Anyone can become a NZOIA member.

Check out the different membership levels on our Membership page.

This outlines all you need to know and a link to register.

NZOIA's membership year runs from 1 July to 30 June. New Registered members who join from 1 January are eligable for 50% off the membership fee.

Previous Members:

• If you were a member last year, this will be treated as a renewal
• If you wish to re-join NZOIA, but either haven't had NZOIA qualifications or don't wish to re-register old quals, contact admin@nzoia.org.nz and we can send you an invoice and reactivate your original profile once paid. You are eligible for new member discounts above.
• If you wish to re-join NZOIA and re-register your qualification, you can pay a re-registration fee (if qualification/s have been unregistered for less than 6 years) or use the NZOIA RCC process (if more than six years). If using the RCC process, you are eligible for new member discounts above. Find out more...

NZOIA is the professional body in New Zealand for outdoor instructors and guides and has promoted excellence in outdoor leadership through qualifications since 1987.

We are the qualification body for ten outdoor activities and disciplines with three levels of qualification, which are regarded by employers throughout NZ as the benchmark of professionalism.

Being part of a professional association for outdoor leaders, instructors and guides has many benefits:

• Access to an external qualification system that is recognised nationally as industry standard
• Qualification Registration listing on the NZOIA Instructor/Guide search, which confirms your qualification status
• Advocacy in the outdoor sector on behalf of members
• Industry communication and engagement, ensuring you remain up to speed with good practice and receive updates
• Access to Pre-assessment Training Courses, Assessments and Refresher workshops
• Professional development and networking opportunities 
• Crisis support if you are involved in a critical incident
• Access to exclusive jobs on the jobs board
• Access to discounted NZOIA stocked products and publications
• Gear and experience discounts from a range of reputable outdoor suppliers
• Use of the NZOIA Registered Instructor logo (if you have valid registered and revalidated qualification/s - see conditions of use)
• Voting rights at NZOIA’s AGM if you hold current qualifications
• Pathways to become an Assessor

By being a member, you are also supporting NZOIA to:

• Provide a nationally recognised assessment scheme for guides and instructors
• Establish benchmarks for guiding and instructional quality and safety management
• Review qualifications, ensuring they reflect the latest in good practice
• Train, upskill, moderate Assessors
• Promote and support the interests of our members, including providing a voice at decision making levels in the outdoor sector and government
• Maintain a register of qualified instructors and guides that the public can access
• Communicate regularly with our members through newsletters, our website and national training conferences
• Foster strategic partnerships with other groups, to reach common goals for the outdoor sector
• Contribute to industry projects and offer expert advice
• Promote the enjoyment and conservation of our natural heritage
• Act as a regulatory and disciplinary body ensuring the highest level of professional conduct within our membership

• Click on the Forgot Username or Password hyperlinks
• Enter the email address you have registered with NZOIA
• You will be emailed your username or a verification code to reset your password

If you have forgotten your email address you will need to contact admin@nzoia.org.nz to retrieve your account.

To change your Password at any time, login then select 'Edit Login Details' from the Members menu.

NZOIA's membership year runs from 1 July to 30 June. Members can renew from the 1st April prior to a membership year.

Membership and Qualification Registration renewal invoices are emailed out to all current members between 15 May and 1 June annually. Please get in contact if you need this made out to your employer. 

By paying your invoice, you agree to NZOIA's terms and conditions. Payment can be made via internet banking or credit card. Once paid, we will renew your membership. You don't need to do anything further. 

If you wish to renew your membership before you recieve an invoice:

• Log in
• Select 'Renew membership' from the Members menu
• Complete the details, agree to the terms and conditions, then choose your payment method. Easy as!

Remember to check your membership details are still correct and upload your first aid certificate if the one we have on file for you is expired.

If you are a previous member that hasn't renewed for over a year, please email admin@nzoia.org.nz for options on re-joining NZOIA and reinstating your original profile.

Keeping your personal details up-to-date helps us ensure your mail goes to the right place and that we can get in touch when we need to provide important information to our members.

To change your contact details:

• Log in to your NZOIA member profile.
• Select 'Dashboard' from the Members tab
• Click 'Update Profile' button.
• Change your details and select 'save' at the bottom of the screen.

