Frequently Asked Questions
This page is designed to explain REPs to members of the public along with the benefits of using a registered exercise professional and registered exercise facility.
If you are looking to re-register and have any questions please click on this link
Feel free to scroll though this page to view all questions, or use the links below go directly to the relevant section:
Exercise Professionals
3. Does the REPs contractor insurance cover loss of income or earnings?
5. Is the registration fee annual?
7. What is your refund policy?
9. I don’t have any formal qualifications, but I do know what I am doing – where do I fit in?
10. I have a qualification from ABC Institution, does this enable me to register?
11. Here’s my CV – can you tell me if I meet the standards
12. What does REPs insurance cover me for?
13. Why must I undertake Continued Professional Development (CPD) each year?
14. I am wanting to register because I am moving overseas. What should I do?
Facilities
15. I/we own more than one club in the same city – do I have to pay to register each facility?
17. What about instructors in training? How do I deal with them obtaining registration?
20. Our facility is in a rural location, we have difficulty to up-skill, how will REPs help with this?
21. What about Pilates and Yoga – are they included?
Questions and Answers:
Q: What fees do you charge?
Answer: REPs charges various fees to exercise professionals, exercise facilities and education providers to register with REPs. All fees are listed on the relevant application form, and vary depending on the level and type of registration being applied for. In 2009 fees for facilities, range from $195 to $495 per year plus GST, depending on the facility size and in 2022 the fees remain the same. For individuals fees, fees range from $69 to $412 inc GST, depending on the level of registration, and whether the individual is based at a registered facility.
Q: Is a REPs registered trainer or teacher at the contractor registration level delivering a class or workout via an online platform covered by the REPs insurance policy?
Answer: Yes. The policies do cover the delivery of online content in New Zealand (does not cover delivery outside NZ) for those registered at the ‘contractor’ registration level. To confirm your registration includes insurance, check that your registration certificate includes the word ‘Contractor’.
Q: Does the REPs contractor insurance cover loss of income or earnings?
Answer: No. The policies cover professional indemnity, statutory liability and public liability.
Q: Can I upgrade my REPs registration from PT Employee, Group Exercise or yoga teacher to a contractor level which includes insurance?
Answer: Yes. For group exercise or yoga there are no additional qualification requirements. To move from PT Employee to PT Contractor, we just need to verify you hold the relevant business skills for the registration level. Use the REPs Change of Level Application.
Q: Is the registration fee annual?
Answer: Yes. This is to ensure that the individual and facility not only meets the requirements once, but continues to meet them. (Note some fees for education provides are every two years).
Q: What are all the fees for?
Answer: REPs is an independent organisation with the sole purpose of running and marketing the registration system. As such it needs money to do this, the fees reflect this. The various fees REPs charges are in direct proportion to the costs to REPs. As a non profit organisation REPs only charges what is needed to operate, no one makes a profit from REPs activities. As REPs is not involved in training of any kind it has no vested interest in any particular training provider, nor in any facility.
What is your refund policy?
All payments for registration are for 12 months, and refunds are not given
for change of mind, unsuccessful registration, or failure to meet registration standards. As the registration years runs from I October to 30 September, applications received part way through this period still pay for a full year, and receive a credit equal to the unused months which is applied on 1 October
(e.g. a person registering on 1 March 2022 pays for a full 12 months, and first re registers on 1 October 2022, with a 5 month credit. There are no refunds if the credit is not used at the first re-registration).
Q: I work for a registered facility and also do work outside of this in my own capacity, do I still get to register at the reduced rate through my exercise facility?
Answer: Yes, you pay the discounted rate. This registration covers you for both your activities at the facility and outside it.
Q: I don’t have any formal qualifications, but I do know what I am doing – where do I fit in?
Answer: We recognise that the industry is presently made up of individuals with a mix of qualifications and hands on experience and skills learnt on the job. We have a registration pathway that allows for individuals with little or no qualifications to be assessed and confirmed as competent. This can either be through a Skills Active assessor, or through a registered education provider (a process called NZ Certificate in Exercise L4 Supplementary). If you apply for registration under this pathway we will provide you with a list of such organisations.
Q: I have a qualification from ABC Institution, does that enable me to register?
