2859-3 Tracked

2859-3 Clean

We are inviting feedback on these proposed changes and encourage you to share this communication with your professional networks. For feedback, or any questions, email us at [email protected] by close of business on 23 November 2023.

Summary of main proposed changes to the qualification:

Version 2	Version 3	Comment
Graduate Profile / Ngā hua o te tohu
Outcome 1
Apply knowledge of organisational hearing measurement systems and processes to measure functional capability and assess the physical and psychosocial impact of hearing impairment on a person’s life using culturally appropriate values, processes and protocols. 15 credits	Apply knowledge of organisational hearing measurement systems and processes to measure functional capability and assess the physical and psychosocial impact of hearing impairment loss on a person’s life using culturally appropriate values, processes and protocols. 15 20 credits	Preferred terminology for the sector is ‘hearing loss’.   Credit value has been increased as sector felt there should be slightly more weighing on on GPO1 than on GPO4.
Outcome 2
Apply knowledge of hearing assessment outcomes, hearing impairment impacts and rehabilitation planning to analyse assessment results in terms of the impact on the life of a person, to lead and coordinate the design, implementation and evaluation of an individual aural rehabilitation plan. 15 credits	Apply knowledge of hearing assessment outcomes, hearing impairment the impacts of hearing loss, and rehabilitation planning, to analyse assessment results in terms of the impact on the life of a person, to lead and coordinate the design, implementation and evaluation of an individual aural rehabilitation plan for a person who is impacted by hearing loss. 15 credits	Updated and reworded to reflect preferred sector terminology of ‘hearing loss’.
Outcome 3
Apply knowledge of hearing impairment and associated management strategies to provide a specialist service that enables people with hearing impairment to manage the impact of that impairment. 70 credits	Apply knowledge of hearing impairment loss and associated management strategies to provide a specialist service that enables people with hearing impairment who are impacted by hearing loss to manage the this impact of that impairment. 70 credits	Updated and reworded to reflect preferred sector terminology of ‘hearing loss’.
Outcome 4
Apply knowledge of national and international research and developments in hearing therapy to manage own learning through on-going professional development in order to provide a constantly improving customised outcome-focused hearing therapy service. 20 credits	Apply knowledge of national and international research and developments in hearing therapy to manage own learning through on-going professional development in order to provide a constantly improving customised outcome-focused hearing therapy service. 20 15 credits	Credit value has been reduced as sector felt there should be slightly more weighing on GPO 1 than on GPO 4.
General conditions for programme / Ngā tikanga whānui o te hōtaka
Programmes must include a minimum of 200 hours of work experience.	Programmes must include a minimum of 200 1000 hours of work experience.	Proposed increase of work experience from a minimum of 200 hours to 1000 hours. It was felt that this increase more accurately reflects the experience that graduates have when completing this qualification in the workplace.