Become a Chartered Member

The Company Directors' Course (CDC) is the benchmark for directors and senior leaders reporting to boards. It is a pre-requisite to becoming a Chartered Member.

Go to the Company Directors' Course

If you took the course before 2007, we recommend you take the current Company Directors’ Course before your assessment. The course has been modified several times since you participated.

Company Directors' Course equivalent

We have previously recognised as equivalent learning:

• Australian Institute of Company Directors’ Company Directors' Course

Recognition of prior learning 

If you are a highly experienced director, you may be eligible for recognition of prior learning instead of attending the CDC. 

• • You must have at least five years' experience on two or more qualifying boards. At least one of these organisations must:
    • have more than $5m assets
    • more than $10m turnover more than 15 staff
  • The position on the qualifying board must be for 12 months or more
  • You must have completed one full day of training with the IoD. This must be at post-Company Directors' Course level eg Audit and Risk Committees, Chairing the Board and Advanced Health and Safety Governance.
  • You must submit a reflective review outlining a governance challenge you have faced and your approach to dealing with it.

Contact the Registrar to discuss eligibility registrar@iod.org.nz 

The Chartered Member assessment shows that you have met standards that help you carry out your duties.

The assessment tests your knowledge of The Four Pillars of Governance Best Practice and the content of the Company Directors' Course.

The assessment has two parts:

1.  Part A: multi-choice exam
2.  Part B: 3,000-word assignment.

For detailed assessment information and to apply, go to Chartered Member assessment

To become a Chartered Member you must hold a board role in a qualifying organisation, where there is a distinct separation between governance and management.

A qualifying organisation has separate executive and governance functions, in the opinion of our council. For example, a qualifying corporation would have, in the council’s opinion, a meaningful separation of the roles of senior managers from those of members of the board of directors.

The organisation’s size and sector do not matter – not-for-profit, school, and trust board members can qualify.

We need the full legal name of the organisation and, if it’s a company, its company number.

As a Chartered Member of the Institute of Directors, you 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 confirm that you are a fit and proper person to be a Chartered Member of the institute.

We ask members unable to confirm any of these points to make a disclosure to the registrar when registering interest in the Chartered Member assessment