Answer: Qualifications from a REPs Registered Education provider will enable you to register through pathway one (this is an very simple process). A list of Registered Education providers are listed here. Qualifications from non Registered qualifications can still enable you to register, but through a different process (pathway three on the application form) – you will need to provide REPs with detailed descriptors of the courses/modules you have completed and these will be reviewed against the REPs standards (there is an additional fee for this). If you’re not sure exactly where you fit in, then apply for registration, and once you have done this we can point you in the right direction.
Q: Here’s my CV – can you tell me if I meet the standards ?
Answer: There is normally far more to this question than may appear. For this reason in all cases we ask that you apply for registration and we will then tell you where you fit in and what you may need to do to gain registration (if anything). If you want to know what level you should register for, you can download the help sheet for registration, they outline the basic requirements for each level, and will give you a good idea of where you are likely to fit in.
Q: What does REPs Insurance cover me for?
Answer: The insurance offered through REPs covers you in many cases. We have a page dedicated to insurance which you can view here
Q: Why must I undertake Continued Professional Development (CPD) each year?
Answer: It is very important that as a professional, dealing with the public, that you upskill and keep up to date with the latest and most effective trends in our industry. Much as you would want a doctor or teacher to be giving safe and efficient advice, the public wants the same from you.
Q: I am wanting to register because I am going to work overseas. What should I do?
Answer: If you are not going to be working in New Zealand it may be a better (and a lot of the time cheaper) option to apply for International Portability. This is where we verify that your qualification meets the standards of the country you are travelling to. Many countries have a national registration body that is one of our international partners (members of ICREPs), to see a list of our international partners click here. To download a form for international portability you can click here.
Q: I/we own more than one club in the same city – do I have to pay to register each facility?
Answer: No, just one fee as long as you meet certain criteria. The REPs policy is that as all facilities in the same city AND with the ownership AND can provide us with one contact person for all facilities can register and pay as one facility (simply include the list of the facilities included in this). Facilities in different cities register separately. You can download the application form for facilities here.
Q: What if an aerobics instructor works for more than one club ? Who’s club are they included under for the REPs registered facility ?
Answer: As long as all staff at the facility are registered, then the facility can become a registered facility. Individuals working at more that one facility need only register once, and their registration is valid for all facilities they work at. The only thing the registered facility needs to ensure is that all the exercise professionals at the facility are registered.
Q: What about instructors in training? How do I deal with them obtaining registration?
Answer: We recognise that you may choose to training your own staff, such as through Skills Active’s National Certificate programme. In this case all we ask is that they register at the highest level they can and that when they operate at levels outside of this that they are under the direct supervision of an individual registered at that level. e.g. a ‘trainee’ may register at the lowest level (exercise assistant) but operate as a exercise consultant as long as they are being supervised while they are performing these duties. We can provide you with a process and log book so that this is documented.
Q: Do aqua instructors need to register if they offer classes at a pool which is not part of our complex ?
Answer: Yes. Our policy on all such questions of “what about xxx instructors” is that if they demonstrate or advise on exercise then they should register. In the case of many group activities, this falls under the Group Exercise level.
Q: My Personal Trainers are employees, and not independent contractors, so they are covered by our workplace insurance, to they get a lower registration fee ?
Answer: Yes, we have a special “PT Employee” registration.
Q: Our facility is in a rural location, we have difficulty to up-skill, how will REPs help with this ?
Answer: We recognise the difficulty some areas have with little or no providers in the area. Part of the benefit of being apart of REPs is that we can assist in facilitating groups of registered professionals, and training providers to bring them together. It may be that collectively in your area you have 20 or 30 registered individuals, we can approach training providers and see if they will come to your area to run a course (just as an example).
Q: What about Pilates and Yoga – are they included ?
Answer: Yes they are included. All activities that involve exercise demonstration and/or advice are included. The only exception is sports coaching where no exercise demonstration is provided, other than the skills specific to the sport (e.g. teaching someone how to kick a soccer ball is not covered by REPs, but if they give exercise advice about “getting fit” then they should register). So in the case of Pilates, they fall under the “Group Exercise” level. We will be working with REPs registered facilities that provide Pilates and professionals to establish specific standards around Pilates, and this will form part of the REPs requirements to be registered at this level and teach Pilates.
