NZ Music Therapy Registration Board
The New Zealand Music Therapy Registration Board was established in 2000. It assesses Music Therapist’s eligibility for registration (either Full or Provisional) within New Zealand and issues Annual Practising Certificates to those who meet the criteria agreed upon between the Registration Board and MThNZ. A list of all Registered Music Therapists who hold a current annual practising certificate can be found here.
Jennifer Glover (Chair from 6 June 2023) – elected November 2018, exp. November 2026 – Rule 10 (ii)
Originally from Upstate New York, Jen moved to Aotearoa New Zealand in 2015 to serve as a Registered Music Therapist and the Clinical Services Manager of the Raukatauri Music Therapy Centre. She went on to be the Director of the Raukatauri Music Therapy Trust for six years, where she loved being a part of the Trust’s expansion from an Auckland-only organisation to one serving multiple regions.
During this time, she also began serving on Music Therapy New Zealand’s Registration Board, becoming Board Chair in 2023.
Jen and her family moved to beautiful Waiheke Island in 2022, and she took the opportunity to work in her home community when the role of Chief Executive of the Waiheke Health Trust came up the following year. She is grateful to remain connected with the music therapy community through her work with the Registration Board as well as through service as a Raukatauri Trustee.
Fiona Hearn (NZ RMTh) – appointed November 2024, exp. November 2027 – Rule 10(ii)
Fiona is from Te Awa Kairangi, Lower Hutt. She has a BMus (perf. classical violin), MMusTher (NZSM) and has worked as a registered music therapist since 2006.
She has a special interest in mental health and is currently working in a range of areas, including community and acute mental health with adults, as well as supporting neurodivergent and disabled tamariki, rangatahi and their whānau.
She is passionate about supervising music therapy students, new graduates and registered music therapists.
Chanelle Henderson (RMT) – appointed November 2022, exp. November 2025 – Rule 10 (iii)
Chanelle is a registered music therapist, clinician and researcher in Sydney, NSW on Gadigal land of the Eora people. She is a Clinical Educator at Noro Music Therapy in Western Sydney, working across the board with diverse populations, including people with traumatic brain injury, neurodiverse populations, and adults with dementia.
Chanelle enjoys working with families and young children, and is passionate about incorporating music therapy and education into preschool programmes to support the healthy development of infants and young children. She is a doctorate researcher at the University of Melbourne, undertaking ethnographic fieldwork research in Western Sydney. Her research considers the role of a music therapist in a preschool setting, with children from marginalised backgrounds.
Neil Jourdan (NZ RMTh) (Chair until 5 June 2023) – appointed May 2018, exp. November 2026 – Rule 10 (i)
Neil has worked as a registered music therapist since 2006. He started in private practice in Johannesburg, South Africa before moving to Aotearoa New Zealand in 2009.
Since then he has worked full time in special education schools, initially in South Auckland and then in Porirua, Wellington. He currently works as part of the therapy team at Mahinawa Specialist School as well as being on the school’s senior leadership team and school board. Neil joined the NZ Music Therapy Registration Board in 2018 and served as chair between 2018 – 2023.
Objectives
The objectives of Registration are to:
- Ensure that people who practise Music Therapy have the necessary qualifications
- Ensure that NZ Registered Music Therapists have a current and valid annual practicing certificate that certifies they have had supervision and undertaken continuing professional development
- Ensure that NZ Registered Music Therapists are able to create and maintain a physically and emotionally safe environment for a client, adhere to the NZ Music Therapy Registration Board Code of Ethics and MThNZ Standards of Practice, and use the term “New Zealand Registered Music Therapist” (NZ RMTh)
- Provide a benchmark for quality assurance as occurs with other self-regulated professions
- Provide employers, contracting agencies, and individuals with assurance that the qualification and professionalism of NZ Registered Music Therapists meet appropriate standards
- Ensure that NZ Registered Music Therapists maintain their professional development and skills.
Benefits
The benefits of Registration for a qualified Music Therapist include:
- The ability to demonstrate to employers and potential employers that Music Therapy is a self-regulated profession bound by a rigorous Code of Ethics and a Registration Board that upholds the Code
- An annual practising certificate which demonstrates to employers that NZ RMThs have up-to-date music therapy knowledge and the skills to practice safely as well as adhering to the Standards of Practice
- A provisional registration with a pathway to full registration when criteria are met
- Enabling a Music Therapist to apply for a job where the employer requires New Zealand Registration.
- Provide a process for grievances and complaints to be objectively evaluated and appropriate actions taken.
Benefits of Registration for the Employer, Client and/or Agency
- Provides assurance that the NZ Registered Music Therapist has the necessary qualifications
- Provides assurance that the NZ Registered Music Therapist maintains sufficient ongoing professional development
- Provides assurance that the Registered Music Therapist adheres to the New Zealand Music Therapy Registration Board’s Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice
Register
The Registration Board maintains a register of all Registered Music Therapists in New Zealand who hold a current annual practising certificate, who have met the Standards of Practice for Registered Music Therapists in New Zealand and who adhere to the Code of Ethics for the Practice of Music Therapy in New Zealand.
Find a NZRMTh Clinical Supervisor
NZ Music Therapy Supervisor Database
The NZ Music Therapy Supervisor Database is published by the Registration Board, to assist Music Therapists in finding a supervisor.
Registration
Applications for new registrations, and renewal of annual practising certificates for exceptional reasons close on 1 August 2025.
No late applications will be accepted.
Fees:
Renewal of Annual Practising Certificate (APC):
$86.25 (includes GST) – half year
New Registration including Annual Practising Certificate:
$258.75 (includes GST) – registration fee and half year APC fee.
New Zealand Music Therapy Registration Board: Appeals and Complaints Process
Do you have an inquiry or complaint about the safety, health, competence, character, fees or charges, or general conduct of a NZ Registered Music Therapist? If so, please contact the Registrar
To make a complaint, email the registrar:
