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Become a Chartered Fellow

Chartered Fellow (CFInstD) is the highest level on the chartered pathway. 

To become a Chartered Fellow you can apply or be invited by the Institute of Directors.

To be eligible, you must:

  1. have been an IoD member for at least three consecutive years when you apply.
  2. satisfy the IoD council that you have sufficient governance experience
  3. confirm that you uphold the principles of the Charter for the Institute of Directors, and are of good character and a fit and proper person to be admitted as a Chartered Fellow.

1. Membership length

You have been a member of the IoD for at least three continuous years immediately prior to making an application for Chartered Fellow.

Go to your profile to check the length of your membership.

2. Experience

You must have:

  • completed the IoD Company Directors' Course or an equivalent
  • passed the IoD Chartered Member assessment or an equivalent
  • have at least five years’ experience* as a director or equivalent in two or more organisations of substance

Or

  • you have at least ten years’ experience as a director or equivalent in two or more organisations of substance* 

Or

  • you have experience and background that, in the opinion of the council in exceptional circumstances, makes you suitable for membership as a Chartered Fellow. For example, you have given long, exemplary service in an organisation that you built into a significant business.

* total consecutive years passed. You cannot add time spent in two or more concurrent roles.

Organisation of substance

An organisation of substance meets the following criteria:

Definition of an organisation of substance

The organisation must meet two of the following criteria*:

i. The value of the consolidated gross assets the organisation and the entities it controls (if any) is NZ$10 million or more.

ii. The consolidated revenue of the organisation and the entities it controls (if any) is NZ$20 million or more.

iii. The organisation and the entities it controls (if any) have more than 30 (FTE) employees.

In relation to a not-for-profit the organisation must meet the following three criteria*:

i. Does not operate for the profit, personal gain or other benefit of particular people; and

ii. Has gross revenue of NZ$5 million or more; and

iii. At least one of the following applies:

  • Has at least 25 employees; and/or
  • Has at least 100 volunteers.

*these criteria apply to most recent financial year you were on the board

An organisation may meet these criteria but not be an organisation of substance in the opinion of the IoD Council. For example:

  • a non-trading holding company
  • an investment company with one shareholder or one director
  • a small consultancy
  • a non-trading trustee company would not have the governance complexity of an organisation of substance.

3. Annual confirmation

As a Chartered Fellow of the Institute of Directors, you need to make an annual confirmation for our council that you:

  • participate in continuing professional development as required
  • uphold the principles of the charter
  • are of good character.

This includes confirming that you have not:

  1. been convicted of a crime
  2. acted inconsistently with your duties as a director
  3. committed serious wrongdoing, or helped or encouraged serious wrongdoing
  4. brought the institute into disrepute or behaved inconsistently with our charter
  5. been denied membership of a professional body
  6. been found to have failed to keep standards and are not subject to disciplinary action
  7. been prohibited from being either a director or involved in the management of an organisation.

Lastly, you need to confirm that you are a fit and proper person to be a Chartered Fellow of the institute.

We ask members unable to confirm any of these points to make a disclosure to the registrar when applying to become a Chartered Fellow. 

Application pack

Please contact us at registrar@iod.org.nz to request an upgrade to Chartered Fellow pack.