To change your password or email address:

• Select 'Edit Login Details' from Members tab.

Members are unable to change their name or username. If you change your name (i.e. get married), please email admin@nzoia.org.nz 

If you are a full-time NZ student then you are entitled to a 25% discount off your membership and qualification registration fee - this does not apply to Associate Membership Fees, or other Memberships which are already discounted.

New members will need to upload their student ID and course details on the payment page to activate this discount.

Current members: Your renewal invoice sent by NZOIA for your fees will not automatically include your student discount. This is because we need to approve your student status every year. We are happy to adjust the invoice and resend once you submit proof of student status to us. Alternatively:

• Log in to your NZOIA member profile.
• Select 'Renew membership' from the Members menu
• Complete the details which will include uploading your student ID and entering course details. This will automatically discount your membership fee and lead you to the payment page. You can either pay via credit card, or if paying by internet banking select Already Paid. Then open your internet banking and pay the amount, less 25%.

• Log in
• From the 'Members' menu, select Membership Card.
• Alternatively there are links from the Dashboard and My Membership pages.

If you notice any problems with your card please email admin@nzoia.org.nz.

Your online NZOIA Membership Card live syncs with your NZOIA profile, so your card will always be current and show your latest qualifications. You will be able to view and download it on your phone to save carrying your card around. It also means Associate Members will now have a membership card. Producing thousands of plastic cards annually hasn't sat that well with us environmentally as an organisation.

• From July - Dec - full membership fee
• From Jan - Mar - 50% off Registered and Affiliated Membership
• NEW members who apply after 1 April will not expire until 30 June the following year

• If you were a member last year, this will be treated as a renewal
• If you wish to re-join NZOIA, but either haven't had NZOIA qualifications or don't wish to re-register old quals, contact admin@nzoia.org.nz and we can send you an invoice and reactivate your original profile once paid. You are eligible for new member discounts above.
• If you wish to re-join NZOIA and re-register your qualification, you can pay a re-registration fee (if qualification/s have been unregistered for less than 6 years) or use the NZOIA RCC process (if more than six years). If using the RCC process, you are eligible for new member discounts above. Find out more...

• Location may be variable on group size. Some venues are fantastic, but only suitable for smaller groups.
• It may be dependent on where the Assessor is based.
• Venue availability. 

A list of organisations/people who can provide River Rescue courses can be found here.

If your circumstances change and you need to withdraw from a course, please contact the NZOIA Office asap.

If you withdraw before the course closing date, you will receive a full refund or you may transfer it to another course.

If you withdraw after the course closing date, the fee is non-refundable. It is transferable only under exceptional circumstances, less the applicable cancellation fee.

Course Fees Refund Policy

Yes.  If we cancel a course you have enrolled on, and you paid for a new membership at the same time, we will refund you both if you wish. Hopefully though, we will be able to transfer you to the next available course. There are great benefits to staying on as an NZOIA member too:

• Regular industry updates through the Quarterly magazine and 4YA newsletter
• Access to the Jobs Board
• Discounts on publications and products that NZOIA stock
• Gear and Equipment deals
• Discounted training courses

...just to name a few!

Course Fees Refund Policy

All Leader Assessments are run through the NZOIA Free Range Assessment Model. Check out the Free Range Courses page to read up on how to set up your own Free Range Leader Assessment.

We promote the highest possible standards of outdoor instruction and guiding by:

• Providing a nationally recognised assessment scheme for guides and instructors
• Establishing benchmarks for guiding and instructional quality and safety management
• Review qualifications, ensuring they reflect the latest in good practice
• Train, upskill, moderate Assessors
• Promoting and supporting the interests of our members, including providing a voice at decision making levels in the outdoor sector and government
• Maintain a register of qualified instructors and guides that the public can access
• Communicating regularly with our members through newsletters, our website and national training conferences
• Fostering strategic partnerships with other groups, to reach common goals for the outdoor sector
• Contributing to industry projects and offering expert advice
• Promoting the enjoyment and conservation of our natural heritage
• Advocacy in the outdoor sector on behalf of members
• Acting as a regulatory and disciplinary body ensuring the highest level of professional conduct within our membership

Both Regisered and Associate members can advertise a job on the NZOIA website.
The best way to do this is:

• Login
• Select 'Add Job' from the Members tab on the right
• Enter the details of the job and select 'Save'

This will not display immediately. NZOIA will review your entry, when it is approved it will be visible in the Jobs Board. If you have extra documents to attach you may submit these to admin@nzoia.org.nz and we can do this for you. Give us clear instructions that you have already set up the job and that these are accompanying attachments.

