Building our profession
Occupational health and safety (OHS) is recognised as one of New Zealand's more recently established professions. It has taken time for industry to understand that effective OHS practitioners require not only a broad base of technical knowledge but also a diverse range of personal skills. It's not a mix that everybody has straight away but when it's balanced, great things can happen.
Health and safety is now an appealing career option with OHS practitioners commanding meaningful salaries both here and abroad.
Moreover, it is a profession in short supply. Businesses understand that the health, safety and wellbeing of their workforce has a direct impact on productivity and they are realistic about the need to choose their OHS staff and consultants wisely.
Why become accredited?
Becoming an accredited OHS practitioner shows your company, peers and prospective employers that you are knowledgeable and serious about learning and practising your profession. It places you ahead of the game and positioned to stay that way.
NZISM offers its members a clear and structured accreditation pathway that is internationally aligned (ie. recognised if you choose to work offshore) and provides a direct route to the HASANZ Register for those who want to take it.
All new members need to join as an Affiliate member and apply for accreditation. Each application is assessed by our experienced volunteer Accreditation Committee.
Requirements
Gaining NZISM accreditation is based on a combination of recognised qualifications and hands-on experience along with commitment to Continuing Professional Development (CPD). As an NZISM member you have access to a range of local and online CPD experiences that can feed directly into your CPD Plans.
Below you can see the requirements of each stage.
HASANZ Register
NZISM is a founding member of the Health and Safety Association of New Zealand (HASANZ), which is an umbrella organisation representing workplace health and safety professions in New Zealand. It's members are organisations, not individuals.
HASANZ operates the HASANZ Register - a list of verified Professionals comprising individuals from across every health and safety discipline. Being listed on the HASANZ Register is like having a Warrant of Fitness to practice as a workplace health and safety Professional. Businesses can be confident that people on the HASANZ Register have met the standard of competence required by their professional association.
NZISM's Accreditation Programme offers members a direct route to the HASANZ Register.
Membership and accreditation are two different things.
Unless you are a student, everyone joins NZISM first as a General member. As a General member you are then able to apply to be an accredited.
Step 1: Check Your Eligibility
Before you apply, make sure you meet the requirements for your chosen level:
- You have completed a tertiary course listed on the Recognised Qualifications List.
- You have the required number of practical experience hours at the appropriate level.
Step 2: Complete Your Application
- Log in to your NZISM member account.
- Choose the accreditation level you'd like to apply for
- Select Apply, then complete the online application form.
- Upload supporting documents (e.g., CV, qualification certificates, work examples).
- Pay the application fee.
Step 3: Await Confirmation
- Once your application is reviewed, you’ll be notified whether your accreditation has been approved.
If your course isn't on our current Recognised Qualifications List you can apply to have your course assessed. You will need to supply a copy of your qualification certificate and a transcript of your course content. Please email these to cpd@nzism.org
Members who do not yet have any NZ work experience in OHS will need to complete HSR Rep Stage 1 training before they can apply. There are a number of providers of this course with options to complete in online or in person. A copy of the course completion certificate will need to be provided as part of your application's supporting documentation.
(This does not apply to members applying for reciprocity on the back of IOSH or Saish accreditation.)
Your CPD commitment
All NZISM accredited members are required to:
- remain an NZISM member, and
- commit to ongoing CPD
To make undertaking CPD simple, NZISM membership automatically includes free use of myCPD, our online CPD recording platform. In it you are able to plan your own development using our online self-assessment tool, design your own unique Development Plans, and record all the activities you undertake that feed into your plan/s.
For example, all the free NZISM webinars you attend automatically feed into myCPD. But an 'activity' could involve anything at all: a training course, involvement in a project, a video/podcast, personal reading. Your journey is your own. You are professionals and trusted to set the course on your own development journey.
However, we do encourage you to keep your myCPD records up to date so you are not playing catch up should they get audited!