Revalidation and Registration

Those with registered qualifications commit to keeping current and adhering to NZOIA’s Membership and Registration Terms and Conditions and NZOIA’s Code of Ethical Practice.

NZOIA will ensure that any leader, instructor or guide working on the basis of a NZOIA qualification, is currently competent and working to standards of accepted good practice. NZOIA will also ensure qualifications remain relevant, industry led and current through regular qualification review cycles.

NZOIA qualifications provide evidence of the ‘necessary training’ required by the Health and Safety at Work Act and are a measure of competence for auditors when they are auditing outdoor activities.

Annual membership and registration fees contribute to the maintenance, development and moderation of qualifications and the qualification scheme.

Employers play their part in supporting the scheme of qualifications, by encouraging and assisting their staff to become qualified, and by making opportunities available for continuing professional development.    

NZOIA qualifications are registered through annual membership and registration renewal beginning the 1 July and ending 30 June.

Every fourth year, qualification holders must complete revalidation to remain registered. This can either be a Refresher Workshop, or one of the alternate revalidation options as outlined below.

Every eight years, qualification holders must attend a Refresher Workshop. This is to ensure the purpose of the Refresher Workshop is being achieved on a regular basis.

Note: All qualications 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.

Facilitated by NZOIA Assessors, Refresher Workshops are the most common way to revalidate. You can find scheduled courses on the online Course Calendar, request a Custom Refresher Workshop or utilise the Free Range Refresher Model.

The purpose of a Refresher Workshop is to:

• Exchange knowledge and ideas with other course members
• Learn new skills and techniques, both from the Assessor and the other course members
• Be updated in terms of current good practice under the scope of the qualification

This is a workshop, not an assessment and the focus is on continued professional development.  The course will include:

• Any changes to the syllabus
• Any technical advances or developments in the discipline 

The course could include:

• New equipment and its uses and disadvantages
• Participants teaching topics related to the syllabus that expand the learning of all
• Tasks to perform that extend your skills and focus on development within the qualification
• Hot Tips

You will receive verbal feedback throughout the course.  Written feedback will follow the course containing a pathway of development to maintain competency and currency within the qualification, or recommendations to progress with further training for higher qualifications.

If during the course of the workshop naturally occurring evidence is observed that suggests below benchmark performance in any of the competencies within the qualification syllabus your report will include either:

• Recommendations to assist you to maintain competency and currency, or 
• If there are concerns about your ability to operate safely within the scope of the qualification then a professional development pathway will be agreed upon and achieved before the revalidation is complete.  The Assessor could recommend the qualification be put on hold until the development pathway is completed.

NZOIA courses can involve long and intense days. Avoid going into a course fatigued as this could affect your performance and become a safety issue. Driving home tired can be a significant risk. Plan to stay an extra night or share driving responsibilities for the journey home.

Requirements:

The following is required to complete the application process for a NZOIA Refresher Workshop:

• Current Registered Membership
• Current Logbook or Refresher Workshop Summary Sheet

Note:

• If you are not using your qualification for work, please contact the office outlining your situation

How to Apply:

1. Select appropriate refresher through Course Calendar. 
2. Click APPLY. Ideally you will have all the required documentation ready to upload at the time of applying (e.g. first aid certificate, logbook). To upload documents or update health information after submitting your application, you can access your application through My Course Applications under the Members tab.
3. Completing your application. Fill in the health information and risk disclosure and click SUBMIT APPLICATION. This will take you to Order Details. Select one of the three options:
   1. Pay by Credit Card
   2. Request an Invoice (for those wanting to use internet banking or require the invoice to be made out to their employer)
   3. Already Paid (for those who have already been issued with an invoice)
4. Application Acknowledgement

You will receive an Application Acknowledgement via email to confirm your application has gone through, and we will be in touch within 1-3 business days.

Completed application documents and payment must be received by the application closing date which is 6 weeks prior to course commencement. Your place will be secured once your application and payment is complete.

Prior to the revalidation due date, every second cycle a qualification holder can use an Alternate Revalidation to the Refresher Workshop as listed below.

1. Attend a NZOIA Training Course for a higher qualification

NZOIA encourages instructors and guides to work towards higher qualifications as they progress in their career in the outdoors. Attending an NZOIA training course towards a higher qualification satisfies the revalidation requirement.  Complete the Qualification Revalidation Form after attending the training course if you want to use this to revalidate and email to admin@nzoia.org.nz.  We will not automatically revalidate your qualification unless you request us to do so.

2. Assessor Sign-Off

An Assessor can observe and evaluate you in the field operating at the current standard of the qualification and confirm this by completing a Qualification Revalidation Form.  They will need to sight your logbook which contains evidence of recent activity in the discipline over the last four years.  This works well for those who:

• work regularly with a NZOIA Assessor, or
• if you are being audited and your Technical Expert is a NZOIA Assessor, or
• if an employer contracts an Assessor to train and/or revalidate their staff

3. Attend an approved course

Send the certificate through to admin@nzoia.org.nz as proof for processing

4. Permanent overseas qualification holders only

Members who are permanently overseas can revalidate by submitting the following to the Technical Sub-Committee every second cycle only:

• logbook of personal and instructional experience over the last four years
• two letters (one from an employer and one from a qualified practitioner) endorsing the revalidation and stating that they have observed safe practice
• processing fee of $100NZD (Rock Leader and Abseil Leader can be combined under the same processing fee)

Exceptions

NZOIA Assessors who have maintained the Assessor revalidation requirements will automatically meet revalidation requirements for the qualifications they assess.

Refresher Workshop Fees:

$225 (1 days)

$125 (1/2 day)

Permanent overseas qualification holders only 

$100 (Processing fee. Rock Leader and Abseil Leader can be combined under the same processing fee)

Full Course Fees table

Course Fees policy

Fees are heavily subsidised to keep courses affordable for members. NZOIA absorbs the balance of the cost through external funding.

When you revalidate a qualification, it also revalidates any lower level qualification/s you hold in the same discipline. View the Hierarchy here.

If you are not currently instructing or guiding in a discipline, or are temporarily out of the workforce (e.g. childcare, overseas trip etc), you may put your qualifications ‘on hold’ until you require them in the future.

Qualifications can be put on hold for a maximum of six years from the date you sat your assessment or last revalidated your qualification.

It is your responsibility to apply to NZOIA requesting that your qualification be put on hold. Please fill in the Qualification Revalidation Form and email to admin@nzoia.org.nz . Your qualification will be put on hold for the maximum period.

Please Note: Registered or Associate membership of NZOIA must be maintained while a qualification is on hold. These fees contribute toward qualification maintenance, development and moderation, and ensure you are kept informed on industry updates through the Quarterly and 4YA emails, should you choose to reactivate your qualification.

If you get offered work for a particular qualification that is on hold, contact NZOIA to register your qualification.

Within four years from your assessment or last revalidation your qualification can be registered immediately.

If four years has passed since your assessment or last revalidation, you will need to attend a Refresher Workshop to register your qualification.

After six years, to register your qualification you can choose to either:

• Complete the RCC process or,
• Re-sit the assessment

Current NZOIA members with registered and revalidated qualifications are entitled to use the NZOIA logo as per the guidelines outlined on our website. It is fraudulent to promote or advertise yourself as holding a current NZOIA qualification if it is not registered with NZOIA.