The benchmark qualification for a trained plastic and cosmetic surgeon in New Zealand and Australia is FRACS (Plastic) (Fellowship of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons). This is the only qualification recognised by the New Zealand Medical Council as a specialist qualification in plastic surgery. Doctors with this qualification are the only people with formal training in cosmetic and plastic surgery.
 
Sometimes doctors with a Fellowship of the College of Surgeons (of England, Ireland, Scotland or Canada), with evidence of additional training, may be accepted by the New Zealand Medical Council as specialists. The same applies to American doctors who are board-certified in plastic and reconstructive surgery. To the uninitiated, the number of letters after a doctor's name may be very confusing so if you are concerned about your doctor's qualifications, phone the New Zealand Medical Council (phone: 04-3847-635) and ask if he or she is a registered specialist in plastic surgery.
 
Some doctors display certificates with qualifications not recognised by the New Zealand Medical Council as evidence of specialist training. Many of these "qualifications" are not recognised in the US or UK as evidence of specialist training either.
 
Be careful to make the distinction between any letters of qualifications and the formal surgical qualifications of FRACS (Plastic), which is the only guarantee that a surgeon has had a formal and thorough training in plastic surgery tested by examination.