Accredited Professional

Serious about your future in HR?

Apply for HRNZ's Accredited Professional Member accreditation to demonstrate your commitment to becoming a leading HR professional.

Accredited Professional Membership Guide booklet

The Accredited Professional Member accreditation is available to early career HR professionals. This accreditation confirms to prospective Employers that a member has:

commenced a career in HR and/or completed education and training in human resource management
demonstrated a solid foundational understanding of the Core Capabilities and Domains of Knowledge required for future HR leaders
has committed to a process of continuing professional development
has demonstrated a commitment to the HRNZ code of practice for HR professionals in New Zealand

Accredited Professional Member Profiles

Are you ready to apply for Accredited Professional Membership?

To be eligible for Accredited Professional Membership you must be a current financial member of HRNZ.

To become an Accredited Professional Member:

You will need to demonstrate all core capabilities of The Path at ‘Delivers’ level minimum. Demonstrating the core capabilities at this level looks like this:

Knowledge of Te Ao Māori	Can use basic Te Reo terms appropriately and understands how to reflect Māori cultural values in the administration of basic HR processes that employees engage with
Understands and values People	Supports people at an individual level to engage with day-to-day HR processes. Demonstrates empathy and emotional intelligence
Reads a room or situation	Can identify and accurately apply standard policies and processes and identify situations where these are not working
Brings people on the journey	Demonstrates reliability and integrity in administering systems and handling employee information
Solves workplace problems	Recommends appropriate solutions within policy parameters where standard arrangements do not fit an employee
Sees and mitigates risks	Administers organisational policies and employment arrangements accurately, and speaks up to the right person if they notice non-compliance

You will need to have at least 18 months experience in an HR role(s) involving practice in at least two domains of knowledge, one of which must be taken from the following list:

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Employment Relations
Health Safety and Wellbeing
Attraction, Recruitment and Selection
Remuneration and Rewards
Learning and Development
HR Administration

How to Apply

To apply for Accredited Professional Membership, you will need:

Completed Application form

Please make sure all sections of this form are completed.

Download AP Application Form

Updated CV with any supporting evidence included in your application

Provide your updated CV and supporting evidence such as initiatives you've been working on. This should include recent roles you have held that shows the corresponding core capabilities at the Delivers level minimum.

Completion of the HRNZ Code of Practice module.

You can complete the Code of Practice through the HRNZ eLearning platform. Save your Certificate of Completion and include with your Application supporting documents.

Evidence of 25 CPD points completed in last 12 months - E.g., HRNZ's CPD statement

Completing your Accredited Professional Membership Application counts for 10 of the 25 required CPD points. For more information about what you can claim for, check out the CPD Guide.

A letter of reference from your employer or a Chartered Member of HRNZ

A good reference letter could include a character reference, positive feedback of your work ethic and the quality of your work, and your commitment to growing as an HR professional.

If possible, the reference letter should reflect their agreement that you can meet the Delivers level capability requirements specified above.

When you believe you are ready to apply, please download and complete the application form and send to [email protected] along with supporting documentation.

Accredited Professional Members are entitled to use the post nominal APHRNZ.

Achieving this accreditation places members on a pathway to working towards Chartered Membership status in the future. It provides an acknowledgement that an individual is committed to development in the field of HR and their own professional development, and has demonstrated an excellent foundation as a potential leader in HR.

Applicants for the Accredited Professional accreditation are required to agree to the following commitments as a part of their application:

Commitment Statement

In applying for accreditation as an Accredited Professional of HRNZ, I confirm I have reviewed and understood the HRNZ Code of Practice and make the following commitments:

To always conduct myself with the utmost professional and personal integrity and accountability, consistent with the highest ethical standards and recognising the trust and responsibility vested in me as an HR professional.
Respect always the professional and personal reputations of other members of the HR profession and HRNZ itself – and not do, or cause or permit to be done, anything which is likely to bring HRNZ into disrepute or is otherwise inconsistent with any of the standards set out in the Code of Practice.
Actively support and encourage diversity in HR practice and within HRNZ.
Demonstrate an ongoing commitment to continuing professional development, in order both to retain currency of skills and knowledge and to serve as an example to all colleagues.
Actively promote, generally, the highest standards of HR practice.

Download the Application form

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