NZPI Full Membership

The route you chose depends on your educational background and length of experience.

Pathway 1: Accredited NZPI Degree

You are eligible to apply for full membership if:

• You have completed a NZPI recognised planning degree and have at least three years work experience in planning (inc. at least two years NZ experience)
  
• You are currently working within the planning field
• You have completed the following core CPD:
  - Ethics for Planners
  - Advanced Maori Values

or;

Pathway 2: Non-Accredited NZPI Degree

• You do not have a NZPI recognised degree, but have at least seven years work experience in planning (inc. at least two years NZ experience)
• You are currently working within the planning field
• You have completed the following core CPD:
  - Ethics for Planners
  - Advanced Maori Values

You need 3 NZPI members to sponsor/support your application;

• Sponsor must have more than three years of experience as a Full Member
• Supporters can be Full or Intermediate members.

Your Full Membership application must include:

• Provide a statement of experience corroborated by your employer;
• Provide three copies of three separate work examples; and
• A satisfactory membership interview conducted by a panel of three.

Before applying for Full Membership please take the time to read:

• NZPI's Constitution & Regulations
• Member's Code of Ethics; and
• Interview Tips.

If you will be working 25 hours or less per week over a sustained period, you can request partially-active membership - the request can be submitted with your Full application, please click here for full details.

If you were previously a member of NZPI you do not need to reapply, please see our rejoin/change membership page

View Sponsor / Supporter Guidelines Download the full membership application

Applicants are required to provide a written statement of their work experience.

This statement should demonstrate the breadth and depth of an applicants experience. It should be in chronological order and set out the employer(s), the position(s) held by the applicant, details of the task (s) undertaken and the time spent on these tasks. All work experience needs to be corroborated. Corroborators must have had close working contact with the applicant in respect to the experience countersigned. They do not need to be NZPI members.

If you have worked in one area of planning only, or haven't had a great breadth of work experience, don't let that deter you from applying for Full membership. Whilst wide experience may help, the interview panel are more interested in your views and opinions, approaches to problems and analytical processes. The panel try to ask a range of questions, drawing on your own experience.

We encourage you to start filling in the Statement of Experience form now. This avoids having to track down past employers when it comes time to applying for Full membership

STATEMENT OF EXPERIENCE FORM FOR FULL APPLICANTS

Work submitted will be assessed to ensure the applicant has an understanding of the planning process, and appreciation of relevant legislation, recognition of the benefits of research, and an ability to organise and present relevant information in a competent and professional manner.

Suitable examples would include work in all or any of the following areas:

Research, such as:

• Survey and analysis for the preparation of plans for regional, urban or rural development and redevelopment.
• Feasibility studies.
• Research directed towards the increase of planning methods.
• Study of economic, health, social, demographic, landscape, architecture, water resource or transport issues impacting on regional, urban rural communities.

Plan Preparation, such as:

• The preparation and review of national, regional district policy statements and plans.
• The preparation of comprehensive development or redevelopment projects, or conservation projects.
• The preparation of schemes for the development or urban or rural land such as shopping centres, tourist areas, industrial estates, housing schemes, infrastructure services and coastal areas.
• The preparation of schemes for comprehensive urban or landscape design.
• Constructive and substantial contributions to the evolution of specific planning proposals.

Administration, such as:

• Administration and organisational work of planning.
• Judicial and legislative work of planning.
• Implementation of policy statements and plans.

Experience also includes any involvement in planning groups, association, or branches of the institute, which provide opportunities for further developing attitude, experience and knowledge of planning and planning issues.

Please contact the membership team if you have any further queries in relation to relevant work examples.

The Membership Interview Panel will be assessing your level of competency in the areas below:

• Professionalism, integrity and ethics
• Understanding of planning
• Critical evaluation skills
• Communication and engagement
• Understanding and working with NZ planning frameworks
• A range of technical knowledge
• Māori values and perspectives
• Contribution and ongoing commitment to the profession

You should be able to demonstrate ability or understanding in all areas and answer questions on these during the interview.

For full details see below.

DOWNLOAD TIPS ON PREPARING FOR YOUR FULL MEMBERSHIP INTERVIEW

All Full members are required to undertake Continuing Professional Development in order to maintain their membership status.

Full members will be asked to complete 25 hours of CPD per annum. In addition, Full members are requested, over a rolling three-year period, to refresh their understanding of ethics specific to planners as well as planning from a Maori perspective. By securing no less than 1 CPD point per topic over a three-year period, this demonstration may be in the form of attendance at an educational or training event or via an informal or formal learning opportunity.

For further information regarding CPD requirements for Full members see below.

DOWNLOAD THE CPD GUIDELINES FOR FULL MEMBERS

The annual membership fee is $485 (inc. GST)

There is a $100 joining fee for NEW Full members of NZPI.

Payment is not required at the time of application, an invoice will be sent if your application is approved. Our financial year is from January to December. Those who join during the year will be invoiced on a pro-rata basis (covering from the month joined to December).

An annual invoice will be sent out in mid-January.

The NZPI Constitution is the Foundation Document of NZPI and Provides the Governance Framework for all NZPI Activities.

The Constitution is supplemented by the NZPI Regulations. Both documents are current and have been the subject of review and amendments in the past 12 months.

Download the NZPI Constitution and Regulations