The Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners

In November 1952, the British College of General Practitioners was established as an unincorporated association.

By 1961 the College was established as an incorporated association with approximately 2000 members, and in 1967 the British College was granted permission to use the title The Royal College of General Practitioners (RNZCGP).

Less than a year after the first annual meeting, in 1955, New Zealand members of the British College established a local Council, but it took until the early 1970s before a referendum of members overwhelmingly supported the establishment of the New Zealand College of General Practitioners. It was incorporated on 13 August 1973 under the Charitable Trusts Act. It was the first specifically New Zealand establishment of a College in any medical discipline.

In 1979 the New Zealand College obtained permission to use the title The Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners.

Improving both standards and conditions for general practice were early priorities for the new College, which moved to establish the Family Medicine Training Programme (FMTP) in 1977. The College advocated vocational registration of general practitioners through to the late 1980s, when the government of the day passed such regulations.

Recent history

Over the last decade, the College has provided general practitioner education, leadership in general practice quality, advocacy and research on general practice to its membership and stakeholders.

In order to better meet the needs of its members and those of other sector stakeholders, such as the Ministry of Health and ACC, the College has periodically reviewed its programmes, services and infrastructure to ensure they meet its requirements.