REPs registration levels
REPs registers 3 groups: exercise professionals, exercise facilities, and education providers. Each of these 3 groups is outlined in more detail below.
(1) Exercise Professionals
Registrations for this group have three main registration levels:
a) Group Exercise
b) Exercise Consultant (called “Gym Instructor” by some facilities)
c) Personal Trainer
Within in each level there are sub categories. For example Group Exercise comes in two main levels – pre-choreographed (meaning the person can teach a class designed by someone else), or free-lance, meaning the person can also design their own class as well as teach it.
Exercise professionals levels each have a scope, as explained below.
(2) REPs Registered Exercise Facility
Exercise facilities can also register with REPs.
A registered exercise facility agrees to two main criteria:
All exercise professionals based at the facility will be registered with REPs
They are a member of ExerciseNZ and will follow the ExerciseNZ industry code of ethics.
REPs strongly advises members of the public to only exercise at registered exercise facilities. To search for a facility near you, please use the REPs search engine (to the left of this page).
(3) REPs Registered Education Provider
Education providers that offer courses on exercise/fitness may also register with REPs. There are two main types of courses as outlined below:
1. Initial Training: Courses that REPs has reviewed to ensure they meet the full requirements to work in the industry and thereby register with REPs. This means completing one of these courses will take a person from completely unqualified, to fully able to work in the industry (note: there are different roles in the industry and therefore different levels of registration with REPs). Different courses will enable the student to register at different levels, as outlined above. These courses can be found here.
2. Ongoing Education: Courses that are designed to up-skill existing exercise professionals. These courses are more suitable for those already working in the exercise industry, or related industries (such as health professionals), but may be of interest to those who do not wish to work in the industry but would like to know more about a particular topic. These courses can be found here.
Scope of Practise
Exercise professionals registered with REPs operate under a scope of practice, meaning they will only undertake tasks and roles that they are registered to undertake. This is similar to how a nurse and a doctor operate within a hospital: they each have separate roles, and understand what these are and where their scope starts and stops. The scopes of exercise professionals are briefly summarised below:
a) Group Exercise:
Pre-Choreographed: Demonstrate a group exercise class.
Choreographed: Design and demonstrate a group exercise class
These levels do NOT design individual exercise programmes, or give members of the public personalised exercise advice.
b) Exercise Consultant:
Exercise Consultant Level I: Demonstrate pre-written exercise a personalised exercise programs to clients
This level does NOT prescribe any exercise programs.
Exercise Consultant Level II: Design and demonstrate exercise programs to clients.
This level does not provide personal training sessions.
c) Personal Trainer (PT)
PT Employee: Provide the services of an Exercise Consultant Level II PLUS provide personal training services with an exercise facility setting.
PT Contractor: Provide the services of an Exercise Consultant Level II PLUS provide personal training services at any setting/venue, operating as an independent business.
The Personal Trainer (Contractor) level also includes professional liability insurance for the trainer, for the benefit of the trainer, any facility they are at, and most importantly their clients.