Using the above method is quickest and advertisements will usually be approved within 2-3 business days.

Non-members can advertise on the Job Board, however they will need to submit details; Job Name, Company, Location, Listing Expiry, Contact Name, Contact Email, Contact Phone, Website & Job Description to admin@nzoia.org.nz. Non-members will not be able to view the advertisement as our Job Board is open to members only.

Scope and Syllabus documents can be found on the Qualifications page by clicking the applicable image to the right of the main text body. Or hover over qualifications in the drop-down menu and a second menu will pop out to the right listing the specific qualifications.

You can put your qualifications on hold if you are temporarily not using them. To find out how to do this, check out 'Putting qualifications on hold' on the Revalidation page. 

Once you have successfully passed a NZOIA Assessment, you can view and download your NZOIA Certificate/s from our website.

• Log in
• Select 'My Qualifications' 
• Select view from the Certificate column and it will down load a PDF copy for you.

• Log in
• From the 'Members' menu, select 'My Qualifications' 
• Check out the revalidation due date of each qualification

If you choose not to revalidate, your qualification will remain on your profile as unregistered.

Note: All qualifications are due for revalidation by the 30 June of the year listed, to keep them registered.

If you have less than 1 year left:

• You need to attend a refresher before your 30 June due date (or complete alternative revalidation if your last revalidation was a refresher workshop)
• You don't lose time by revalidating early, your next revalidation due date will still be 4 years on from your revalidation due date

The closer you get to your due date, the less options you have, as refreshers on the calendar may have already been and gone. It's also worth noting that Alternate Revalidation must happen before your your Reval Due Date, otherwise your qual will become unregistered and you will have to attend a Refresher within two years.

So what are you waiting for? Check out the Refresher calendar (especially the Symposium as refreshers are offered in all disciplines) and plan ahead before time runs out! The following years calendar is released around the middle of the year.

As part of your membership profile you can upload your First Aid certificate. If you do this every time you renew your certificate, it will always be up to date! This means that whenever you apply for a course, your First Aid certificate will always be on file and easily accessible to both you and NZOIA office staff.

• You will need to have an electronic copy already saved on your computer/phone (or USB etc).
• Log in
• Select 'Your Dashboard'  
• Select 'Upload First Aid' button
• Select either 'Upload' or 'Replace' if you already have one on file. This will take you to a file upload screen where you can select 'Choose file' to browse the contents of your computer and select the correct document. Click 'Open', then 'Upload'.
• Once you have completed this it will send an automatic email to NZOIA to let us know.

You can also update any other prerequisites on this page.

There are two ways to upload your prerequisite documents.

1. Follow the same instructions above: 'How do I upload my First Aid Certificate'. You can do this without applying for a course.
2. Apply for an assessment. You will upload documents as part of the apply process. If you need to add additional documents after applying, then go to:

• Log in
• Select 'My Course Applications' from the Members menu
• Select the course you want to upload documents for. You will be able to upload directly the applicable documents from your computer/phone.

TIP: No access to a scanner? If you have an iPhone or Android you can use app's such as Genius Scan (iPhone) & CamScanner (Android) to scan documents and create PDF files. You can then send these to your email address and save the files to your computer/phone to upload. For certificates, taking a photo and uploading it may also work.

All our assessments, refresher workshops and training courses can be viewed on the Course Calendar. You can view them by specific course type from the Qualifications/Courses menu, or you can view ALL our courses by clicking 'Course Calendar - All'. You can then sort by name, type, start date, closing date and location. In the office, we would do the same thing as above so you may as well cut out the middleman!

Please see our prerequisite exemption policy here.

Are you interested in some FREE training in the outdoors?!

Participating as a 'Model Client' is a great opportunity for groups and individuals to experience outdoor activities and learn skills, while their Instructors or Guides are being assessed.

It's also a great way for current qualification holders to gain some extra training at a higher level.

Learn more