Who is AICD?

Corporate governance is the system of processes and relationships by which an organisation is controlled and operates. It is a broad term which covers many components, including decision making, legal compliance, finance, strategy, risk and stakeholder management. Effective governance is a framework which best meets an organisation's individual needs and circumstances, helping to drive performance while aiding conformance with internal and external requirements.

Organisational structure

We are a national organisation with seven state and territory divisions. Our national Board, which currently consists of 12 directors, is our governing body. Our Board is comprised of not more than four National directors, seven Division directors, and a Chief Executive Officer who may be appointed as a Director by the Board. The Board appoints the chair.

Download our constitution for more on our procedure for appointing directors.

We have a national office in Sydney, Australia, offices in all Australian states, the ACT and representation in Darwin. Members are served by their state division and a state manager, and that office reports to the national office on the effective running of the division.

Each division has a Council of up to 11 representatives, with up to six councillors elected by members from that state, up to four councillors appointed by the Council and one councillor holding the position of Division Director Councillor and serving as a director on the Board.

Our national office is structured to support our state divisions. It delivers core education courses and events, develops policy on director issues, publishes Company Director magazine and good practice books for directors, and represents the views of members nationally.

History

The origins of the AICD can be traced back to the United Kingdom’s Institute of Directors (IoD), formed by Royal Charter in 1906.

Branches of the IoD appeared in the Australian states in the 1960s. These branches were amalgamated in January 1971 under the Institute of Directors in Australia, an autonomous body affiliated with the IoD in the United Kingdom. The challenge of servicing state branches saw the emergence of the Company Directors Association of Australia in 1982. The two bodies merged on 1 January 1990 to form the AICD.

International associations

We are a founding member of the Global Director Development Circle, a group now known as the Global Network of Director Institutes (GNDI). Membership with GNDI provides us with a forum to demonstrate the leadership of Australian directors internationally, and to share our expertise in corporate governance and professional director development. GNDI is comprised of 25 membership associations for directors globally, including from Australia, the UK, US, Canada, Malaysia, New Zealand, Brazil, South Africa, Vietnam, Turkey, Thailand, Switzerland, Sri-Lanka, Singapore, Spain, Philippines, Pakistan, Nambia, Mauritius, Israel, Ireland, Hong Kong, Gulf States, Europe and Argentina.